Cameroonian professor to sue US university for piracy

The Deputy Vice Chancellor of Bamenda University of Science and Technology, BUST, Professor Fongot Kini-Yen Kini, has said he is suing the Johns Hopkins University in the US for gross piracy of his four books.

The books published in 2013 include 478-page Bakassi: Or The Politics of Exclusion and Occupation? and three volumes in November 2015 on Pan-Africanism: Political Philosophy and Socio-Economic Anthropology for African and Governance – Caribbean and African American Contribution comprising 1922 pages.

“I was informed of the piracy by a friend from Estonia of former Russian Republic who uncovered the piracy. It is very disappointing. When we do academics, we want to be honest which reflects on my research and I wanted the world to benefit from it as well as myself.

I spent millions, sleepless nights and years for the compilation of these books. After these colossal efforts, I end up just robbed by a big thief who stole from me all that I have laboured for. I feel very disappointed and hurt. It makes me a pauper,” said Prof. Kini.

According to the professor, his books were recently published in Britain and sold in America on Amazon.com for 65 US dollars per copy.

He said he never gave any authorization; neither to the publisher nor to the Johns Hopkins University to publish and dispose of his works to the public for their private gain or for their personal interest.

He added that Langaa Publishers have also denied giving an authorisation for the stealing and piracy of this intellectual property, which belongs only to the author and to nobody else.

Professor Fongot Kini-Yen Kini is threatening to take the matter to the International Court of Justice for intellectual property and Municipal Courts on the theft and abuse of his intellectual property rights and human rights.

“I have already contacted a lawyer who is a specialist on intellectual property rights in America who is working on the matter and will soon sue the University for this theft because they have done it so blatantly. Things will have to follow their course legally.

I will also try to sue from Cameroon, from the International Court of Property Rights which is in Geneva because these are works I have consecrated over 30 years of research and it is a shame that somebody should deprive me of my hard earned works and benefits without any qualms of conscience,” said the professor.

Fongot Kini-Yen Kini said the Americans he knows and had worked with are very decent and good people.

“I have worked with Americans as cross-cultural training coordinator for the Peace Corps volunteers and for the American Embassy in Cameroon as the Assistant Cultural Officer for 12 years. I regret that there are a few people and institutions like Johns Hopkins University which now want to start dragging the good image of America in the mud,” Prof. Kini observed.