"Russian Duo Indicted Over E-Book Piracy"

Recently, a Russian couple has been indicted for allegedly running one of the world’s biggest e-book piracy websites.  Anton Napolsky, 33, and Valeriia Ermakova, 27, both of St Petersburg, were arrested on November 3 in Cordoba, Argentina, at the request of the US authorities, according to the Department of Justice (DoJ).  The DoJ claimed they ran Z-Library, the self-styled “world’s largest library,” containing 11 million e-books for download.  Online since 2009, the site offered e-books in various file formats stripped of copyright protections, in violation of US law.  It also encouraged users to upload their own titles.  According to court documents, the Z-Library also operated a complex network of 249 linked web domains, all of which have now been taken offline and seized by the US authorities.  The FBI stated that the defendants are alleged to have operated a website for over a decade whose central purpose was providing stolen intellectual property in violation of copyright laws.  The FBI noted that intellectual property theft crimes deprive their victims of both ingenuity and hard-earned revenue.  The Russian duo has been charged with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud, and money laundering, which can carry lengthy sentences in the US.  The FBI noted that the defendants profited illegally off work they stole, often uploading works within mere hours of publication, and in the process, victimized authors, publishers, and booksellers.

Infosecurity reports: "Russian Duo Indicted Over E-Book Piracy"