Labor party activist sued for disseminating pirated copy of Netanyahu’s memoir
Publishing company files lawsuit against political campaigner who shared digital copy of book while criticizing former PM
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The Sella Meir publishing company on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against a Labor party campaigner for allegedly disseminating pirated copies of a new memoir by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu’s new book, “Bibi: My Story,” was published on Tuesday.
The lawsuit claims the center-left party worker spread a digital copy of the book online while criticizing Netanyahu.
The defendant, who was not named in reports, allegedly posted a copy of the book in a Labor party WhatsApp messaging group.
A screenshot of one of the messages said, “I’m attaching here the book that is full of fabrications by he who caused and is causing the greatest damage to the nation of Israel in its land since the destruction of the Second Temple.”
It was not clear how the defendant had obtained a copy of the book.
“Attempts to cause financial harm to the author or publisher are not acceptable to us,” publisher Rotem Sella said.
“Copyrights enable the existence of an open market of ideas and should be above political disputes,” Sella said.
He said the company would continue to file lawsuits against those who illegally distributed the book.
Copyright law stipulates fines of up to NIS 100,000 ($28,260) for distributing pirated material, without requiring any proof of damage.
Channel 12 reported that a PDF file of the book had been disseminated on the WhatsApp and Telegram messaging apps and on social media.
In the book, Netanyahu details his military and political careers, with a particular focus on the succession of United States presidents with whom he has interacted.
The Times of Israel Community.