Scott & Krause Rumored To Be Settling Lawsuit

Though coverage of this story has failed to appear in either Linn's Stamp News or Stamp Collector, the lawsuit filed by Amos Press (owners of Linn's) against Krause Publications (who own Stamp Collector) may be winding down to an out-of-court settlement. This development was the subject of much speculation on the floor of the just-ended American Philatelic Society's annual Stampshow in Santa Clara, California on August 27-30.

Both collectors and dealers---and a rather sizable number of them---at the show were quite sure of this impending result of the litigation based on sources which many said did not want to be quoted.

Last spring Amos filed the action against Krause, claiming the latter had violated the copyright of the Scott catalogue numbering system when it published those numbers alongside their own in the then newly-released Minkus Standard Catalog of U.S. Stamps. Amos asked the Federal District Court of Southern Ohio to not only grant them monetary damages along with a desist order against using the numbering system, but Amos also sought an immediate injunction to stop Krause from further sales of their Minkus catalog.

For further background on this case, see Stamps.Net's previous story on this subject.

Many attendees at the APS show---including publishers of various forms of stamp inventory software---questioned whether such a settlement would have an impact on other firms who either use or desire to use the Scott numbering system. The formidable nature of Krause's law firm's filings in the case seemed to indicate that the latter holds the stronger position in this litigation (Krause claiming that the Scott numbering system has been, in essence, in the public domain for years). If that is the case, how will this potential settlement affect other users of the numbering system?

Time is of the essence in such matters and the philatelic hobby should not have to wait too long until news of how this case will end up will soon be announced.