Copyright & lazy crooks

[DreamCloud]

Found 9 of my stories selling on Amazon under different authors, all registered to a single LLC. They were lazy and didn't copy anything that had chapters that needed to be assembled. Looks like a pure copy-paste with all errors intact, crappy formatting with salacious covers.

I've filled out the infringement form for each of them and am waiting for Amazon's response. Hopefully, they won't make me pay for a legal cease & desist.

I posted on Lit to share my hobby. The fact that someone would undermine that sharing and attempt to profit illicitly, burns my backside. Write your own damn books!


Makes me wonder if posting my current work is worthwhile. I know I will. My ego enjoys the emails.

 

[Nezhul]

I suggest you make books on amazon yourself, in addition to posting your story on lit.
On lit in the afterword you can link to your amazon book, in case one of the readers wants to support you.
This way you get extra buck too. And you protect your work.

That's what I'm going to do from now on.

 

[Handley_Page]

Found 9 of my stories selling on Amazon under different authors, all registered to a single LLC. They were lazy and didn't copy anything that had chapters that needed to be assembled. Looks like a pure copy-paste with all errors intact, crappy formatting with salacious covers.

I've filled out the infringement form for each of them and am waiting for Amazon's response. Hopefully, they won't make me pay for a legal cease & desist.

I posted on Lit to share my hobby. The fact that someone would undermine that sharing and attempt to profit illicitly, burns my backside. Write your own damn books!


Makes me wonder if posting my current work is worthwhile. I know I will. My ego enjoys the emails.

You might like to inform Laurel, as well.
She defends her Authors

 

[MindsMirror]

You might like to inform Laurel, as well.
She defends her Authors

Several have reported that may have been true in the past, but isn't really so now. There official sticky forum thread seems to be the most convincing evidence that is the case. http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1055555

We'd started a thread about forming a hit squad http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=1388932, but if Lit isn't protecting us, maybe the best thing to do is self publish and abandon sharing here.

-MM

 

[Bramblethorn]

Found 9 of my stories selling on Amazon under different authors, all registered to a single LLC. They were lazy and didn't copy anything that had chapters that needed to be assembled. Looks like a pure copy-paste with all errors intact, crappy formatting with salacious covers.

I've filled out the infringement form for each of them and am waiting for Amazon's response. Hopefully, they won't make me pay for a legal cease & desist.

There's an easier option. Amazon's policy for self-publishing requires that you offer the cheapest price available for the story. If it's available for free on Literotica, and somebody's charging for it on Amazon, they are in breach of that policy and you don't have to prove ownership. There should be an option on the story's Amazon page to report it for "cheaper price elsewhere"; I think it's a small button near the bottom of the page, but it's been a while since I had to do it. That should get the story taken down.

(They could drop the price to free instead, but at that point there's nothing in it for them.)

 

[Paul_Chance]

This is more of a general suggestion than advice but, personally, what I post on Lit (not much) is "fun" and I understand I'm basically giving it away for free to anyone who wants to take it. I don't really care. If a piece of work has sales potential then I simply never post it in any online format. That's just my approach and it works for me. Best of luck with Amazon - if you find yourself stuck and not getting the assistance you need, ask for someone else to handle it there. They're a big bureaucracy and who you get working with you can make a big difference when it comes to getting a successful resolution.

 

[ElectricBlue]

There's an easier option. Amazon's policy for self-publishing requires that you offer the cheapest price available for the story. If it's available for free on Literotica, and somebody's charging for it on Amazon, they are in breach of that policy and you don't have to prove ownership.

Now that's something to keep in mind. Thanks.

 

[sr71plt]

I have to laugh at the suggestion that Literotica once actively pursued copyright infringement on behalf of Literotica authors. It's quite evident to me that Literotica has never understood copyright infringement, let alone gone to any lengths of direct effort to prevent its authors' stories being swiped from here and posted elsewhere, including for profit on Amazon. Ten years ago I think they were using smoke and mirrors to make Literotica authors feel good/protected about a copyright protection that wasn't--and can't--be provided and that, over the decade this fig leaf has been stripped from perceptions here. I don't think they ever actively pursued the thieves, so I don't think the current process is any different from ever before. They don't even go after copyright infringement actively on what is posted to Literotica--certainly not in terms of copyrighted article content or image theft on the boards. Laurel does it herself.

The bottom line is that, at least currently, what you post for free use on the Internet is not functionally within the realm of being able to be protected. If you can't stomach it being swiped and reposted without attribution to you or permission from you, don't post it for free use on the Internet. Literotica doesn't--and can't--protect you from theft.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I suggest you make books on amazon yourself, in addition to posting your story on lit.
On lit in the afterword you can link to your amazon book, in case one of the readers wants to support you.
This way you get extra buck too. And you protect your work.

