How should you deal with plagirism...

[mjm202036]

I received recently through the feedback button on my profile notice that my Lustful Summoning series has been published (as in printed) and being sold under another authors name. These stories are identical (from what I read in the PDF file) to the ones I've posted here on Literotica. I've sent a private message to Laurel about it, but not heard anything since. Does anyone else have a suggestion how I might be able to take care of this, or should I let Literotica deal with it?

mjm202036

 

[unsureofherself]

I'm afraid I have no experience or advice to give you, but just wanted to say how truly terrible that is and that I hope you manage to get it sorted to your satisfaction

 

[Vixandra]

Get a lawyer.

If you wrote it, then its yours and you should be getting any and all financial gain plus compensation for it being stolen.

 

[pplwatching]

My Lustful Summoning series has been published (as in printed) and being sold under another authors name.

My guess is that the publisher isn't aware that your stories exist. These days, almost everything is copyrighted the moment it is written, and no copyright notice is required. In the 90s in the USA commercial copyright violation involving more than 10 copies and value over $2500 was made a felony. If the author only made a couple hundred dollars, your recourse might be limited.

http://www.literotica.com/faq/05235347.shtml#05319452 says "While Literotica is not in any way required to enforce your copyright for you, you are granting us the right to do so if we become aware of anyone using your story without your explicit consent." I read that to mean that if you want your copyright enforced, it's up to you to do it.

What outcome do you want to see? Whether or not you want (or can afford) an attorney is up to you. Sending the publisher a registered letter informing them of your claim to the work, documentation that it is yours, and a link to your author's profile page showing the date that you submitted the work may be sufficient to negotiate some sort of payment from the publisher.

Good luck

 

[NippleMuncher]

Brush up on copyright laws to find out whether or not your works here are considered "published" or not. I know that if you have your own website, that web content is considered your property. I suspect that if you can prove your content here is your own, through file dates on your own computer as well as your Lit user ID, courts will also decide in your favor, but then rational thought has nothing to do with the legal system.

Find yourself a copyright attorney and find out for sure if you've got a case or not.

On a more positive note, if your works have been stolen by others and published, that would mean that a publisher out there seems to think your work has some value, you may want to pursue publishing your works for yourself and reap the benefits of your efforts.

 

[SweetErika]

\

What outcome do you want to see? Whether or not you want (or can afford) an attorney is up to you. Sending the publisher a registered letter informing them of your claim to the work, documentation that it is yours, and a link to your author's profile page showing the date that you submitted the work may be sufficient to negotiate some sort of payment from the publisher.

Good luck

Good advice.

I believe what you want to send the publisher is a "cease and desist" letter. Here's a free template for copyright violations. I'd suggest sending it on quality paper w/ a letterhead in a manila envelope, and including copies of your evidence. Tell them you need a reply by such-and-such a date, and follow it up with phone calls.

 

[culloden]

I spend $90/year to belong to The Author's Guild (IRL, I'm a writer). For that money, they provide legal advice regarding publishing issues, and the staff attorney will write letters to publishers on your behalf.

 

[cloudy]

I wouldn't worry about someone ripping you off if your stories are spelled as badly as your thread title.

Plagiarism is spelled this way.

 

[mjm202036]

I wouldn't worry about someone ripping you off if your stories are spelled as badly as your thread title.

Plagiarism is spelled this way.

Thanks, cloudy, for showing how much you care if someone steals work from someone and claim it as theirs. True, I may have a few misspellings in my stories (and the title of this thread), but it's still my work, that I spent a lot of time on, and I believe that gives me the right to have my name on it. My misspellings does NOT give anyone the right to steal the stories and claim them as theirs.

Everyone else, thanks for the helpful suggestions.

 

[cloudy]

Thanks, cloudy, for showing how much you care if someone steals work from someone and claim it as theirs. True, I may have a few misspellings in my stories (and the title of this thread), but it's still my work, that I spent a lot of time on, and I believe that gives me the right to have my name on it. My misspellings does NOT give anyone the right to steal the stories and claim them as theirs.

Everyone else, thanks for the helpful suggestions.

It happens to just about everyone eventually, you're far from the first, and certainly won't be the last...but how is complaining about it on the How To board going to fix anything?

If you haven't filed a legal copyright there's not a damn thing you can do other than complain to the hosting service.

Life isn't fair. *shrug* Your parents should have told you that.

 

[mjm202036]

It happens to just about everyone eventually, you're far from the first, and certainly won't be the last...but how is complaining about it on the How To board going to fix anything?

If you haven't filed a legal copyright there's not a damn thing you can do other than complain to the hosting service.

Life isn't fair. *shrug* Your parents should have told you that.

Why bless you, cloudy, for showing your uncaring attitude. By the way, you should look up your copyright laws a little better. Stories (even erotica) posted online are still covered by copyright laws; so your suggestion of just let it go is wrong.

