GOP Politician and Attorney Accused of Being a “For Dummies” Book Pirate
Over the past several years publisher John Wiley has been tracking down alleged pirates of its ‘For Dummies’ series in order to settle for a few thousand dollars. While many of its targets fade into obscurity as yet another statistic in the piracy war, a rather interesting one has now risen to prominence. GOP elections commissioner Ralph M. Mohr says he’s innocent and intends to put up a fight to clear his name.
Following in the footsteps of the RIAA, dozens of porn publishers and lesser-known movie studios, in 2011 John Wiley and Sons became the first book publisher to chase down alleged file-sharers in the United States.
The company has filed well over a dozen lawsuits in U.S. courts, together targeting hundreds of so-called John Doe defendants. Wiley is famous for its “For Dummies” series of books and the defendants in these actions are all accused of downloading or sharing the titles without permission.
Wiley attorney William Dunnegan previously told TorrentFreak that the company’s approach has three aims – to educate, obtain settlements, and prevent further infringement of the company’s products.
While it’s not possible to say how many of Wiley’s targets have chosen to settle, there are some that dig in their heels and refuse to pay up. As reported here in 2012, at least three Doe defendants were named by Wiley, with the company threatening to take their cases to jury trial.
One of those was the innocuous-sounding Ralph Mohr, but throw in a previously-unlisted middle initial, and one discovers that far from being just another defendant primed to be squeezed for a few thousand dollars, this one has public standing.
Ralph M. Mohr is a Republican commissioner on the Erie County Board of Elections. According to Wiley, the politician is also guilty of pirating one of their books, Essential Calculus For Dummies.
[Story Continues Here]