News24.com | Delete that PDF! Legal action awaits those illegally sharing De Ruyter ebook

Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom by André de Ruyter. (Penguin Random House SA)

• André de Ruyter's new book Truth to Power has leaked online.
• De Ruyter said that in South Africa anything related to Eskom is 'prone to being stolen'.
• Penguin Random House SA will take legal action against those illegally sharing the book.

Just days after its release, a PDF copy of André de Ruyter's tell-all memoir is being shared on WhatsApp.

Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom, published by Penguin Random House SA (PRHSA), has been two years in the making and was kept top-secret until it hit the shelves on Sunday.

Now all that hard work is being impacted by individuals illegally sharing a PDF version of the book among friends and family online.

PRHSA put out a statement online in which is said it would be taking legal action against those illegally distributing the book.

"Penguin Random House is appalled by the illegal distribution of a pirated PDF of Truth to Power by André de Ruyter, which is being disseminated on WhatsApp Messenger. The distribution of pirated copies infringes our copyright as well as that of the author, and it is unlawful in terms of the Copyright Act of 1976," the statement read.

The publishing house added, "We wish to make clear to the public that the only way to obtain an ebook legally is to buy it from an ebook retailer or to borrow it from an authorised ebook library. Any copying or distribution of a pirated ebook, or any forwarding of a link to the pirated ebook, is unlawful. We will take legal action against individuals who are circulating pirated copies, which may include criminal complaints once we have collected all the necessary information."

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De Ruyter also added his dismay with the book being distributed illegally, "It seems in South Africa anything related to Eskom is prone to being stolen."

Steve Connolly, CEO of Penguin Random House SA, told News24, "Sharing pirated books hurts everyone who works in the bookselling and publishing industries. Buying a book won’t hurt you, but supporting pirated copies will hurt authors."

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