US regulation enforcement is not simply serious about shutting down video pirates. The feds have charged two Russian nationals, Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova, for allegedly operating the pirate e-book repository Z-Library. The web site was billed because the “world’s largest library” and held over 11 million titles, lots of which have been bootleg variations stripped of copyright protections.
The pair was arrested in Cordoba, Argentina on the US’ request on November third. The American authorities disabled and seized the general public Z-Library web site on the similar time. Napolsky and Ermakova every face prices of copyright infringement, cash laundering and wire fraud.
As TorrentFreak explains, it is not clear how central Ermakova and Napolsky have been to Z-Library. While the indictments solely cowl exercise beginning in January 2018, FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll stated the 2 had been operating a pirate web site for “over a decade.” Z-Library continues to be accessible on the darkish net and responding to e-mail.
The pirate bookshelf’s social media presence contributed to its undoing. Ars Technica notes The Authors Guild complained to the Office of the United States Trade Representative after a “#zlibrary” hashtag began trending on TikTok, with over 19 million views. Students and different customers have been touting Z-Library as a option to get textbooks and different course materials without cost.
As with many pirate web site shutdowns, this is not more likely to be a everlasting blow. The Authors Guild pointed to options like Libgen when it filed its criticism, and Z-Library itself is carrying on in a restricted kind. It’s a high-profile victory for the anti-piracy camp, nonetheless, and means that different digital e-book pirates might face related authorized motion.
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