German Publishers File Criminal Complaint Against Two News Sites For Mentioning Name Of Unauthorized Ebook Site
from the really-now? dept
We know that some legacy players who rely too heavily on copyright law seem to react negatively to any discussion of unauthorized distribution of files, but a group of German book publishers have apparently taken this to the next level. As highlighted on TorrentFreak, they've resorted to filing criminal complaints against two news websites, Der Tagesspiegel and Zeit.de, for publishing an interview with the creators of a website called Boox.to, which offers up unauthorized downloads of ebooks. Again, this is not the unauthorized site itself they filed the complaint over, but rather news websites for daring to name the site in the interview that was done.“With the direct and multiple naming of the Internet address the reader is immediately aware of the illicit supply of the website. With regard to objective journalistic reporting there was no need for direct nomination,” the publishers write in their complaint.Of course, this raises the obvious retort: if publishing an interview helps make a "broad mass" of people more "aware of the site," what do they think filing a really stupid and ridiculous lawsuit against these websites will do?
“The publication of the Website and its Internet address immediately enabled a broad mass of readers to become aware of the site. The reader is also indirectly encouraged to take advantage of the offer, taking advantage of the illegal site that has been highlighted by the play of the interview.”
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: copyright, criminal, germany, journalism, publishing
Companies: boox.to
Reader Comments
The First Word
“Jello Biafra already nailed this one...
For every prohibition you create, you also create an underground.-- Jello Biafra
Copyright is a prohibition...
-- Me
Any questions?
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Never heard of TorBoox
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Logic rules!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Pronounced Shtraisandeffect
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Response to: blaktron on Aug 30th, 2013 @ 1:38pm
Lawception.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Why, I bet they think a lawsuit will chill others!
Anyhoo, REAL QUESTION is: Why do certain other people WISH to publicize websites listing unauthorized ebooks? Because so long as pirates keep pushing and trying to make it impossible for the creators to be rewarded, there's going to be PUSHBACK.
Biggest lie in fewest words: "a few pirates"!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Why, I bet they think a lawsuit will chill others!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Why, I bet they think a lawsuit will chill others!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Why, I bet they think a lawsuit will chill others!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Why, I bet they think a lawsuit will chill others!
No didn't think so.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Why, I bet they think a lawsuit will chill others!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Why, I bet they think a lawsuit will chill others!
It a rhetorical question whose answers are obvious to anyone with a functioning sentient brain. I'll supply it for you since you're clearly an exception to that group - the lawsuits publicise the sites even more than the original articles did. This is a predictable outcome to anyone who used their time to understand the effect described as the "Streisand Effect" rather than wasting their time trying to attack it because they harbour a bizarre obsession with attacking the man who named it.
"Anyhoo, REAL QUESTION is: Why do certain other people WISH to publicize websites listing unauthorized ebooks?"
There's a large number of real answers to that question that have nothing to do with your beloved fantasies. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the fact that mentioning something isn't "publicising" it (unless you think that the US media is actually Al Qaida's marketing arm - actually, a good case can be made for that!), the fact that there would be a huge violation of rights if people can be prosecuted for merely mentioning a lawbreaker, etc.
But your stupidity and obsession won't let you address some very obvious points. You have to tilt at those windmills instead.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jello Biafra already nailed this one...
-- Jello Biafra
Copyright is a prohibition...
-- Me
Any questions?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ms Streisand may have pioneered the thing but Germans took it to the next step.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]