HOW TO COMBAT BOOK PIRACY

How You Can Combat Astrology Book Piracy
©8/24/09 by Donna Cunningham, MSW

Pirated copies of hard copy books and original ebooks about astrology are appearing on free ebook sites throughout the internet, including those by many respected authors. Even books that were originally issued in hard copy format only aren’t safe from theft, because pirates laboriously scan books, page by page, and turn them into PDF files.

Book piracy is not only a personal loss; it’s a community issue that can have serious implications for the continued development of our field. It can discourage speakers and teachers from writing books in the first place, with the result that what they’ve learned in the course of their careers is lost to the field as a whole.

I’ve had both hard copy texts and ebooks pirated, and about 100,000 free copies have been downloaded over the past year. By trial and error, I’ve learned how to handle this problem effectively and wanted to pass the method on to colleagues who find their books on these sites. Below are the steps that have been most effective.

DON’T PANIC. Most free ebook sites have copyright compliance officers or other support staff that handle these issues, usually within a couple of days after your request. They may or may not care about the ethics of piracy, but they do want to avoid lawsuits. Approach them in a matter of fact way, rather than being accusatory, threatening, or demanding. Typically, you may feel fear, rage, grief, and indignation about what’s happening. Take time to vent these emotions privately but do not approach the support staff in that tone. These sites have hundreds—if not thousands—of files uploaded daily and do not have staff to verify individual copyrights, only those violations that are reported to them.

SEARCH THE SITE FOR ALL VERSIONS OF YOUR WORK: If one of your books is pirated, there’s a chance others will be uploaded as well. Look for the title as well as your name, and be aware that cagy pirates may shorten the title and misspell your name in order to fool the search engines.

MAKE A RECORD OF THE EXACT LINK(s) WHERE YOUR FILE(s) OCCUR.
You will need it for the copyright officer and also your own records so that you can go back and check to see if the file has been removed. To have an exact link, send yourself an email with it and cut and past the link. (You can also send yourself a copy of the full page, with the date uploaded and number of copies. Keep that email for your records.)

DOWNLOAD A COPY: You might do well to download one copy of the PDF of each book that has been pirated—once the file is removed, you have no proof it was ever there. (The file could also come in handy if that book were ever to go out of print—you might as well get something from the pirate’s handiwork!)

FIND THE SITE’S COPYRIGHT OFFICER: Look at the top, bottom, or side of the page for the link--often in very small print--that says something like copyright policy, copyright protection, removal requests, report violations, or report abuse. Read the policy carefully to learn the procedure.

COLLECT AND SAVE THE REQUIRED INFORMATION: Cut and paste a record of all the information requested, or send yourself a blind copy of the email, including the date of the request. Save it. You will need to return to the site in a few days and from time to time to make sure the file has been removed and that no other copies have been uploaded. Pirates are tricky and very determined.

VISIT THE PROFILE OF THE PERSON WHO UPLOADED THE FILE: This is usually on a link on the same page of the site as the file, though the name is usually a screen name. Include the link with that person’s screen name when you write to the copyright officer. I like to read the profile and sometimes decide to send a message to them. Many are well-meaning but naïve people who do not understand that they are passing along stolen material. I often write to those people, and many of them are chagrinned and promptly remove all the ebooks they aren’t sure are legit.

Others are defiant rebels who consider themselves heroes, and you’re better off not triggering their alert system. If I see that the person has uploaded dozens or even hundreds of files, this is clearly a career pirate. If you report them with proof of the piracy, some sites will remove every one of that offender’s uploads and will ban them from the site. By reporting them, you aren’t just handling your own problem, you’re doing a favor to other authors the thief has victimized.

SEND A NOTE TO THE COPYRIGHT OFFICER: Again, be reasoned and polite, not threatening legal action. They don’t need or want to read about your emotions, and emoting does seem to slow down their response time. What they generally need is proof that you’re the author and copyright owner and that you did not authorize the file. If it was actually copyrighted it through the government copyright office, say so and provide a number if possible. Send yourself a copy of the note also. Here’s a format that generally works well:

For a hardcopy book: “I am ______________, the author and copyright owner of ________________ published in hardcopy by ___________ in (date). A pirated version has been uploaded to your site without my knowledge or permission by ___________ (link to the member who uploaded the file). The book appears at this link on your site: ________________________ and I note that _________ unauthorized free copies have already been downloaded. The book is for sale on my website at __________________ (or the publishers website or on Amazon.com). Let’s work together to get this file removed. You may write to me at ______________.



For an ebook: “I am ______________, the author and copyright owner of the ebook ________________ published by ___________. A pirated version has been uploaded to your site without my knowledge or permission by ___________ (link to the member who uploaded the file). The ebook appears at this link on your site: ________________________ and I note that _________ unauthorized free copies have already been downloaded. The book is for sale on my website at __________________ (or other site where the book is sold on the web). Let’s work together to get this file removed. You may write to me at ______________.


FOLLOW UP: Go back to the site in a few days to see if the file has been removed, and also use the site’s search engine to make sure it hasn’t been reloaded by someone else or the same person with a new screen name. If it hasn’t been removed in a week, write to the copyright officer again with the original date and information. Ask if there’s anything more they need from you as proof of your claim, and again, say, “let’s work together to remove this file.” Bookmark and revisit the site again periodically.


