Monday, November 7, 2011

plagiarism & copyright infringement


I had a harrowing weekend. It began Friday at 3:30 am while I was wide awake trying to determine if I should surf the net or stare at the inside of my eyelids for half an hour THEN surf the net. Once I was on the computer I got a big surprise. A reader had sent me an email (Yay to being accessible to your readers!) stating that she had just purchased a book from Amazon.com and that she had really enjoyed it--especially when she had first read it six months ago when it was entitled Stranded. 


She gave me the name of the book she had purchased as well as the name of the author and said, you have been plagiarized unless that author is you. Shocked I went to Amazon.com and indeed my story was written there word for word with a new title and the names of the characters changed. As I did more research on this individual, I discovered that he had not only ripped off my story but another author at Literotica. Luckily I had just read her story about 2 months before and recognized it. I contacted her and together we SHUT IT DOWN!


But it was nerve wracking. This individual was on Smashwords, Amazon, and facebook as well as Twitter. As of today his accounts have been deleted from both Smashwords and Amazon. I'm just waiting to see what Literotica will do.


So this is what I learned; Once your work posts on Literotica you will notice the small copyright symbol appearing. This means that you have given Literotica a non-exclusive right to publish your story. That's right. This means that you have granted Literotica the right to enforce the publishing rights of your story, which grants them the power to protect your work from unauthorized use. This is where the distinction between plagiarism and copyright infringement becomes very important. You see, plagiarism is very similar to copyright infringement...with one small exception; copyright infringement is a federal offense. 

Your kid will probably not go to prison for plagiarism, however, the possible penalties for copyright infringement are pretty steep. 


As a writer, I'm going to face this again. I'm not the first and I certainly will not be the last. It is not a 'badge of honor' that your work is 'good enough' to be stolen. No one that has their hard work stolen feels proud. That is almost like saying, "Hey your kid sure is cute. You shouldn't care that someone STOLE him." Ha.


My sentiment was very close to my daughters, "Mom, send him a message saying that if he doesn't remove the story you will kill him." To which I responded, NO. Then she said, "Well tell him that if he doesn't take down the story you will see him in court and it won't be for plagiarism but for murder!" Again I said, NO.


What I did was bite back tears when I read a raving review of the story by one of the Amazon.com reviewers. It was given 5 stars. The reviewer said that she re-read her favorite parts over and over and each chapter ended with a surprise. She said that she had not read any other works of the author but HE had not disappointed.


Sigh...That was hard; reading a raving review of my story and having it credit someone else. Oh yeah, and the fact that he was selling it and making money off something that I gifted to the readers! Well, it has definitely been an eye opener. 


I need to publish my work before someone else does!

39 comments:

  1. I'm sorry to hear that,pep.. Please keep ur spirit to create pretty stories as usual.. I hope he learns his mistake..

    -Niez-

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm sorry to hear that your work has been stolen,please take this person to court.This person will do it again.This is bad behavior and you should not take any prisoners. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, I'm floored. As a published author I've seen my work on other sites for free but not sold. Knock on wood. It still hurts, it's still stealing. I'm such a fan of your stories I mentioned your work to one of the editors and told them to read Wheels of Steel or Beast. You are gifted, but it's your gift, others shouldn't profit from it w/out you permission. I'm completely blown away.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am curious, what was Amazon's response to this? Did you have to submit proof of that it was your work? Can they track this guy down through his account via Amazon or Smashwords? What about the money made from purchasing your work?

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I see my stories hosted on other sites I'm not happy unless it is a direct link. Meaning that it doesn't take away traffic from the original site. The traffic is what keeps Literotica in business.

    It's always nice when people ask if they can link it from their blog but that is a public domain issue and is not considered plagiarism. You can do it without asking. And again, I don't mind this at all.

    But when my complete story (along with my name) has now appeared on someone's site without asking my permission, then I consider that to be a complete no-no, because that host site has now generated traffic (which equals revenue) without me receiving any profit in return.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I believe that it is in the best interest of all writers to prosecute fully when instances like this arise.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ABOUT SMASHWORDS.

    Smashwords was the quickest to react. We were contacted by the president of the company the very next day (and this is on a weekend!). Per their TOS, any work published through their site cannot appear elsewhere on the net or in print with another author's name (regardless of whether it is your name or someone elses).

    Epublishers can google a 'string' of words to verify that a story is not printed elsewhere, which is how Smashwords verifies a claim. If a writer violates the terms then their account is deleted. Here is the best part; any money remaining in the account is confiscated.