That's what I'm going to do from now on.

That's a no-no. You can only link to other of your lit stories.

 

[Nezhul]

That's stupid. Why can't I put a link in the afterword?

whatever.

This just means I'm not gonna publish the good stuff here. Just random short flicks.

 

[Nezhul]

I have a question by the way. Doesn't Amazon have a ban for pornography? Or are your stories considered erotic there?

What is pornography for Amazon anyway? 50 shades has pretty graphic scenes, but I think it's still considered erotic.

 

[OliviaM]

I have to admit, watching all the copytheft is cooling my desire to post here. I'm still writing - I'm just not sure if the finished products will end up on this site. Lit gives me instant gratification and it's a lot of fun. I get nice comments or feedback and I've even made a few friends. I just don't want to go through the process of sending takedown notices and the like because my stories happen to be posted here. The fact that I only have a couple of works posted is the only thing helping me avoid trouble right now.

Amazon makes it way too easy for people to upload another's work. You know these people are repeat offenders, constantly making new accounts. I wouldn't be at all surprised if ebooks were the new Chinese gold farming. Still, couldn't this site make it a little harder to grab the original material? It would be prohibitively difficult to stop a single person doing copy/paste jobs, but when you get whole websites rehosting everything, that's the work of a bot that should be noticed and stopped.

 

[Bramblethorn]

That's stupid. Why can't I put a link in the afterword?

If you were running a business and somebody walked in asking to put up a flyer in your building, advertising for one of your competitors, what would you tell them?

'sides, external links are a real pain. Unscrupulous users may post links to sites carrying malware etc. etc. We already have bots that copy people's forum posts and repost them with ad links at the bottom; you can bet there'd be story-stealing bots doing the same thing.

You can include a link to your Amazon site on your author page, and in your forum sig.

 

[MindsMirror]

Literotica is running a business, and it would seem that they would have some interest in protecting its writers. However, if they aren't going to do it, because they think they can afford to ignore a few who complain in favor of the sheer number of new authors, perhaps it is time to move on from this site.

It is kind of depressing, we like posting here but don't want to have our work stolen.

-MM

 

[sr71plt]

Literotica simply can't protect content you post to the Internet for free read (or even for-profit read). Physically impossible. No can do. Even if, in playing whack-a-mole, you manage to use bluster and get it off one site, the very same people can--and do--put it up again on another site. The U.S. government doesn't have any real interest in protecting it either and has made it prohibitedly expensive and difficult for authors to do so--what you've posted for free has been valued by you as of no monetary value, and the civil courts are all about monetary value. You can't even get anyone's legal attention in the United States if you haven't put up money to register the material off the top.

Don't shift blame off onto Literotica for not doing what can't be done (beyond any impression they've tried to give you that they can/will in order to keep receiving the product they make money on from you for free). Part and parcel of giving your work away for free here is swallowing having it stolen and reposted elsewhere on the Internet--even for money at Amazon, since Amazon isn't diligent about caring who actually owns the works they publish--which, again, would be prohibitedly impossible for them actually to do in the current Internet world.

And don't think I'm saying you shouldn't post your work to Literotica. I do--and am one of the top producers at the site. I just have my eyes open and recognize what is possible and what isn't--and who can and who can't do anything about it whether or not they want to fool you about what they can do/have done/will do.

What I'll advise again is, if you want to think about it being worth something, publish it yourself first, glean off what it's going to make up front, when it's published for profit by/for you before a thief can do so, then, if you like, post it for free after it's had its likely for-profit run, and don't sweat what else/who else is using it. Stories are renewable resources.

 

[MindsMirror]

This was the verbiage that made us think Literotica would assist (when notified) from the FAQ https://www.literotica.com/faq/05235347.shtml

If I submit a story to Literotica, do I still own the copyright?

Absolutely. You are simply granting us a non-exclusive right to publish your story on Literotica.com and granting Literotica the right to enforce the copyright on your story should it be used without your permission by any other publication - online, print, or other media.

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. The right to enforce your copyright that you are granting us includes the right to file DMCA complaints, file lawsuits, and any and all other necessary actions, both foreign and domestic, to prevent unauthorized people and companies from using your submissions without your permission.

The reason we require you to grant us the shared right to enforce your copyright (of course you also retain the right to enforce your own copyrights) is so that we have the legal power needed to protect your works from unauthorized publication on websites and in other media. As long as you grant permission to a website or other media to publish your stories, we have no right to enforce copyright law on them. Only websites or other media that publish/copy your stories without your permission are included in this granting of rights.

