Copyright Infringement on Kindle

[Selena_Kitt]

You might want to check this women's books out - get samples sent to your Kindle (or Kindle for PC if you don't have one) for your book.

She's plagiarized Dr. Mabeuse. And several other Lit stories.

I've contacted Laurel about it as well as Kindle publishing support, but I imagine the more people who complain, the better.

 

[estragon]

The Fucking Thieving Bitch

and I'm being polite! She stole Grand Master Sir_Nathan's masterpiece Culture_Shock! What a miserable wretched piece of shit! Dear Laurel, you may, if you wish, deem this a complaint. I posted a review on Amazon decrying the theft (unless this is an alt of Sir_Nathan, in which case I hope he makes millions). By the way, doesn't the FBI enforce the copyright laws?

 

[sr71plt]

By the way, doesn't the FBI enforce the copyright laws?

It's not criminal law. The FBI gets into intellectual property piracy by those outside the States, but, no, you can't "enforce" a copyright case judgment in the United States until/unless a suit has been taken to court and a judgment levied by the court.

Once again, unless the original authors of this material obtained formal copyright registration in the States, they are out of luck in going to court in a copyright case. Everything short of that is bluff (which often works).

In this case, I think Dr. M. probably has his work predate (before this Elizabeth Summers) published on Amazon.com, so Amazon shouldn't have trouble sorting that one out once contacted. If she's published it there first, though, what proof does Amazon have before it that it's Dr. M's rather than Elizabeth Summers's? They're not going to spend a whole lot of time/effort trying to figure that out--and there would be no legal requirement for them to do so, unless someone dangled a copyright registration in front of their face.

 

[PennLady]

and I'm being polite! She stole Grand Master Sir_Nathan's masterpiece Culture_Shock! What a miserable wretched piece of shit! Dear Laurel, you may, if you wish, deem this a complaint. I posted a review on Amazon decrying the theft (unless this is an alt of Sir_Nathan, in which case I hope he makes millions). By the way, doesn't the FBI enforce the copyright laws?

Good for you for posting a review, but you should PM Laurel about it if you'd like. I don't think Laurel or Manu spend too much time in the forums; I doubt they can.

I don't think any of mine are there, but then I don't write in the categories she's chosen. I thought I did recognize a few titles, though. And geez -- $6.99? LOL Mine start at $4.99 and I've lowered them since. Guess I'm in the wrong genre.

 

[estragon]

SA Penn Lady, Laurel Did Respond to One of My Rants

when I was upset at having been accused of pilfering Grand Master dweaver999's characters and plots (although I over-reacted, as usual). Still, I will pm Laurel. The ease with which e-theft can take place is discouraging.

 

[PennLady]

when I was upset at having been accused of pilfering Grand Master dweaver999's characters and plots (although I over-reacted, as usual). Still, I will pm Laurel. The ease with which e-theft can take place is discouraging.

I understand, and it is easy. I suppose you might be able to prove you wrote it in terms of posting dates, etc., but I don't know.

I was accused of plagiarizing myself when I wrote Numbers Game, which I clearly stated had originally been called Language Barrier and that I had deleted, revised, etc. the story. Then someone posted this:

familiar
This story is very familiar. It was written by another Lit Author and I know that that author was not YOU!!

And of course it was anonymous...

 

[sr71plt]

I understand, and it is easy. I suppose you might be able to prove you wrote it in terms of posting dates, etc., but I don't know.

Posting/publication date isn't proof of originally written date (which is the point of ownership). This might be enough evidence, as I noted above, for Amazon to take action--although they would be somewhat at a risk themselves of the author they pulled coming up with a copyright registration and then successfully suing them--but it isn't proof of anything.

Proof in U.S. law, regardless of the "it's yours as soon as created" wording of the Berne Convention, is holding a formal registration in your hand. The U.S. has done this on purpose. It doesn't want the courts flooded with claims like this.

 

[oggbashan]

...

Proof in U.S. law, regardless of the "it's yours as soon as created" wording of the Berne Convention, is holding a formal registration in your hand. The U.S. has done this on purpose. It doesn't want the courts flooded with claims like this.