 

[Sanichi]

Do you know in which country the plagiarised work was published? It might prove difficult and costly to pursue any action, even if your case is as strong as the evidence suggests. In any event, the amount of damages would be negligible, since your original work was freely available. Even if the result is a cease and desist order on the plagiarised work, a successful suit will be an expensive way to gain such small satisfaction.

Cloudy is blunt if not uncaring, but it probably is best to let this go. Try sending the publisher a sample of your other work, since they like it so much.

 

[cloudy]

Why bless you, cloudy, for showing your uncaring attitude. By the way, you should look up your copyright laws a little better. Stories (even erotica) posted online are still covered by copyright laws; so your suggestion of just let it go is wrong.

Oh, for fuck's sake...

Yes, it's covered by copyright, however, I'd love to see you try to take it to court without formally filing. Good luck with that.

I'm trying to convey real world facts. If you prefer to live where the trees are made of chocolate and the rivers are cherry soda, be my guest.

 

[ljtoy]

Copyrights, shirt tails, legwork and the mouth piece Lawyer

Using the others publisher is a most excellent way to lauch a writing carrer. Do it! Threaten, but only with a copyright lawyers representation. IF IT IS YOURs then all the benefits will fall into place. Never, never, never accept a settlement; that IS acceptance that others will now copy. Do not threaten, only, and I stress this, be utterly cordial. To log in and to join a group of fellow writers such as here, is an indication of content ownership and acceptance under all applicable laws of the land.


ljtoy

Brush up on copyright laws to find out whether or not your works here are considered "published" or not. I know that if you have your own website, that web content is considered your property. I suspect that if you can prove your content here is your own, through file dates on your own computer as well as your Lit user ID, courts will also decide in your favor, but then rational thought has nothing to do with the legal system.

Find yourself a copyright attorney and find out for sure if you've got a case or not.

On a more positive note, if your works have been stolen by others and published, that would mean that a publisher out there seems to think your work has some value, you may want to pursue publishing your works for yourself and reap the benefits of your efforts.

 

[jakereeder22]

Msnssjdjdifn

 

[faulknerlovr]

LAWYER UP.

After you talk to a lawyer, be sure to compile all the proof you have that these stories were originally written by you (preferably whatever proof you have that you wrote them before the stories were published by the other author). The lawyer will send a cease and desist letter for you--it works better coming from a lawyer than someone without a law degree. If this doesn't work, the lawyer will probably sue after he has reviewed your case. Be sure to get one that has experience in copyright infringement.

 

[Noira]

Everything is copyrighted the moment that it is created. The post date indicates when it was published being prior to the date of the print publication. Yes, it counts as published on the internet... yes, it counts as plagerized! Even if you're not up for lawyers and suing you do want to bring this to the attention of the publisher so that they're aware this writer is copying work available online... if they do it once, they'll do it again and inevitably SOMEONE will bring them down.

I'd lawyer up.

Well, no, to be honest--I wouldn't really care all that much because I don't make the things I worry about being stolen freely available online... but y'know.

 

[bisexualsmoker]

Despite all the legalities, shotgun justice might be the only justice that might
scare them off. Even then that might not work.
It'll cost a ton to sue them with little benefit. I'd just go on
writing and publishing your material anyway.
Maybe one day then, the thieves might consider suing you.

 

[Ran4]

Thanks, cloudy, for showing how much you care if someone steals work from someone and claim it as theirs. True, I may have a few misspellings in my stories (and the title of this thread), but it's still my work, that I spent a lot of time on, and I believe that gives me the right to have my name on it. My misspellings does NOT give anyone the right to steal the stories and claim them as theirs.

Everyone else, thanks for the helpful suggestions.

Your work hasn't been stolen! It's all digital files. Your copyright has been breached and someone has made money off of your intellectual work.

Confusing stealing with copyright infringement really makes you the bad person here.

 

[sr71plt]

Why bless you, cloudy, for showing your uncaring attitude. By the way, you should look up your copyright laws a little better. Stories (even erotica) posted online are still covered by copyright laws; so your suggestion of just let it go is wrong.

Umm, no. In the United States you can't get a court date unless you hold formal copyright (applied and paid for a formal registration and received it). We go over this about monthly on the forum.

The fault of misunderstanding this isn't yours; it was the way U.S. law was purposely set up (the United States has always supported free use when it can--and it doesn't want the courts clogged up with copyright cases anyway). The United States only reluctantly (eventually) signed the Berne Convention, which grants copyright upon creation. And then the U.S. didn't change its existing laws (which supersede international conventions in the U.S. Courts). Under U.S. law, you can't get a court date without holding a formal copyright. So, there are no teeth in the "copyright upon creation" principal in the United States.

If you haven't filed and received formal copyright registration and the author who stole it has, it's legally theirs in the United States. This is a risk you have shouldered by posting it to an open, free-use Internet site.

