Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany

Re:Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany by CO-VAX on Saturday March 03, 2018 @04:34PM (#16511716)

I just donated $100 to PGLAF because they are fighting the good fight. Their donation page [0] includes "Think of this as a contribution to your grandchildren." However in this instance I think of it as a contribution against publishers (ab)using the justice system much like so-called patent trolls.

> Q: The plaintiff is S. Fischer Verlag, GmbH. Is that the international conglomerate?

> A: Yes, it is part of a family of companies all under single ownership and control or majority stakeholdership, from Germany, reaching around the world. S. Fischer Verlag, GmbH is a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg Holtzbrinck GmbH. Internationally it is known in the US and elsewhere as Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC. Readers in the US know this as Macmillan, which is one of the largest publishers in the US by revenue, and owns many familiar imprints. US readers might also recall that Macmillan was one of four companies accused by the US Dept. of Justice in 2012 of price fixing. The companies eventually settled the antitrust claims, including by giving credits to customers who had overpaid for eBooks.

[0] https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Project_Gutenberg_N...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany by MrBuddyCasino on Sunday March 04, 2018 @04:30AM (#16513948)

I hope you don't mind that I take this opportunity to tell about he GFF, because it is very much related. If you are European and care about freedom rights, there is now an equivalent to the EFF/ACLU, called the "Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte" (short GFF), which translates to "Society For Freedom Rights".

They are mostly lawyers fighting strategic court battles in one of the cheapest country to do so, which in Europe happens to be Germany. This is a cost-effective way to further the cause of human and freedom rights.

If you are upset about

* excessive surveillance

* anti-whistleblower laws

* laws against freedom of information

then consider joining, they need your support to do what they do: https://freiheitsrechte.org/join/

Disclaimer: I'm not involved with the GFF except as a paying member.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany by nabla9 on Sunday March 04, 2018 @09:02AM (#16514752)

European Digital Rights EDRi is the closest equivalent to the EFF in Europe. EDRi is an association of civil and human rights organizations from across Europe. It has existed since 2002.

https://edri.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Digital_Rights

https://edri.org/members/ (EFF from USA is also a member)

GFF is more German centered organization. I don't know how it relates to other German organizations like https://digitalcourage.de/ and https://digitalegesellschaft.de/

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany by MrBuddyCasino on Sunday March 04, 2018 @09:56AM (#16514878)

I have no idea why I never heard of them before, but this is the first time. Thanks!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany by krylon on Monday March 05, 2018 @06:53AM (#16520414)

Thanks for reminding me!

I donated to them last year, guess it's time for another one.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany by _Microft on Sunday March 04, 2018 @04:54PM (#16517013)

> However in this instance I think of it as a contribution against publishers (ab)using the justice system

Enforcing that Project Gutenberg actually respects german copyright law when offering service to german users is abusing the justice system? That's a surprising interpretation of these events, in my opinion.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany by UncleEntity on Sunday March 04, 2018 @08:16PM (#16517972)

> Enforcing that Project Gutenberg actually respects german copyright law when offering service to german users is abusing the justice system? That's a surprising interpretation of these events, in my opinion.

Being a US entity acting 100% legally under US law with no physical presence in Germany but somehow being required to comply with German laws seems a bit abusive to me, in my opinion.

Next time I go trolling because I have karma to burn I suppose I'll have to answer to German hate-speech laws?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany by CO-VAX on Sunday March 04, 2018 @08:47PM (#16518097)

The "publishers" I was implicitly referring to was the plaintiff.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Project Gutenberg blocks access from Germany by oemerax on Monday March 05, 2018 @09:20AM (#16521177)

I can log in from Germany.

[ Parent | on HN ]