Wiley & Sons brings Dummy Lawsuits
BitTorrent suits alleging illegal download of movies, from Hollywood films like The Hurt Locker to accusations of numerous porn downloads, have been in the headlines for months. But film companies aren’t the only ones going after alleged downloaders. Ebook publisher Wiley and Sons has been more quietly suing alleged illegal downloaders as well.
Wiley alleges that John Doe defendants downloaded titles from Wiley’s Dummies series using BitTorrent. Recently, Wiley was awarded a $7,000 default judgment against a defendant who allegedly downloaded WordPress for Dummies. This award breaks down into a $5,000 award for copyright infringement, and $2,000 for trademark counterfeiting—much less than the maximum copyright statutory damages that Wiley requested.
These suits are very similar in strategy to the porn BitTorrent cases—filing suit against numerous John Does identified only by IP address, then subpoenaing information from the ISPs. However, unlike the porn cases, these lawsuits have more or less flown under the radar and have not garnered as much publicity. In one suit, filed in April 2012, Wiley has demanded a jury trial. If the case goes to trial, it will be the first time that evidence relating to BitTorrent and IP addresses is tested by the courts.
Despite the lower settlement demands and smaller risk of embarrassment from an ebook downloading case, those who receive notice from their ISPs that their IP address has been linked to copyright infringement should consult an attorney. If you have any questions about file sharing lawsuits, please contact the attorneys at Antonelli Law Ltd.
For more information about Wiley and Sons ebook download suits:
https://torrentfreak.com/7000-fine-for-sharing-wordpress-for-dummies-on-bittorrent-120702/
https://www.teleread.com/copy-right/john-wiley-sons-wins-default-judgment-in-peer-to-peer-lawsuit/
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About Author
JAntonelli
Jeffrey Antonelli is a member of the federal trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois and is admitted to numerous federal courts around the country. He has been a civil litigator nearly 25 years in a broad range of actions representing corporations and individuals as plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court. Jeffrey has been interviewed by the media many times, including Bloomberg BNA, NBC, The New York Times, Chicago Lawyer, Chicago Tribune, and the longstanding lawyer’s publication Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Prior to forming Antonelli Law Ltd. in 2007 Jeffrey worked for several litigation boutiques in Chicago’s Loop as well as a full service firm. His litigation experience includes hotly contested issues in intellectual property, business, insurance, and consumer fraud. He is an adviser to the Illinois Board of Higher Education Advisory Council for Private Business and Vocational Schools (PBVS), and was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Education Law Section Council from 2012-2013. Jeffrey is especially proud of his work representing hundreds of students defrauded by improperly accredited educational institutions, including as certified class counsel. Before attending law school, Jeffrey was interested first in business, and then in biomedical ethics. These interests led him to graduate from the nation’s largest philosophy department at Loyola University in Chicago, where some of his favorite (and most challenging) subjects were cognitive science and philosophy of science. During college he held positions at the University of Chicago’s Ben May Institute; as a medical assistant for a University of Chicago foot and ankle surgeon; and volunteered in the emergency room at the University of Chicago Hospitals. These experiences led to studying health law at the DePaul College of Law where Jeffrey earned his law degree and a certificate in health law. At that time DePaul’s Institute for Health Law was consistently ranked in the top 10 health law specialty programs nationwide. During law school Jeffrey immersed himself in studying the practical and public policy aspects of health care through internships at the American Medical Association in Chicago, and on Capitol Hill at the Governmental Relations Office of the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, DC. Jeffrey has concentrated in civil litigation throughout his legal career, and is a member of the federal trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois, the Central District of Illinois federal court, and all federal courts of Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. In addition, he is a member of the DuPage County Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. Jeffrey prides himself on his strong personal ideals, passionate, ethical advocacy, and working hard to bring the best possible results for his clients. He also maintains a special interest in cases involving fraud. Whether due to good parenting, his family’s law enforcement employment, undergraduate studies in philosophy including ethics, or a fortuitous outcome of good breeding, one essence of Jeffrey’s character is a drive to root out the truth behind fraudulent practices.