Book Publisher Files Mass P2P Lawsuit

Posted 10/31/2011 at 2:42pm | by Ryan Whitwam

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We wouldn't have thought that the “For Dummies” series of how-to books would have been in such hot demand online, but publisher Wiley and Sons has filed a mass p2p lawsuit alleging that its copyrighted work has been infringed. The case, filed in a New York federal court alleges that 27 John Does (identified only by IP address) shared several “dummies” books, although Wiley’s popular “BitTorrent for Dummies” was not on the list.

“Defendants are contributing to a problem that threatens the profitability of Wiley,” the complaint reads. Wiley goes on the say the exact monetary damage cannot be calculated, but it feels remuneration is warranted. Interestingly, Wiley and Sons is taking a more measured approach than movies studios that have employed similar methods in recent years. All 27 defendants are located in New York, and the infringements occurred just a few weeks ago. That avoids many af the pitfalls that have derailed litigation from the movie studios.

Other mass-lawsuits have aimed not at taking defendants to court, but to scare them into paying settlements. it’s not clear if Wiley will get the names behind the IP addresses, or if they will go ahead with court cases. We're frankly a bit perplexed that a copmany which actually sells a book about how to use BitTorrent can do this. How do you feel about this development?