Keith Bell, a neurologist who claims to be the “father of floating mindset” and who has filed numerous copyright lawsuits for alleged “unauthorized uses” of his copyrighted” WIN Section” inspiring work, is now suing Ole Miss mind basketball coach Lane Kiffin for copyright over a tweet that was taken directly from the WIN Passage. Bell’s complaint, filed in a Mississippi federal district court last week, notes how Bell has served as a sports psychologist for national and Olympic teams sponsored by the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands. Bell has authored multiple books, including The Win Book ( 1982 ), which the complaint calls a “timeless bestseller. Bell also obtained a copyright for the book’s roughly 230-word section, called “Winning Is n’t Normal, ” a. k. a. the WIN Passage. Bell has faced criticism for his aggressive defense of the WIN Passage because he has experience litigating. In a 2022 opinion for Bell v. Eagle Mt. Judge Gregg Costa of the U.S. Independent School District, Saginaw Independent School District S. Bell “zealously seeks out and litigates unauthorized uses of the WIN Passage, ” according to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. ” Costa added that between 2006 and 2017, “Bell filed over 25 copyright lawsuits. The majority of the defendants were nonprofits or public schools that had the WIN Passage published on social media. ” Costa, noting that Bell “offers licenses ” for use of the WIN Passage, included the WIN Passage in the opinion. Because there is only one winner in competitions, the theme is “winning is unusual.” Moreover, to win “requires unusual action” as well as training “more ” and “better. ” Costa opined the WIN Passage “largely consists of well-worn truisms. ” Bell’s website includes a link to a Google doc showing an extensive list of so-called “unauthorized uses and distributions. Additionally, several coaches are named, along with Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones. Bell identifies two instances—one in 2016 and a second in 2022—where Kiffin allegedly infringed on the WIN Passage, though Bell’s complaint only accuses Kiffin of infringement for a 2022 incident. In 2016, Bell says Kiffin retweeted the WIN Passage. After Bell sent cease-and-desist letters to Kiffin, the coach “agreed to take down the infringing Twitter post. ” Six years later, Kiffin tweeted an image of a passage titled ‘WINNING ISN’T NORMAL” which the complaint says was “nearly exact copy of the WIN Passage. ” A quick comparison of Kiffin’s passage and that of Bell shows they are extremely similar, with only minor variances. For example, Kiffin’s tweet included, “No matter how many people are entered, only one person or one team wins the championship ” while Bell wrote ( according to the version in the Fifth Circuit’s ruling ), “No matter how many people are entered, only one person or one team wins each event. ” Kiffin will answer the complaint and seek its dismissal. He’ll likely argue fair use, which means unauthorized, but lawful, copying of another’s copyrighted work. In assessing fair use, courts weigh several factors, including the purpose and character of the copying, how much occurred and whether the new use was transformative. If Giniffin, 49, were to argue that his tweet was non-commercial because it was free to read and he did n’t make a profit, he could argue. Bell makes an implication that Bell’s writing about Kiffin’s use of social media was ultimately intended with a commercial purpose. Social media posts, Bell contends, could help Kiffin recruit top players and thus help him win games. Kiffin, the complaint further charges, “knows that his job security —and his accompanying compensation—depends on winning. Kiffin might also assert that Bell’s work is freely and widely available online, which means that his tweet wo n’t hurt the demand for his writing. If Bell can establish that Kiffin’s tweet to his large social media following ( Kiffin currently has about 683,000 followers on X ) has caused him to lose money on sales or licenses, it’s unclear if Bell can prove this. Additionally, Kiffin could assert that his tweet was intended to spread a positive vibe through social media and does not relate to a book that does. Bell asserts Kiffin’s use was n’t transformative since it was intended to “motivate and provide inspiration to athletes ”—the same purpose Bell had when he wrote the WIN Passage. In an interview published by the Clarion-Ledger Monday, Kiffin said he did n’t know of Bell’s book and seemed puzzled that he was being sued. “ I did n’t really pay attention to it, ” Kiffin said Monday. “I’m not supposed to comment. I mean, what are we talking about? I will just say, I’ve never read the book. I don’t even remember the quote that I tweeted or something. I’m not supposed to say that either. ”