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`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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`JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.,
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`JOHN WILEY & SONS SINGAPORE PTE. LTD.,
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`and JOHN WILEY & SONS, LTD.,
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`BIONIC TURTLE LLC and
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`DAVID HARPER,
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`Defendants.
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`Case No.
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`COMPLAINT
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`DEMAND FOR A JURY TRIAL
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`Plaintiffs,
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`-against-
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`Plaintiffs John Wiley & Sons, Inc., John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd., and John
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`Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (collectively, “Plaintiffs” or “Wiley”) for their complaint against Defendants
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`Bionic Turtle LLC (“Bionic Turtle”) and David Harper (collectively, “Defendants”) allege as
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`follows:
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`NATURE OF THE CASE
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`1.
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`Wiley brings this action in order to stop Bionic Turtle and David Harper from
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`infringing Wiley’s copyrights. Bionic Turtle is selling “study notes” that infringe on 19 of
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`Wiley’s copyrighted works (the “Works”).
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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`2.
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`This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action pursuant to
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`28 U.S.C. § 1331, based on federal question jurisdiction.
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`3.
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`4.
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`This is an action arising under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq.
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`Venue is proper in this district under 28 U.S.C. § 1391. Jurisdiction in this
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`district is proper because Defendants, without the consent or permission of Wiley, copied,
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`Case 1:19-cv-10590 Document 1 Filed 11/15/19 Page 2 of 8
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`distributed, and offered to distribute through and into this district study notes that infringe on
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`Wiley’s copyrighted Works.
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`PARTIES
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`5.
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`Plaintiff John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is a corporation organized under the laws of the
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`State of New York with its principal place of business located at 111 River Street, Hoboken,
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`New Jersey.
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`6.
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`Plaintiff John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. is a corporation organized under the laws of
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`England and Wales with a principal place of business located at The Atrium, Southern Gate,
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`Chichester, West Sussex, England.
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`7.
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`Plaintiff John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd. is a corporation organized under
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`the laws of Singapore with a principal place of business located at 1 Fusionopolis Walk, #07-01
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`Solaris, South Tower, Singapore.
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`8.
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`Defendant Bionic Turtle LLC is a California limited liability company with its
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`principal place of business located at 31042 Hawksmoor Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes,
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`California.
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`9.
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`Defendant David Harper is an individual residing at 31042 Hawksmoor Drive,
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`Rancho Palos Verdes, California and is the sole manager of Bionic Turtle.
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`GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
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`10.
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`John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is a 212-year-old publisher whose publications include
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`physical and digital books, as well as online test preparation courses. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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`and its subsidiaries John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd. and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. publish
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`a broad array of non-fiction works, many of which are geared toward students and lifelong
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`2
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`Case 1:19-cv-10590 Document 1 Filed 11/15/19 Page 3 of 8
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`learners. Wiley’s works are widely available in the marketplace, including from Wiley as well
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`as physical and online bookstores. Wiley also licenses portions of its works.
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`THE WORKS
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`11.
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`The Works concern financial risk management. Wiley published the Works
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`between 2002 and 2018. Each Work is original content created by the individual authors of each
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`Work. The authors have assigned the copyrights -- or granted exclusive licenses -- in the Works
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`to Wiley. The titles of the Works, their ISBNs, the copyright registration numbers, and the
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`identity of the copyright owners/exclusive licensees are set forth in Exhibit A.
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`12.
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`The authors of the Works are well-known in the field of finance or financial risk
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`management. Signing well-known authors in the fields of finance or financial risk management
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`requires extensive negotiations because there are at least 10 other major publishers, and many
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`smaller publishers, who would like to publish their works.
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`13.
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`The content of the Works is also competitive – meaning that there are not many
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`similar books in the market that are written by authors who are well-known in their field. The
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`combination of the field, author, and competitive content of the Works results in valuable books.
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`In this case, many of the Works have list prices between $100 and $200.
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`14.
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`Development of the Works takes place over a 12-18-month period. After the
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`author and Wiley agree on a table of contents for a work, the authors draft manuscripts for the
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`works and submit these to Wiley. Wiley reviews, edits, and provides support in further
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`developing the manuscript, at which points the authors do another round of writing and editing.
