HM, Mitchell Estate Settle 'WDG' Suit

The legal battle between Houghton Mifflin and the Margaret Mitchell estate over the publication of Alice Randall's The Wind Done Gone, a novel based on Mitchell's classic Gone with the Wind, appears to have ended after both parties agreed to a settlement in the case. HM and the Mitchell estate issued a joint statement announcing a confidential settlement that allows HM to continue to publish the book with the label "An Unauthorized Parody." In addition, at the Mitchell estate's request, HM has agreed to make an unspecified financial contribution to Morehouse College in Atlanta.

However, the settlement statement emphasizes that "both parties maintain the correctness of their respective legal positions." The statement emphasizes that the rights of both "parties are reserved with respect to future creation or publication of dramatic or any other adaptations of the book," apparently giving Randall the right to adapt the book in different formats. It is unclear, however, how the Mitchell estate would respond to new adaptations of The Wind Done Gone.