Krakauer sues Outside magazine over copyright

BOULDER — Boulder resident John Krakauer, who wrote the best-seller “Into Thin Air” about his trip up Mount Everest, has sued Outside Magazine after it republished online his 20-year-old article about that deadly expedition.

Krakauer filed a copyright infringement suit in November against Mariah Media Network LLC, which publishes Outside. He claims, according to a report in BusinessDen, that the magazine republished his “Into Thin Air” article on its website in September 2015, breaking the copyright agreement.

“Into Thin Air” first was published in the print edition of Outside in September 1996. The article follows Krakauer’s journey up Mount Everest and a storm that stranded and killed eight mountaineers. He published a book on the events with the same title in 1997.

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The suit says a large portion of Krakauer’s income comes from books and magazine articles, and that he is entitled to profits from views of “Into Thin Air” on Outside’s website. The suit included a list of Krakauer’s other articles and books, saying the author has the exclusive rights on republications of those works as well.

Krakauer is asking for damages and wants to prevent Outside from digitally republishing any of his other works.

Neither Outside Magazine nor Krakauer responded to BusinessDen’s request for comment.