All articles tagged with #book theft
Four copies of Earl Spencer's unreleased Dutch-language memoir, 'Swan Song: Diana, My Sister,' were stolen from a truck in the Netherlands just days before its global release. The theft occurred while the driver was on a mandatory break, and Dutch police are investigating the incident. The book, which contains controversial claims about King Charles, is scheduled for release on Tuesday.
The article discusses Anthropic's $1.5 billion settlement in a class-action lawsuit over the illegal use of copyrighted books to train AI models, highlighting the broader issue of tech companies stealing creative works and settling for minimal penalties, which undermines copyright laws and ethical standards.
Filippo Bernardini, a con artist who impersonated editors and agents to steal over a thousand manuscripts, including from high-profile authors like Margaret Atwood and Ethan Hawke, has been sentenced to time served after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud. Bernardini avoided prison on a felony charge that carried up to 20 years in prison. He apologized for his actions in an emotional letter to the judge, offering insight into his motivations. Bernardini will be deported from the U.S. and has agreed to pay $88,000 in restitution to Penguin Random House.
Filippo Bernardini, a former publishing employee who stole over 1,000 unpublished book manuscripts, has been ordered to pay $88,000 in restitution to Penguin Random House and to be deported. Bernardini impersonated publishing professionals to obtain the manuscripts, but it is unclear how he intended to profit from them. He pleaded guilty to the fraud case and has been living under pretrial supervision in Manhattan. Federal prosecutors had asked for a prison term of at least one year, but he was sentenced to time served.