“The Gentle Author” is the maintainer of Spitalfields Life,
a blog that has featured a brilliant and moving series of essays about
the history of East London; Author is also sharply critical of the plans
by giant property developer Crest Nicholson to redevelop the site of a
Victorian chest hospital and dig up an ancient tree called the Bethnal
Green Mulberry.
Gentle Author was surprised to learn that his sworn enemies at Crest
Nicholson had used one of his photos of the endangered Bethnal Green
Mulberry – the very tree they were planning to kill – in the
promotional materials they were using to sell the plan, as part of a
false narrative about the history of the tree, downplaying the damage
their plans would do.
So Gentle Author wrote to the company and informed them that their use
– which is hard to square with even the most expansive views of UK Fair
Dealing under copyright – infringed his rights, and asked them to pay a
fee, to withdraw their leaflets, to cease displaying it at their
exhibition, and to never use it again.
Then, Kevin Maguire, Company Secretary to Crest Nicholson wrote back and
said, essentially, “Sure, we’ll pay you, but we demand confidentiality
about this ‘license fee’ and you have to swear that you’ll stop
criticising our plan to knock down the tree whose picture we took from
you without asking for permission.”
So Gentle Author, who never offered confidentiality and has no intention
of being bullied, published Maguire’s letter and their amazing, blazing
response, which includes this lovely phrase: “You underestimate me if
you think that I will permit you to gag me by making it a condition of
payment.”