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`Upon Wiley’s acceptance of the books, Wiley copyedits, proof-reads, typesets and creates a
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`cover design for the book, among other things. The book is printed and a marketing plan is
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`3
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`Case 1:19-cv-10590 Document 1 Filed 11/15/19 Page 4 of 8
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`developed, which entails advertising, search engine optimization, web development, and
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`branding for the book.
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`15.
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`The authors of the Works are each paid a royalty based on Wiley’s sales of the
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`Works. That means that the authors only realize a financial return if Wiley is able to sell the
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`Works.
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`FRM EXAMINATION PREPARATION
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`16.
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`The Financial Risk Manager (“FRM”) certification is offered by the Global
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`Association of Risk Managers (“GARP”). In order to receive the FRM certification, a student
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`must pass both Parts I and II of the FRM examination. The FRM curriculum consists of topics
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`related to finance and risk management, including market, credit, and operational risk;
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`investment and portfolio management; financial analysis; and more. Wiley licenses many of the
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`Works to Pearson Education Inc., who publishes the FRM curriculum for GARP.
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`17.
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`Bionic Turtle is one of approximately 8-12 significantly sized companies
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`(including Wiley) offering online test preparation products to students who sit for the FRM
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`examination. These companies are trying to capture the business of the approximately 50,000
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`students who enroll annually in a test preparation course prior to sitting for the FRM exam.
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`18.
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`Creating test preparation materials is an arduous process. It involves locating
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`authors versed in the subject matter, contracting with them to prepare appropriate materials, and
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`preparing the materials. Materials include written instruction (including study guides), lessons,
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`online practice examinations, test banks, and explanations of correct answers. Marketing and
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`sales channels, similar to those discussed in Paragraph 14 with regard to books, must be opened.
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`4
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`Case 1:19-cv-10590 Document 1 Filed 11/15/19 Page 5 of 8
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`DEFENDANTS’ INFRINGING CONDUCT
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`19.
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`Bionic Turtle prepares and sells “study packages” that include study notes,
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`instructional videos, questions sets, mock exams, interactive quizzes, and other materials to assist
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`students who are preparing to take the FRM exam. Bionic Turtle charges $399 to $799 for its
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`study packages for Parts I and II of the FRM exam.
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`20.
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`21.
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`Bionic Turtle plainly states that David Harper is the author of the study notes.
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`Bionic Turtle, by David Harper, copied portions of the Works and used them in
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`the study notes without permission. Upon information and belief, David Harper copied portions
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`of the FRM exam curriculum, which includes portions of many of the Works, which were
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`licensed from Wiley by Pearson Education Inc.
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`22.
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`Defendants’ copying of the Works is blatant. There are pages and pages of
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`verbatim copying from the Works. An example of Defendants’ infringement is attached as
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`Exhibit B. The yellow highlighted portions of the exhibit show word-for-word copying from the
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`Wiley Work “Enterprise Risk Management: From Incentives to Controls, 2nd Edition.”
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`23.
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`Indeed, even when the copying is not word-for-word, there are instances where
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`the only differences are minor grammar changes.
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`24.
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`Rather than investing time and money into preparing original content, Defendants
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`stole from the Works. The sheer volume of infringing content in the Bionic Turtle study notes
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`indicates that Defendants knew or should have known that its study notes infringed the Works.
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`25.
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`Upon information and belief, Bionic Turtle distributed the infringing study notes
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`as part of Bionic Turtle’s study packages to thousands of individual purchasers, including
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`purchasers who reside in this district.
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`5
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`Case 1:19-cv-10590 Document 1 Filed 11/15/19 Page 6 of 8
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`FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF
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`Copyright Infringement Under 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq.
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`26. Wiley realleges and incorporates herein by reference the allegations of paragraphs
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`1 through 25 as though fully set forth herein.
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`27.
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`The Works constitute original works and copyrightable subject matter pursuant to
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`the Copyright Act. They have been duly registered by Wiley with the United States Copyright
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`Office and published by Wiley in conformity with the Copyright Act.
