• Illegal book download site Oceanofpdf.com has been taken down

    Piracy website Oceanofpdf taken down Published August 1, 2018 by Charlotte Eyre in the UK magazine The Bookseller Oceanofpdf, a website that was giving away pirated e-books, has been taken down. The website, in operation for seven months, had a US domain name and offered users free PDF or Epub downloads of thousands of books, angering […]

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  • CLNZ Contestable Fund 2018 – $75,000 OPEN NOW

    If you’re working on a project that aims to make a positive impact on New Zealand writing and publishing, you should consider applying for a CLNZ Contestable Fund Grant. This year, $75,000 is available to support strategic projects that demonstrate New Zealand publishing sector growth. Each year, a portion of the revenue collected by Copyright Licensing New Zealand […]

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  • NZ writers: ebook piracy website – sample TakeDown notice

    The NZSA is deeply concerned about a website, oceanofpdf.com, which makes available free copies of published books. Many Australian, English and NZ authors’ books are now or may be available for free download, particularly titles which are published internationally. It appears that this website is hosted in the United States. If you find your book is […]

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  • Authors’ fury at website offering free book downloads – writer’s beware!

    Authors including Philip Pullman, Robin Stevens and Maz Evans have reacted angrily to a new website offering free illegal downloads of their books. OceanofPDF.com has a US domain name and offers users free PDF or Epub downloads of many bestselling authors’ books, including eight Philip Pullman titles, 14 books by Malorie Blackman, 11 by Bali Rai […]

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  • CLNZ/NZSA Research Grants 2018 – deadline 4pm, 27 July

    Assisting New Zealand Writers’ research efforts In support of New Zealand writers who wish to undertake research for a fiction or non-fiction writing project, the 2018 Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) and New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Research Grants open for online applications this Friday 22 June 2018. Four grants of $5,000 each are […]

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  • InternetNZ’s Copyright Proposals: Neither Balanced nor Fair

    Internet NZ’s Copyright Proposal: ” Neither Balanced nor Fair ” by Hugh Stephens Hugh Stephens Blog source: shutterstock.com Copyright law is constantly under review–and that is a good thing–although the constant attack on the fundamental basis of copyright is, frankly, getting tiresome and dangerous. Last year Australia’s Productivity Commission undertook a major study of IP Down […]

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  • 5 Seriously Dumb Myths about Copyright the Media Should Stop Repeating… By John Degen – WIPO

    Media coverage of copyright issues can influence policy and legislation around this crucial protection for authors’ rights. Unfortunately, much of that coverage deals in copyright mythology rather than fact. Here is a simple primer debunking five of the most inaccurate myths perpetuated about copyright. 5  “Artists Feel Restricted by Copyright” – Truth: Professional, working artists […]

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  • Copyright Agency takes Government of New South Wales to Copyright Tribunal

    The Copyright Agency in Australia will be taking the Government of New South Wales (NSW) to Copyright Tribunal after it has failed to make proper payment for using copyrighted materials. According to the Copyright Agency these breaches of copyright have taken place over five years and have led to up to 200 million pages of copyrighted material […]

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  • Internet Archive – scans and uploads books en masse – MASS INFRINGEMENTS!

    The Internet Archive is a San Francisco–based nonprofit digital library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more. It seeks donations of hard-copy books from libraries and individuals and then scans, digitises, and offers them for lending and downloading without paying royalties or PLR. Alerts about this website have been posted by the Society […]

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  • Protecting copyright is crucial to fostering creativity

    Protecting copyright is crucial to fostering creativity   Copyright Agency Limited chairman Kim Williams.Picture: Stuart McEvoy The issues of copyright and respect for creators is a great policy challenge in Australian creative life. The rights of creators are under siege on many fronts: • no consideration to who loses out when books, music, TV or […]

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  • Focus on Fair Use: Debunking Copyright’s Snake Oil Salesmen

    Focus on Fair Use: Debunking Copyright’s Snake Oil Salesmen By Keith Kupferschmid,   1 December 2017   I was on the phone last week talking to someone about a potential partnership between our two organizations that could benefit individual creators. We began by exchanging information about our respective organizations. He spoke first, and I followed. After […]

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  • ‘Fair use’ infringes on creators’ property rights

    Illustration: Tom Jellett              ARTICLE BY JOHN BYRON   in The Australian September 20, 2017 If the proposed regime were reasonable, it wouldn’t need to be marketed with such a cute baby panda name. Naming it “fair use” is like calling the harpooning of whales on the high seas a peaceful […]

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