By all means consult a copyright lawyer (if you can find one--just any old lawyer won't do). Such lawyers aren't cheap, though--certainly a lot more than filing for formal copyright yourself. If someone's listed as an entertainment lawyer, they can probably advise you well too.

 

[Sanichi]

@ sr71plt,

This post is more reasoned than some of your comments in the other current thread on this issue, but I have the same problem with your seemingly authoritative dispensing of legal advice. Can you cite any case where the following is true?

If you haven't filed and received formal copyright registration and the author who stole it has, it's legally theirs in the United States.

We still don't know where this (alleged) infringement took place, or indeed whether the work in question is in fact registered in the US - by the thief or the original author - and so alarmist comments of this sort add little to the debate.

@ mjm202036, I see you raised a similar issue almost eight years ago. No luck there, I take it? If you really do feel strongly, write a letter to the publisher, if you haven't already, giving your version of events and await the response. Thirty days is enough, and then follow up with a shorter, stronger letter. The response or lack of it will begin to tell us what we are trying to help you with here.

 

[sr71plt]

@ sr71plt,

This post is more reasoned than some of your comments in the other current thread on this issue, but I have the same problem with your seemingly authoritative dispensing of legal advice. Can you cite any case where the following is true?



We still don't know where this (alleged) infringement took place, or indeed whether the work in question is in fact registered in the US - by the thief or the original author - and so alarmist comments of this sort add little to the debate.

@ mjm202036, I see you raised a similar issue almost eight years ago. No luck there, I take it? If you really do feel strongly, write a letter to the publisher, if you haven't already, giving your version of events and await the response. Thirty days is enough, and then follow up with a shorter, stronger letter. The response or lack of it will begin to tell us what we are trying to help you with here.

After I've already told you that none of these cases make it to court, why would I cite case law for this? Why, if the one who stole the work has the formal copyright, would they bother to open a court case--and, as I noted and the U.S. Copyright office clearly posts, they are the only party who could take it to court. Try a little common sense. Wishful thinking gets you no where but grief.

You, among others, are the one who assumes there is legal relief on this. So you should be the one to provide proof of that--or you should stop making your nonsense suppositions. Cite the case law where anyone in the United States has gotten a judgment in their favor--or even gotten into court--without a copyright registration in hand.

Then let's move on to the chances that someone who has already given the work away for free on a free-use Internet Web site gets anywhere with a case.

The best anyone can do is to try moral suasion on the publisher, distributors, and/or author of the stolen work. (Good luck with that in the erotica field).

Provide a shred of evidence of what you wished the situation was with this--or stop assuming I'm wrong. You are misleading folks and providing false hope--which will lead unnecessarily to frustration and wasted time (and maybe money).

 

[mjm202036]

@ mjm202036, I see you raised a similar issue almost eight years ago. No luck there, I take it? If you really do feel strongly, write a letter to the publisher, if you haven't already, giving your version of events and await the response. Thirty days is enough, and then follow up with a shorter, stronger letter. The response or lack of it will begin to tell us what we are trying to help you with here.

The issue eight years ago was a website that was publishing my stories with no one listed as an author to them. Laurel (or someone with Literotica) contacted the website and took care of the issue. I've still not received a response from PM-ing Laurel about this issue where someone is actually making money off my work via printed/Kindle issued versions of my story.

As for contacting the publisher, and Amazon.com (who's selling the book/Kindle edition), I have received responses from them requesting information and I'm waiting for their response from my sending them said info.

Thanks, Sanichi, for showing some concern, unlike others.

 

[sr71plt]

Thanks, Sanichi, for showing some concern, unlike others.

Oh, all you want to hear on this is concern? If it's false information, it doesn't matter as long as it's concern?

And what makes you think that those of us trying to swim upstream and give you a realistic picture aren't doing it from concern for you?

Geez.

OK, on your own.

 

[Primalex]

Umm, no. In the United States you can't get a court date unless you hold formal copyright (applied and paid for a formal registration and received it). We go over this about monthly on the forum.

Just out of curiousity - what does this mean then:

"When is my work protected?

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."

Source:
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#mywork

The U.S. copyright office itself does not state that the protection starts with a formal registration.



And this document from the U.S. copyright office states that:

"The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently
misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action
in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright."


This does seem to conflict with your statement. Care to elaborate?


Oh, let me add - you asked for the proof of a court date from someone who did not register his material:
http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/1734432/court-date-set-morel-afp

There you go.


Added:
There is the first transcript - for some strange reason nobody seems to care whether this material was registered with the copyright office.
http://www.bjp-online.com/digital_assets/1811/AFP_v_Morel.pdf

If this is next to mandatory for legal claims, why did the court not ask? Or why didn't the defendant's lawyer use this as appeal? Do you think the lawyer of the AFP could have forgotten this "basic knowledge"?