Looking around eBay I found an out-of-print book I had been seeking, available as an e-book for about $30, much less than actual copies of the book were selling for ($250+, when available). The listing claimed that the seller had a license to sell a limited number of copies of the book as a PDF on a CD, and could only sell 17. Any more would be illegal, he said.
I was mildly suspicious, but went ahead and ordered it. Shortly after I placed the order, I received a notice from eBay saying they suspected the item was in violation of copyright, and recommending I not complete the transaction. But I had already paid with Paypal. The item was removed from eBay.
I wrote to the seller, asking him about his right to sell the item, and he said the license was included on the disc, which was already in the mail.
I got the disc today, and it is clearly pirated. The “license” is legalistic gobbledy-gook that makes no reference to the original copyright holder and says nothing about a license having been granted to the seller. The clincher is that the PDF of the book does not include the copyright page from the original.
So now the question is, What do I do? Although I’m 99% sure that the copy is illegal, I’ve sent an e-mail to the publisher, asking if they ever license copies of out-of-print books on CD. I fully expect to be told they do not (if I get any reply at all).
I make my living producing intellectual property myself and am not inclined to allow someone like this get away with making money off of someone else’s property. But I’m not sure what I can or should do.
eBay knows or suspects that the item is an illegal copy, which is why they sent me the notice and removed the item. But for that reason I don’t think I can leave feedback. The seller is still selling other items, although not the same one, and not all e-books. Some of his items may be legit. (However, there does seem to be a different person selling the same e-book I bought. And for less than I paid!)
I don’t intend to return the disc or ask for a refund. I suspect he wouldn’t give me one, and giving him back the disc would only allow him to sell it to someone else. And I don’t care to have any further direct dealings with him.
I could provide the seller’s details to the publisher and/or author. I don’t know how aggressively they act on things like this, but if they go after him, he’d have a pretty good idea that it was me who turned him in. One hears stories of people who go nuts and take revenge on people who cross them in these kinds of situations, and I’m mildly concerned about that possibility. He could become a nuisance or worse.
Does anyone know how actively major book publishers treat incidents like this?
BTW, the seller lives in Canada, and I don’t, if that makes any difference.
Any suggestions or ideas?