NOTIFY YOUR PUBLISHER: If you need the big guns to get a file removed, write to the Rights Department of your publisher, who will probably pass it along to the chief. Try removing it yourself first for expediency’s sake, then report it. Mine was responsive the first time, but once the file had been uploaded a few times, I believe it left him with the impression that I was more trouble than I was worth. Here, again, emotionality will not serve you!


SCAN THE WEB PERIODICALLY FOR NEW UPLOADS. Once your book has been pirated and uploaded to a free ebook site, there’s a great possibility the pirate or someone else will upload it elsewhere. There are hundreds of such sites, so brew up a pot of caffeine before tackling it. The format that is the most productive at Google or another search engine is: “Your Name” + “free ebook”.


CHECK THE MAJOR FREE EBOOK SITES: Below are some of largest sites that carry free ebooks. Check their on-site search engines for your works:
scrbd - download free pdf
4shared.com - free file sharing and storage
www.torrenthub.org
Torrent Reactor - The most active torrents on the web
ExtraTorrent.com The World's Largest BitTorrent System
Torrent hub Torrent Downloads - NowTorrents
Http www pdf database com - .Pdf & Word Free Ebooks Download


Please remember, these sites do not condone piracy, and all of them have copyright compliance officers. It is simply a service that many authors use to distribute valuable information and also to promote their work through legitimate free ebooks. You will also find classic texts by long-dead authors whose valuable work should be preserved.


SET UP A GOOGLE ALERT: This was suggested by the copyright compliance officer at one of the sites, and it has been a help. Create an alert that says “Your Name” + “free ebook” or, even better, if you’ve published only one book, use “Your Name” +”title of your book,” +“free ebook”.


Just don’t rely on Google alerts alone. They don’t catch everything, can be somewhat tardy in reporting to you and can yield many false positives. For instance it may send you a notice about any site that contains both your name and the words “free ebook,” even if the book isn’t yours. Every time I mention one of my ebooks on my own blog, I get an alert, but for the times it’s reporting a real piracy, it’s worth it.


ADD A COPYRIGHT WARNING TO YOUR EBOOKS AND WEBSITES: It may not deter the career pirate, but it will make the casual copier think twice about the seriousness of piracy:


The FBI Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.


WHAT IF THE BOOK IS OUT OF PRINT? It doesn’t matter—you still have the right to request the free ebook be removed. If the book is out of print for a year, under a standard contract, you can and should get the rights back from the publisher to create a new edition of your own—AND also to deal with situations like these. Don’t allow your book to become what is called an “Orphan Book,” free game for scanning. See: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/06/15/google-to-adopt-millions-of-orphan-books-put-them-to-work?icid=sphere_wpcom_inline.


BE PERSISTANT: Keep at it, even though it’s a major drag. I once was so fed up with the battle that I spaced it out for a couple of months. When I returned to the fray, I found that one of my books had been uploaded and in one month’s time, had over 38,000 free downloads of a $15 ebook. An expensive lesson!


NOTIFY COLLEAGUES WHOSE BOOKS YOU FIND ON THESE SITES: It’s not only a service to them and to your field, you may also be able to join forces to keep an eye on these sites and share tips about how to approach the copyright officers. Also write to your organizations’ newsletters to alert others to the fact that this is occurring and that it is NOT okay. Again, avoid being overly emotional—it turns off possible supporters.


FIND OUT WHAT PROFESSIONAL AUTHORS ARE DOING ABOUT PIRACY. If piracy becomes a persistent issue in your life and is affecting your income, you may want to join forces with mainstream writers. Here are two Yahoo writers’ groups that are joining forces to grapple with this issue: AACT - Authors Against Copyright Theft and AAET - Authors Against e-Book Theft.


RESOURCES: Websites about copyright issues stemming from internet sites:
To detect website content plagiarism, see: http://copyscape.com/respond.php.
Copyright on the Internet - http://www.fplc.edu/tfield/cOpyNet.htm
Copyright information for internet authors and artists.
Intellectual Property Online - http://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property
An exhaustive list of annotated links to patent, trademark and copyright information from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Copyrighting Basics on the Internet - http://www.fplc.edu/tfield/copynet.htm
Outline of the fundamental copyright principles applicable on the internet, by a Franklin Pierce Law Center professor Thomas G. Field, Jr..
(For a longer list of sites addressing copyright issues, see the Google Directory:
http://www.google.ru/Top/Society/Law/Legal_Information/Intellectual_Property/Copyrights/)
wikiHow articles: How to Copyright a Book How to Avoid Copyright Infringement


About the Author: Donna Cunningham is an internationally-respected author of books, articles, and columns about astrology, flower essences and other metaphysical topics. Her insights reflect her dual background in astrology and psychotherapy. She has a Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University and over 40 years of experience. Her ebooks and writing courses can be found at Moon Maven Publications (http://www.moonmavenpublications.com) and her blog about astrology, metaphysics, and writing is at http://skywriter.wordpress.com.

REPOSTED WITH PERMISSION FROM DONNA CUNNINGHAM.
PHOTO CREDIT: beverlysiy@gmail.com