US law enforcement isn't just interested in shutting down video pirates. The feds have charged two Russian nationals, Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova, for allegedly running the pirate e-book repository Z-Library. The site was billed as the "world's largest library" and held over 11 million titles, many of which were bootleg versions stripped of copyright protections.The pair was arrested in Cordoba, Argentina at the US' request on November 3rd. The American government disabled and seized the public Z-Library site at the same time. Napolsky and Ermakova each face charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and wire fraud.As TorrentFreakexplains, it's not clear how central Ermakova and Napolsky were to Z-Library. While the indictments only cover activity starting in January 2018, FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll said the two had been running a pirate site for "over a decade." Z-Library is still accessible on the dark web and responding to email.The pirate bookshelf's social media presence contributed to its undoing. Ars Technicanotes The Authors Guild complained to the Office of the United States Trade Representative after a "#zlibrary" hashtag started trending on TikTok, with over 19 million views. Students and other users were touting Z-Library as a way to get textbooks and other course material for free.As with many pirate site shutdowns, this isn't likely to be a permanent blow. The Authors Guild pointed to alternatives like Libgen when it... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2022-11-17 21:44:09 UTC ]
A membership survey, contract initiative, and a dues hike are part of the organization's new program. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Authors Guild says median income for members has fallen 24% in five years, with piracy, Amazon and publishing economies contributing to slump in earningsThe earnings of more than half of American authors fell below the US federal poverty level last year, according to a survey from the Authors... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
"Just as portable paint tubes revolutionized the act of making art for painters like Monet and Renoir, the digital revolution is transforming the art book," writes critic Carol Strickland. The author of a digital book for iPad on impressionism in Erudition's Masterpieces of Art series,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Author protest group Authors United is asking authors to sign a letter to the US Justice Department, asking it "to examine Amazon's control of the book market." The letter has been drafted with the help of the Authors Guild. Meanwhile both the American Booksellers Association and the Association... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Citing a major uptick in Internet piracy, the Authors Guild has urged Congress to require ISPs to monitor and filter the Internet for pirated works. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Authors Guild is asking bestselling authors to push back against the industry's reigning 25% ebook royalty rate "on behalf of all authors, as well as themselves.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
How do you brand the digital book of the future? 50% old school, 50% new school.From a design standpoint, Kindle books aren't radically different than their print counterparts. Letters are rendered in pixels rather than ink, and are somewhat adjustable. But otherwise, a digital a book is the... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Authors Guild has outlined some of the "egregious terms" of current contract boilerplates it plans to address in its Fair Contract Initiative, first announced May 28 during BookExpo America. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Authors Guild of America has launched a Fair Contract Initiative to “address the major inequities in many boilerplate contract terms today” and educate authors on what terms they can negotiate on. The initiative, announced on Friday (28th May) at BEA, aims to “restore balance to the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
At this year's BookExpo America, the Authors Guild is rolling out its Fair Contract Initiative, a series of commentaries it will publish in the coming months that take a "fresh look at the standard book publishing contract." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-05-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Writers are contributing to the fall in their incomes by penning free pieces for large companies in the hope that it will raise their profile and lead to book sales, Roxana Robinson, president of The Authors Guild, has told The Bookseller. She also said that Amazon was devaluing books and writing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
At Addicting Info Nathaniel Downes makes the case that Fifty Shades of Grey is based on 'a flagrant violation of copyright laws.' The post Fifty Shades of Copyright Infringement? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
After suffering two major defeats in its legal battle with Google’s library scanning partners, the Authors Guild this week finally ended the litigation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
On his blog, Paul Aiken, former executive director of the Authors Guild, revealed that he has found success in using corticosteroids to combat his ALS/MND symptoms. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Google’s effort to scan and digitize millions of library books violates copyright law and deprives authors of licensing fees, royalties and sales, a lawyer for the Authors Guild told an appeals court in New York yesterday (3rd December). The Authors Guild has taken its battle with Google over... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Authors Guild, hoping to upend the 2013 decision favoring Google in its lawsuit over the company's library book scanning project, presented oral arguments in court, on Wednesday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Amazon and Hachette Book Group have resolved their dispute over ebook prices and physical book sales with a multiyear agreement in the U.S., ending a standoff that cut off availability of some of the publisher's books by the online retailer and stirred up ugly PR for Amazon.The deal will take... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Mary Rasenberger, a lawyer and six-year Copyright Office and Library of Congress veteran, will take over as executive director of the Authors Guild on November 3. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Ikea's parody of Apple marketing -- the ad that gushes over the eternal battery life and instantaneous page loading of the Swedish retailer's ordinary paper catalog -- has gone viral. ("It's not a digital book, or an ebook it's a bookbook.")Created by BBH Asia Pacific for Singapore and... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Dutch publishers have failed in their efforts to immediately close down ebook reselling site Tom Kabinet.The Amsterdam District Court ruled Monday that the reseller can stay in business, after the Dutch Publishers Association (DPA) filed a preliminary case at the beginning of July to urgently... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this