    This individual had over 10 books. Mark Coker (president of smashwords) told us that he has not only taken work from Literotica but from other sites and several other authors.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ABOUT AMAZON

    Amazon has an option to 'click to report a problem with this story.' It then allows you to report incidents of copyright infringement. In order to report this, you have to have a copyright otherwise you can not file a DMCA claim of copyright infringement. In other words, if I did not have a copyright, then I cannot report my plagiarized work to Amazon and have them act on it. There are no real laws against plagiarism. Sad but true. I'm not saying that you can't take the thief to court (civil or criminal) and hopefully win.

    Once I submitted my individual complaint I sat back and waited to hear from Amazon. Thus far I haven't heard a word from them. But several of my readers had seen the book and sent me emails and the same for the other Literotica writer. Some people left scathing reviews on Amazon's comment section for the books calling the work plagiarized and urging people not to purchase it.

    All of the perpetrator's books were removed Monday with a notice stating that they were no longer able to be purchased. Yay!!! However, I have yet to hear anything directly from Amazon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. ABOUT FACEBOOK

    Facebook is the worst! There is a link to report instances of intellectual property theft. You fill out the form that asks for your name, address, phone #, email address and then there is a disclaimer that states that the information is routinely provided to the person you are putting a claim against. Uh...WTF??? Do I want this fool having my name and address? I like you guys but even you don't have all that information!

    You also have to provide an electronic signature. I only know how to do that per a separate word doc or PDF file--not on a internet page that doesn't provide an explanation of how do do this. So I just put my name and kept receiving an error message stating that it didn't match my name in the heading (even though it did).

    In the end I gave up on it and just sent the guy a private message. He advertises the sale of these books with hyperlinks to Amazon and Smashwords (that no longer work). I'll have to be satisfied with that fact.

    No, I haven't heard back from him but the other Literotica writer that I was doing this complaint process with did receive a response to the message she had sent. It made no sense and, no, he did not act contrite and indicated that HE had removed the work but would return with a new 'arsenal'.

    ReplyDelete
  10. ABOUT LITEROTICA

    Literotica can prosecute, but they are not required to. Because we both have dual copy rights, I too have the option of doing it on my own. I contacted them Monday. The other writer contacted them Saturday.

    I'm not saying I laughed, but I warned her that she wouldn't receive a response over the weekend and to sit back and be prepared to wait.

    And that is where we are now.

    ReplyDelete
  11. OMG!! I'm so mad for you and the other authors. Is there someplace we can write to complain?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Pepper, I am sorry to read that someone stole your work. I am shocked at how bold people can be. Did the person think that you wouldn't find out? I am glad that you were able to get Amazon and some of the other sites to take down his work. Stranded is such a great story. Again really sorry to read that this has happened to you. Take care and I am glad that you didn't decide to go gunning for the idiot.

    Divisionred

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am upset. I hate that people still like that and expect not to get caught or reprimanded for their behavior. I hope that this doesn't happen to you again and that they prosecute that fool!

    Best of Wishes,
    Devoted Fan

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous asked if there was a place where you can write to complain. Hold that thought and lets see if Literotica intends to pursue it on our behalf. And think you for the sentiment!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for your comments everyone. It sure makes me feel tons better. Funny thing about someone stealing that particular story, did they do it knowing that it won #1 IR story this year on Literotica? If so, how stupid. Much more exposure. Not the smartest thief...

    ReplyDelete
  16. I must admit that this is a reason I'm so hesitant to post any material online. Are your copyrights solely from Literotica or do you have protection for your stories here as well? I am incredibly sorry that this has happened to you though. I have heard about ppl just re-posting on another site, but to actually steal it and sell it for an actual profit? It just really shocks me.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Jodi.
    There are some ups and downs to putting your work out for others to judge. It is definitely not for everyone. But for me, I can't imagine not sharing my work with you all. I used to write story after story and I never shared it. I kept it to myself; Baby Girl and the Mean Boss, Urban Vampire, My Special Friend and others. As much as I love creating a story and disappearing into my own characters it doesn't touch knowing that I can do that for others. Once you know that you can do that then you HAVE to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Im so happy that the stories were taken down! When I read that someone stole your stories along with kalamazoo707 I was very disturbed. You guys are great writers and deserve to be accredited so. I really hope they are able to copy this frauds ihp(I think thats what its called) address so no matter what new name he comes up with he wont be able to do it again.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wow, that's just so distasteful of folks to take what someone else created and claim it as their own. Sorry to hear that this happened to you and the other author, but the good thing is that the fans that The Fraud(I'll call the thief by that name) had can now become exposed to the original works that were stolen. And really, this can only get better for both of you as well if you all know what publisher signed The Fraud on, perhaps you both can approach them, either together or separately, and speak with them about a publishing deal. They could say yes, but then again they could say no. Besides they already know both your writing styles and they know they can make a profit from your talents as well.
    Hope everything pans out for you.

