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Digital Textbook Pirate Handed Suspended Prison SentenceAndy Maxwell, 05 Nov 09:42 AM Publishers around the world regularly engage in various action

Digital Textbook Pirate Handed Suspended Prison Sentence Andy Maxwell, 05 Nov 09:42 AM Publishers around the world regularly engage in various actions aimed at preventing the unauthorized reproduction and distribution of academic publications and eBooks. From repeated visits to court to implement site blocking in the UK to lawsuits targeting entities such as Sci-Hub, the approach is sustained, multipronged, and has no fear of tackling smaller players either. Rights Alliance Investigation For the past several years, Danish anti-piracy group Rights Alliance has been tracking down individuals said to have profited from the sale of pirated textbooks. These can be controversially expensive items that the majority of students have no choice but to purchase legally. However, there are those who have made cottage industries out of the sale of illegal copies at significantly lower prices. One such individual, a 28-year-old man from Denmark, was spotted by Rights Alliance selling copies of textbooks via DBA, Denmark's most popular online marketplace. According to the anti-piracy group, it first took action to have the listings taken down and then made contact with the man with a request for him to stop his infringing behavior. This had little effect. New profiles were created and the sale of the digital textbooks continued on the same online platform. Case Referred State Prosecutor for Serious Economic Crime After collecting evidence of the illegal sales, Rights Alliance made a referral to SØIK, the State Prosecutor for Serious Economic Crime. SØIK is often involved in higher-level prosecutions of pirate site operators but appears to consider smaller players important enough to pursue with criminal cases. In this matter, the man was said to have offered for sale 51 digital textbooks from different fields of study over a period of more than eight months, without permission from rightsholders. They were sold below the market rate and in some cases at half the original price. Man Handed Suspended Prison Sentence According to an announcement from Rights Alliance, the Court in Aalborg has now sentenced the 28-year-old for his crimes. Based on the sale of 146 pirated digital textbooks, the Court issued a 30 day suspended sentence and ordered the confiscation of a computer and DKK26,544 (US$4,120) in criminal proceeds. In addition, the man is also required to compensate the textbook rightsholders to the tune of DKK35,000 (US$5,450). Rights Alliance director Maria Fredenslund welcomes both the sentence and the involvement of SØIK in these types of cases. "It has major consequences for rights holders when their digital books are copied and sold illegally," Fredenslund says. "On behalf of both authors and publishers, I am therefore pleased that SØIK is focusing on this type of infringement and that the decision sends a clear signal that the illegal sale of digital textbooks cannot pay off. On the other hand, there is a risk of severe punishment, through confiscation, compensation and a prison sentence." One of the books offered for sale was published by Hans Jørgen Biede, associate professor at the Aarhus Business Academy. He says this type of theft is an annoyance and threatens the publication of books in Danish. "Unfortunately, this is not the first time that I have experienced my books being copied and shared illegally. Even before, the digital editions have been copied and this kind of theft annoys me, because in the worst case it undermines the financial basis for textbooks to be written in Danish in the future," the professor says. Latest in a Series of Successful Prosecutions Rights Alliance has pursued several cases against textbook pirates over recent years. In 2017, three men aged between 26 and 71-years-old received conditional jail sentences of four months for selling online access to around 198 textbooks without permission via the LendStudy website, the domain of which was confiscated. In 2019, a 26-year-old man was handed a 20-day suspended prison sentence and fined around US$4,000 for similar offenses and in 2020, a woman who sold access to pirated copies of academic textbooks stored on Dropbox received a similar punishment. More recently, a former student who sold pirated digital copies of textbooks was handed 20 days probation and a confiscation order after pleading guilty to selling copies of 38 different textbooks between January 2018 and April 2020. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Court Suspends 'Copyright Troll' Lawyer From Practicing Law in New York Ernesto Van der Sar, 04 Nov 10:02 PM In just a few years, New York lawyer Richard Liebowitz filed over a thousand copyright infringement lawsuits. The vast majority of these cases were filed on behalf of photographers who accuse companies, including mainstream media outlets, of using their photos without permission. When we first spotted this emerging trend in 2016, Liebowitz told us that he was helping independent photographers to protect their rights. All too often, companies would exploit their work without paying, he said. Liebowitz' Repeated Misconduct While that argument still holds true in many cases, the attorney himself has trouble sticking to the rules too. In his relatively short career, courts have reprimanded and sanctioned him for various types of misconduct. Last year, these missteps led to a severe sanction. After reviewing the lawyer's track record, the Grievance Committee of the Southern District of New York decided to suspend Liebowitz until further order. That order was just the start though. While Liebowitz continued to be active as a lawyer elsewhere at a lower frequency, his options have become limited as other courts took over the suspension order. Suspensions Spread The Eastern District of New York was once of the first to issue a suspension order based on the Southern District's findings, and federal courts in Tennessee, Colorado, and Illinois followed suit. This week, the appellate division of the New York Supreme Court expanded the suspension even further. Reuters reports that, after reviewing the available evidence, the Court banned Liebowitz from practicing in the State of New York. "Under the circumstances of this case, we conclude that an immediate suspension is warranted. The respondent's misconduct in litigation has at times endangered his clients' prospects of recovery, and put his adversaries to needless expense," the ruling reads. The order specifically references the disrespect Liebowitz has shown in the Berger case, where the lawyer repeatedly misled the court while questioning the authority of District Court Judge Cathy Seibel. The lawyer also misrepresented his grandfather's date of death in that case. 'Recurrence is Likely' The disbarred lawyer indicated that he has learned from his mistakes. However, the appellate court is not convinced and points out that he minimized his wrongdoing by framing it as "sloppiness" and "administrative failures." As such, future missteps can't be ruled out. "The existing record from the Southern District supports its conclusion that, given respondent's history of repeated disregard for court orders, recurrence of his misconduct is likely. "We find that the respondent has engaged in conduct immediately threatening the public interest and his immediate suspension from the practice of law is warranted," the appellate court adds. The Court's order, which is signed by five judges, suspends Liebowitz from practicing law in the State of New York, effective immediately. Responding to the decision, Liebowitz's attorney Michael Ross told Reuters that his client is "disappointed" that the Court took this measure before the case is fully heard by the Southern District of New York, where the suspension is being opposed. — A copy of the order issued by New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department, is available here (pdf). Photo credit: Liebowitz image by"King of Hearts" (CC BY-SA 4.0) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. ©2021 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company