And perhaps because the US was home to the most flagrant copyright pirates in the world during the 19th and early 20th Centuries. The gov'mnt had to protect "free trade"!

Og

 

[sr71plt]

And perhaps because the US was home to the most flagrant copyright pirates in the world during the 19th and early 20th Centuries. The gov'mnt had to protect "free trade"!

Og

Undeniably. The U.S. talks out of both sides of its mouth on this--always has. It's always been for free access of everyone else's media and protection of its own.

That's reality, though. Porn ranks pretty low in its concerns.

 

[PennLady]

Posting/publication date isn't proof of originally written date (which is the point of ownership). This might be enough evidence, as I noted above, for Amazon to take action--although they would be somewhat at a risk themselves of the author they pulled coming up with a copyright registration and then successfully suing them--but it isn't proof of anything.

Proof in U.S. law, regardless of the "it's yours as soon as created" wording of the Berne Convention, is holding a formal registration in your hand. The U.S. has done this on purpose. It doesn't want the courts flooded with claims like this.

No, I didn't think it was proof, just thought it was something on an author's side. There's a formal copyright on my ebooks...guess I should think about the others.

 

[oggbashan]

Undeniably. The U.S. talks out of both sides of its mouth on this--always has. It's always been for free access of everyone else's media and protection of its own.

That's reality, though. Porn ranks pretty low in its concerns.

I know that even if I went through all the procedures required to establish my copyright in the US, it wouldn't stop someone stealing my work.

Even if I spent millions of dollars trying to protect my copyright, someone could still steal it.

In practice it is exactly the same in the UK but my copyright is recognised. Even here that means nothing unless I'm willing to spend money on expensive and ultimately useless lawyers.

Og

 

[sr71plt]

I know that even if I went through all the procedures required to establish my copyright in the US, it wouldn't stop someone stealing my work.

Even if I spent millions of dollars trying to protect my copyright, someone could still steal it.

In practice it is exactly the same in the UK but my copyright is recognised. Even here that means nothing unless I'm willing to spend money on expensive and ultimately useless lawyers.

Og

no, formally copyrighting your material isn't going to stop someone from stealing it. It's for redress if they do--and if you want to take the time and effort to pursue them.

 

[oggbashan]

no, formally copyrighting your material isn't going to stop someone from stealing it. It's for redress if they do--and if you want to take the time and effort to pursue them.

And can afford it.

If they have no money, there's no point. If they are in a different country, you might as well set fire to a pile of your own money. That would be cheaper.

I have legal insurance that could pay for the lawyers, except that the terms of the insurance specifically exclude pursuing people with no or little assets even if I was likely to win.

Og

 

[Jake Marlow]

This is happening so often now that people can't be shocked when they are ripped off. If you're going to post on Lit, take for granted there is a chance (maybe a good chance) someone is going to skim your story and try to sell it on Amazon. It's why I've removed most of my stories from here. I'm only keeping up the most recent ones, for the most part.

When this happened to me last summer, I went through Amazon's entire process for having something pulled, trying to use my Lit member's page as proof I'd "published" this work before "Louise Taylor" ripped it off, and they did nothing. I doubt they will do anything for Laurel and Manu either, as they have even less standing than the author to file a complaint.

I copyrighted my website, containing all my stories, last summer, but that doesn't do anything for what I've written since. At $35 a pop, it could get expensive to copyright everything you post if you're prolific. And there's no way it's financially worth it. What damages can you prove for something posted for free? By the time you hire a lawyer to sue, and then subpeona Amazon for sales info, you've spent way more money than you'd ever get back.

It all sucks, but it's the reality of the situation.

 

[estragon]

It's Useless, I Suppose

but I'm still angry that some thieving bitch can get away with it. And Og, of course you're right, 150 years ago the United States was to intellectual property what China is today. Dickens was pilfered left and right, and Gilbert and Sullivan had to do a special performance of Pirates of Penzance here first in order to obtain copyright. What galls me is that someone can build an architectural and environmental monstrosity, and the courts will protect his rights forever, but if an author writes a story that changes the world, any thief can steal it with impunity.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I copyrighted my website, containing all my stories, last summer, but that doesn't do anything for what I've written since. At $35 a pop, it could get expensive to copyright everything you post if you're prolific.

