Ryan

Petitioners seek a writ of mandate commanding the respondent court to vacate its order sustaining the objections of the plaintiff, the real party in interest herein, to certain written interrogatories propounded to the plaintiff pursuant to the provisions of section 2030, Code of Civil Procedure, and to order the plaintiff to answer said interrogatories.

The action, pending in the respondent court and filed on February 17, 1960, seeks damages and injunctive relief for alleged unfair competition.

The first cause of action alleges in substance that, continuously from 1949 through 1958, plaintiff has published a series of biographical reference books under the names respectively of “Who’s Who in Los Angeles County” and “Who’s Who In California”; that she owns the trademarks and copyrights on said books; that said books are of interest to varied organizations and persons; that the style and design, and particularly the cover of white with a gold leaf-grained fabric embossed with gold lettering, were plaintiff’s original creations and are unique.

Plaintiff then further alleges that, prior to 1959, defendants published biographical books in the county of Los Angeles which were…