Other than these two issues, all rights to the story still belong to you, the author.

 

[sr71plt]

Talk is cheap. Often it is smoke and mirrors. Sometimes bluff works when nothing real is available. When bluff works on something like this, that's great. But the bluffer needs to realize he/she is bluffing and not fool themselves.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Literotica is running a business, and it would seem that they would have some interest in protecting its writers. However, if they aren't going to do it, because they think they can afford to ignore a few who complain in favor of the sheer number of new authors, perhaps it is time to move on from this site.

It is kind of depressing, we like posting here but don't want to have our work stolen.

-MM

I hear that. I've had my work ripped off more than once, and it's annoying.

But I look at it this way: the first story I put up here has about 16k-60k views, depending on which chapter you count. I would be astonished if the thief who stuck it up on Amazon managed to sell a dozen copies. (Happy to say, I got it taken down before they got any royalties, so the time they spent search-and-replacing the character names and writing a new blurb was all wasted.)

Stealing stories is a crappy thing to do, and I'm all for smiting the arseholes when it's practical, but it's not likely to do us a great deal of harm. Not so much a turd in the punchbowl as a pesky fly to be swatted or ignored.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

Still, couldn't this site make it a little harder to grab the original material? It would be prohibitively difficult to stop a single person doing copy/paste jobs, but when you get whole websites rehosting everything, that's the work of a bot that should be noticed and stopped.

Nope. It's trivial to write code that reads stories the way a human would, a page at a time, and assemble it. It's undetectable. Get your friends and family to run the code and you can rip off dozens to hundreds of stories a day. To Lit is looks like they have more readership, which they like because that's how they attract advertisers.

All they have to do is go after high ranked stories, and they don't have to be new ones, to collect enough for a bunch of anthologies.

Amazon could trivially cross-check with Literotica, via Google. They have the resources to do it easily. But they have no incentive. You're not going to sue them, it costs to much and your damages are 0 dollars and as many cents.

 

[MindsMirror]

This thread and several others like it combined with zero response from Literotica on requests for assistance has made us decide to put all further stories on hold.

We'll keep our eyes open for any change, but for the near future, we will be researching self publishing.

-MM

 

[oggbashan]

A link to my response to your similar post on another trhead:

http://forum.literotica.com/showpost.php?p=83044732&postcount=41

 

[Handley_Page]

A link to my response to your similar post on another trhead:

http://forum.literotica.com/showpost.php?p=83044732&postcount=41

After all the cr@p issued out of the 'States, one might hope that they'd get further than it seems they have.
"The Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 is a copyright act that came into force in the United States on March 1, 1989, making it a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works."

 

[oggbashan]

After all the cr@p issued out of the 'States, one might hope that they'd get further than it seems they have.
"The Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 is a copyright act that came into force in the United States on March 1, 1989, making it a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works."

The UK signed it in 1886, adopted it in part, but it took 100 years to fully implement it. The US took slightly longer but even now avoids most of it.

In the UK, copyright protection started in 1710.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_Kingdom

 

[DreamCloud]

Nope. It's trivial to write code that reads stories the way a human would, a page at a time, and assemble it. It's undetectable. Get your friends and family to run the code and you can rip off dozens to hundreds of stories a day. To Lit is looks like they have more readership, which they like because that's how they attract advertisers.

All they have to do is go after high ranked stories, and they don't have to be new ones, to collect enough for a bunch of anthologies.

Amazon could trivially cross-check with Literotica, via Google. They have the resources to do it easily. But they have no incentive. You're not going to sue them, it costs to much and your damages are 0 dollars and as many cents.

Actually, there are ways to make this much more difficult. Random tags with random CSS that hide text or duplicate normal formatting tags. Insert random Lorem Ipsum text that is only viewable in the source and disable copy/paste. If anything, it would take a really motivated programmer to code a theft engine.

It is true that anything presented is ultimately at risk. Still, I put locks on my doors and that seems to stop the opportunistic thieves.

 

[oggbashan]

Actually, there are ways to make this much more difficult. Random tags with random CSS that hide text or duplicate normal formatting tags. Insert random Lorem Ipsum text that is only viewable in the source and disable copy/paste. If anything, it would take a really motivated programmer to code a theft engine.

It is true that anything presented is ultimately at risk. Still, I put locks on my doors and that seems to stop the opportunistic thieves.

Many of my stories have been stolen by bots just to provide content for malware sites. Typically they only take the first page including my copyright notice. It's a hazard of being visible on the internet for over 20 years.