I believe you can copyright things in blocks. So you could copyright "total works of 2010" etc. Saves a little money.

 

[manyeyedhydra]

Wow, someone's been busy with the Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.

How does that work with Dr M's "A Good Student"?

There's the excessica version by Elliot Mabeuse dated Aug 25 2008 and the rip off version by Elizabeth Summers dated Jul 30 2010.

Assuming they're the same text, I don't really see how there can be much defence for Summers at all, even with bone-headed copyright laws. I might be wrong on this, but I'm fairly certain I couldn't post Kraken by China Mieville as Weird Fiction: Kraken by M.E. Hydra and hope to get away with it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Wow, someone's been busy with the Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.

How does that work with Dr M's "A Good Student"?

There's the excessica version by Elliot Mabeuse dated Aug 25 2008 and the rip off version by Elizabeth Summers dated Jul 30 2010.

Assuming they're the same text, I don't really see how there can be much defence for Summers at all, even with bone-headed copyright laws. I might be wrong on this, but I'm fairly certain I couldn't post Kraken by China Mieville as Weird Fiction: Kraken by M.E. Hydra and hope to get away with it.

I downloaded the sample; they are identical.

But you could get away with it, if China Mielville didn't have the funds to go after you.

Or, if he never found out-- which is plenty improbable of course, but I have to assume this person convinced herself that no one would... notice?

Really...

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Posted a discussion on the Kindle forums...join in...http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/fo...Thread=Tx2O3JCJGAEMIU4&displayType=tagsDetail

 

[TxRad]

She has my story "Bound". She used the tag line as the title.

How the heck do you get to this, Kindle publishing support. I can't find a link or anything leading to it.

 

[ishtat]

Plagiarism for example could be held as a breach of copyright, but is there a basis under US law for contending that the theft of a whole book is a theft of intellectual property by a criminal fraud, thus bringing it the criminal sphere?

A criminal prosecution for theft (from the buying public, not the author) by fraud may not recompense the author, but it might be interesting to examine the possibility.

Another couple of reasons for not running a civil law copyright case in the USA are firstly, the Courts generally won't award costs against the loser, and secondly, US courts do not recognise "Joint and Several liability" in the same way as they do in UK... very handy if your primary defendant is poor but the secondary one is wealthy.

As with defamation it's often better to run copyright cases in the UK or OZ (if you can) from a plaintiffs point of view.

Selena, She hasn't plagiarised, she has stolen... potentially big difference in law.

 

[estragon]

If You Have an Amazon Account

You can post a review decrying the theft. I did; now let fucking Elizabeth whoever-s/he-is sue me! It would brighten my declining years to get her in a deposition.

 

[harding]

This happened to me with a story of mine - different "author" but same thing. All I needed to do was send a letter of notice to Amazon and the story was pulled immediately. I just noted where and when previous publication took place and they removed the title at once.

I always mistrust erotica that tries to charge this amount of money for what is basically a short story. Thankfully, the sales appear to be lousy, but she has so many titles she's probably making a few bucks each week.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

dtp-support@amazon.com

and

copyright@amazon.com

****

I sent them the following cease and desist for Mabeuse's book:

Attached is a contract with author's e-signature.

This is a link to A Good Student by Elliott Mabeuse:

http://www.amazon.com/A-Good-Student-ebook/dp/B003HS507A/

This is the book infringing Mr. Mabeuse's copyright:

http://www.amazon.com/Adult-Erotic-BDSM-fantasies-ebook/dp/B003XYESZS/

I believe in good faith that the disputed use of the book in question (A Good Student by Elliott Mabeuse) is not authorized by the copyright or intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law. I further declare, under penalty of perjury, that the above information in my notice is accurate and that I am the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf.

Selena Kitt, owner and president, Excessica Publishing
PO BOX XX
XXXXXX MI 48XXX
XXX-XXX-XXXX
publishing @ excessica.com

 

[Stella_Omega]

She has my story "Bound". She used the tag line as the title.

How the heck do you get to this, Kindle publishing support. I can't find a link or anything leading to it.

there's a link down near the bottom of the product page.