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`28.
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`At all relevant times, Wiley has been and still is the owner or exclusive licensee
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`of all rights, title and interest in and to the copyrights in the Works, which have never been
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`assigned, licensed or otherwise transferred to Bionic Turtle or David Harper.
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`29.
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`Beginning on an unknown date and continuing, at least, into November 2019,
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`Bionic Turtle and David Harper infringed Wiley’s copyrights by, among other things,
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`deliberately copying, distributing, and reselling the study notes which included content from the
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`Works for profit, without the permission, license or consent of Wiley.
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`30.
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`Upon information and belief, Bionic Turtle continues to sell the infringing study
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`notes.
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`31.
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`As a result of Bionic Turtle and David Harper’s unlawful and deliberate conduct
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`as set forth above, Wiley has been, and will continue to be, damaged.
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`32.
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`Upon information and belief, Bionic Turtle and David Harper’s unlawful conduct,
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`as set forth above, was deliberate, intentional, knowing, reckless, and willful.
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`33.
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`Bionic Turtle and David Harper’s actions described above have caused and will
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`continue to cause irreparable damage to Wiley, for which Wiley has no remedy at law. Unless
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`6
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`Case 1:19-cv-10590 Document 1 Filed 11/15/19 Page 7 of 8
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`Bionic Turtle and David Harper are restrained by this Court from continuing their infringement
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`of Wiley’s copyrights, these injuries will continue to occur in the future.
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`SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF
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`Vicarious Copyright Infringement Against Bionic Turtle
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`34. Wiley realleges and incorporates herein by reference the allegations of paragraphs
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`1 through 33 as though fully set forth herein.
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`35.
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`36.
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`Bionic Turtle’s study notes have infringed the Works.
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`Bionic Turtle possessed the right and the ability to supervise David Harper’s
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`preparation of the study notes, which constitute a portion of Bionic Turtle’s test preparation
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`materials.
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`37.
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`Bionic Turtle had a direct financial interest in the study notes since it advertised
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`and sold the study notes in all of its test preparation packages.
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`38.
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`The study notes allowed Bionic Turtle to more effectively sell and promote their
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`products by providing customers with more test preparation materials.
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`39.
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`As a result of Bionic Turtle’s unlawful and deliberate conduct as set forth above,
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`Wiley has been, and will continue to be, damaged.
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`40.
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`Upon information and belief, Bionic Turtle’s unlawful conduct, as set forth above,
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`was deliberate, intentional, knowing, reckless, and willful.
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`41. Wiley seeks monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial.
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`JURY DEMAND
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`Wiley demands a trial by jury of all issues triable by jury.
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`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
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`By reason of the acts and circumstances alleged above, Wiley seeks relief from this
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`7
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`Case 1:19-cv-10590 Document 1 Filed 11/15/19 Page 8 of 8
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`Court as follows:
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`A.
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`An accounting and disgorgement of Bionic Turtle’s profits, gains, and
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`advantages realized from their unlawful conduct, including a reconciliation of purchases and
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`sales of the study notes with documents relating to all of the purchases and sales;
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`B.
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`That Defendants be required to pay to Wiley such damages as Wiley has
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`sustained as a consequence of their unlawful acts as alleged above, including actual damages or
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`statutory damages, at Wiley’s election, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 504;
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`C.
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`An order enjoining Bionic Turtle from further infringing upon Wiley’s
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`respective copyrights, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 502;
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`D.
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`That Bionic Turtle be required to deliver up for destruction all study notes and
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`other material infringing on the Works pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 503;
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`E.
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`F.
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`G.
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`For prejudgment interest at the applicable rate;
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`For attorneys’ fees, costs, and costs of suit; and
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`For such other and further relief the Court deems proper.
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`Dated: Hoboken, New Jersey
`November 15, 2019
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`By: /s/ Joseph J. Barker
`Joseph J. Barker
`John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
`111 River Street
`Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
`Phone: (201) 748-7862
`Fax: (201) 748-6500
`jobarker@wiley.com
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`Attorney for Plaintiffs John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
`John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd., and John
`Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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`8
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