    -392OhMyGoodness

    ReplyDelete
  20. Pep,
    Sorry for all you're troubles with this. Selfishly, I am hoping this leads you to publish your work because I have been wanting to give you my money for a while now. I would love to have several of your pieces, just the way they are now, in my Kindle.
    ~Barb

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Pep.

    We support your work and if you publish we will BUY! I often download from Smashwords and I'm glad that they removed your stolen books from their site.

    Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Pep, hope you publish soon and put those frauds out of business. WE WILL BUY YOUR BOOKS!

    ReplyDelete
  23. If it was up to me the tard would be hanging by his thumbs with a 200 pound weight attached to his scrotum that's fucked he got away with it, take him to civil court and rip his sack off. And if you need someone to break his legs gimme a call, 100 bucks and a case of brews and he's a cripple.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Pep with Facebook, if you post the link, then everyone can report it as infringement and eventually it should get removed. If you need, I can forward you the user operations email I got when I had to make a complaint about scribd.com. Let me know if I can help.

    ReplyDelete
  25. RJ you are crazy! Thank you! And just in case dude turns up with broken legs I disavow any knowledge of this conversation...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Billy, great idea! I will post a link on my Pepper Pace FB. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  27. This is why we can't have nice things. You are an amazing writer and you write for the love of it and that's it. But that's not enough. Someone wants to profit off of you. Folks make me sick.

    ReplyDelete
  28. @aWickedRose
    I know! Simple acting people make me sick, too. Do you guys want a link to the Amazon.com page to leave your own comments in the reviews section? Sure you do.

    http://www.amazon.com/Crash-Erotic-survival-Romance-ebook/dp/B0062OWC9K/ref=cm_rdp_product

    ReplyDelete
  29. Pepper, thanks for sharing and shutting it down. Who, by chance, is this individual? If you don't feel like giving out his name publicly, can you please email me? violettedubrinsky@gmail.com. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  30. That is a terrible offense and I applaud you for handling it the way you did. It's really unfortunate that people who aren't talented steal the work of others. I hope this individual is held accountable for his actions.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Pep, that is so sad. I had thought a while back that you should've taken Stranded publishers instead of Juicy. I figured that readers would be more receptive to that story and as it is now, that was a correct assessment. I thought Stranded could be your "Break Out" story, then once you had a good enough following, your readers would buy Juicy because your other book was so awesome. Come to think of it, I think Stranded was the first story I read of yours and ever since then I've been hooked!

    This plagarism thing has gotten out of hand. I'm reluctant to post my own works because I know the web is so sketchy. Don't let it get to you. Such is life.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Damn Pep, that is just so sheisty. I'm so mad I won't even talk to my husband right now (grrr). I also commend you for the way you're dealing with this theft 'cos girl if it were me, my ass would be like Madea... in jail, for cyber-crime against that no-good talentless ugly mutha-fungus. Keep ya head up Pep. You have our support!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I am so mad!!!! I hate people like this,scum of the earth.I feel like the authors are getting ripped off and people like him are laughing to to bank !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Damn. I guess there's nothing some people won't do to make a buck.

    Sorry it happened, Kim. Hope you don't let it upset you too much.

    I hope the a-hole is prosecuted.


    JG

    ReplyDelete
  35. I am sorry that you are going throug this Pepper. It seems like a common occurance with a lot of Lit authors.I read Lit forums and have seen this happrnrd to others.On the forum they always say the best way to get a response from Laurel, is to send a PM. Those seem to be answered quicker than an email. here is the most (10/7) recent thread from Lit about the same issue http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=781425
    Hope this helps.
    MissN

    ReplyDelete
  36. Sp happrnrd* happened

    ReplyDelete
  37. Take him to the cleaners! I would sue for any money he had made off of you and prosecute for theft of intellectual property. There is no way he can win with you winning awards for the stories. I am glad that people caught him. Like everyone else I say get your work published. You have a large fan base who would be more than happy to support you, and it will only grow larger as more people discover your great stories.

    ReplyDelete
  38. So sorry Pep. You are a wonderful writer, but the point is no one should steal another person's work. I hope he/she is made to pay for this crime.
    Megan

    ReplyDelete
  39. I am glad you got after them. People don't realize how hard authors work and how easy it is to steal from them. We need better protections against azzholes like that douche bag who stole your prose. In solidarity, JandJ

    ReplyDelete

Holiday Shopping at Amazon