Settlement Halts Pirates

by Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 10/3/2005

Three textbook publishers have reached a settlement in two lawsuits, first brought in 2004, to stop the unauthorized copying and distribution of their textbook solution manuals through eBay.

One lawsuit was filed by John Wiley and Pearson Education in November 2004 against an individual who was selling unauthorized copies of textbook solutions manuals—books that supply answers to textbook questions for the instructor—on CD-ROMs through eBay and Half.com. At the same time, Wiley and Pearson were joined by Thomson in filing a second complaint against another individual to halt a similar practice.

The publishers' lawyer, Nancy Wolff, of the firm Wolff & Godin, said the settlement requires the defendants to pay an undisclosed amount to the publishers and to permanently cease the unauthorized advertising and sale of plaintiff's solutions manuals, online or offline. Wolff said it was important for publishers to have copyright compliance staff monitor sites like eBay.

"We've seen everything from unauthorized photos to textbooks offered online in this way," said Wolff. "ISPs are are required to remove unauthorized materials, and we worked closely with eBay to identify the offending material and have it removed."