Publishers File Suit Against Pirate Site WeLib
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced a major infringement suit today against WeLib, a for-profit pirate site that has made clear its purpose is “to illegally obtain, reproduce, distribute, and profit from works of authorship without regard to the authors, illustrators, publishers, and other creators who own, exercise, license, and make a living from their intellectual property.”
The suit, which was brought by thirteen publishing companies across the trade, educational, and professional and scientific publishing sectors, follows a similar infringement suit against the notorious pirate site Anna’s Archive. Publishers prevailed in that case last month when the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a sweeping default judgment against Anna’s Archive on May 19, levying the maximum statutory damage award for each of the 130 works in the suit and ordering all domain name registries and registrars for Anna’s Archive and all hosting and internet service providers for its websites to disable access to Anna’s Archive and prevent their transfer to anyone other than the plaintiffs. The judgement also directed international providers to stop hosting the site.
Statement from Maria A. Pallante, AAP President and CEO:
“WeLib steals, distributes, and profits from millions of literary, educational, and scientific works from its cowardly locations on the internet, in the process injuring authors, publishers, and the public. Today’s action is part of our ongoing and vigorous response to the mass theft of literary works, which has no place in the modern world and cannot be tolerated.”
Excerpts from the complaint include:
- Defendants have deliberately violated the copyright law of the United States.
- Defendants boast that they have reproduced “an endless collection of literature, research papers, and education materials,” none of which they own or have licensed.
- They claim this stolen collection spans “every genre – from timeless masterpieces to the latest scholarly publications.”
- Through its various websites—including welib.org, welib.st, and welib-public.org (together, the “Website”)—WeLib hosts over 43 million books and 98 million papers. Its stolen collection of literary works has purportedly attracted over 80,000 active monthly users. According to the Website, WeLib’s users have illegally accessed over 51 million books in the last month alone, or an average of over 1.7 million books per day.
- Defendants profit directly from their mass infringement business.
- For the copyrighted content hosted directly by WeLib, download speeds for free users are typically very slow. However, in exchange for a “donation,” users receive “fast downloads” and avoid waitlists. In reality, these “donations” are paid memberships. Given the volume of the pirated files WeLib encourages its users to download, buying this extra download speed is a practical necessity. WeLib accepts payment for these faster downloads through its “Donate” webpage. Its paid subscriptions start at $7 per month for “25 fast downloads per day” and “25 fast reads per day.” On the higher end, for $90 a month WeLib offers “1000 fast downloads per day” and “1000 fast reads per day.”
About Hachette Book Group:
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading U.S. general-interest book publisher made up of dozens of esteemed imprints within the publishing groups Basic Books Group, Grand Central Publishing Group, Hachette Audio, Little, Brown and Company, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Orbit; Workman Publishing; and Running Press Group. We also provide custom distribution, fulfillment, and sales services to several publishing companies.
Our books and authors have received the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Peace Prize, James Beard Award, and other major honors.
We are committed to diversity in our company and our publishing programs, and to fostering a culture of inclusion for all our employees and authors. We are proud to be part of Hachette Livre, the world’s third-largest trade and educational publisher.
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About the Association of American Publishers
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) represents the U.S. publishing industry on matters of law and policy, with a particular focus on the copyright, technology, and freedom of expression issues that make publishing possible. Founded in 1970, AAP regularly organizes and supports litigation that is of existential importance to the greater creative community. AAP’s members include large, small, and specialized publishing houses serving both local and global markets. Together, they inform and inspire the public, one work of authorship at a time.
About the Plaintiffs
Plaintiffs in Apress Media, LLC et al. v. WeLib and Does 1 – 10 include Apress Media, LLC; Cengage Group; Elsevier Inc.; Hachette Book Group, Inc.; HarperCollins LLC; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishing Group, LLC d/b/a Macmillan Learning; Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC; McGraw Hill LLC; Pearson Education, Inc.; Penguin Random House LLC; Simon & Schuster, LLC; Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
The plaintiffs, and other AAP member publishers, publish and curate the important, beloved, and award-winning works of many of the world’s most acclaimed authors as well as leading educators and experts in various educational, scholarly, and scientific fields. They are global leaders who partner with brilliant authors to deliver works that educate, inform, and inspire every type of reader.