Pirate Site Owner Launches GoFundMe Campaign to Raise Funds to Defend a Piracy Suit
I have disliked Travis McCrea ever since he claimed his earlier ebook site, The Ultimate eBook Library, was protected by the DMCA, but now he is getting on my last nerve.
McCrea has recently been getting a lot of media attention for his current pirate site, eBook Bike (not to be confused with his defunct audiobook pirate site). He’s become quite notorious, so much so that he is now afraid of being sued.
McCrea has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise a defense fund. He lies multiple times in the brief description.
"Let me be clear: At no point have I uploaded content I didn’t own to Ebook Bike," he writes "and I have always ensured that copyrighted material wouldn’t be uploaded (using the same methods and techniques used by YouTube, Facebook, and others)."
That is an utter falsehood; I just (in the past couple minutes) downloaded A Memory Called Empire and Mike Resnick’s Soothsayer. Both books were complete (and both are in copyright, obviously).
McCrea goes on to say "The DMCA is very clear about safe harbour protections and we have jumped through all those hoops. Yet I am still getting sued. What are the point of laws if they can be ignored? "
Yeah, the thing about the DMCA is that it is a US law that provides a safe harbor for US sites. McCrea is Canadian, and thus the DMCA does not apply to him.
McCrea had previously made a similar claim about the DMCA (this is in fact why I dislike him) but he is simply lying to us here. The DMCA only affords US sites a modicum of protection, and no one else. While virtually all sites and hosting companies around the world will respond to DMCA notices, they only do so as a convenience and not because the DMCA applies to them.
Canada has its own version of the DMCA, which went into effect in 2015. It only offers a safe harbor for ISPs so long as they forward takedown notices to accused infringers, and the law offers no protection to McCrea as the operator of a pirate site.
In legal terms, McCrea’s ass has been hanging in the breeze for as long as he has operated his pirate sites, and it is a wonder that it has taken this long for someone to sue him.
Comments
Dilsia March 29, 2019 um 7:33 am
Nate I think the reason it took too long for somebody sue him it’s the inconvenience of being in court. It is a lengthy tedious process and takes time from writing.
Nate Hoffelder March 29, 2019 um 9:52 am
yes, but what about trad pubs? they have the time and resources that authors lack
Samantha A. Cole March 29, 2019 um 6:42 pm
The GoFundMe was taken down!
Nate Hoffelder March 29, 2019 um 6:44 pm
wonderful!
John Van Stry March 31, 2019 um 9:37 pm
The Trad Pubs don’t care. It’s not cutting into their profits enough to justify the expense. They’re primarily aimed at the brick and mortar sales market for physical books anyways.
I’m the guy suing Travis. He heard the rumors and because google searches will turn up filings (because they’re a matter of public record) it came out this weekend that I’ve filed a complaint in US Federal Court. The reason no one else has done it, is because it’s incredibly expensive to sue someone, especially when they live in a foreign country (even if he is an American Citizen).
And while Travis CLAIMS he 'wants to be sued' the little coward is in hiding so he can’t be served.
BTW, if you want to help me pay for my lawyers I started a gofundme yesterday:
https://www.gofundme.com/bring-ebookbike-to-justice
Nate Hoffelder March 31, 2019 um 10:30 pm
ahahahahaha – you’re already halfway to your goal, in under a day
Excellent!
John Van Stry March 31, 2019 um 11:27 pm
My first goal. I suspect I’ll probably have to do another one of these at some point. As I said before, Litigation isn’t cheap.
Bryanna Veatch April 2, 2019 um 7:04 pm
This man has pirated some of my mother in laws books. I don’t care what excuse he has, it is not ok
Paper beats Pixels – paulpens April 26, 2019 um 1:33 pm
[…] book pirates fight back. It beggars belief, but one of the most notorious of them has launched a GoFundMe campaign to pay for his defence against being […]
Ethel February 2, 2020 um 12:45 pm
I am an avid reader and download lots of books…I really enjoyed ebookbike not knowing it was a pirate job!!! Now I hope you can get it all straightened out for the good of all those excellent writers…do so miss the free ebooks though!!!! Good luck with everything!!!!
John Van Stry Wins Suit Against Book Pirate | File 770 April 23, 2020 um 4:32 pm
[…] McCrea created a GoFundMe appeal to raise a defense fund. The Digital Reader’s Nate Hoffelder fact-checked some of McCrea’s claims in a March 28, 2019 […]