What to do about copyright violation

In My Humble Opinion
1

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?

2

Go to Canada and sue the offender [sub]or get rid of the CD and let it be a lesson learned[/sub]

3

How about filing a fraud alert with eBay? You may be able to dispute the charge with Paypal, too. You didn’t receive what you were bought, after all.

The publisher may or may not go after the guy. Hopefully they would. But going the eBay/Paypal route has the best chance of ensuring you get your money back and stopping this seller from doing more fraudulent sales. Once you get the whole deal settled and you know you don’t need it any more as evidence, smash the CD.

4

I take this point of view…

If the copyright holder cannot be bothered to offer a primary supply, I feel no obligation to pay an inflated secondary supply price for a commodity object. 1st Editions or special Collectors Editions, fine… but I’m not going to pay $50 for the 7th Edition paperback re-issue in poor condition simply because whomever holds the copyright can’t make a profit on another printing.

Also, whether I pay $50 to a secondary seller or download a free e-book has zero impact on the copyright holder’s bottom line… they are no longer a player in the market.

5

How exactly do you know that? It’s possible that they were planning to bring out a new edition, but the fact that people are downloading copies causes them to change their mind, screwing the author.

As far as the OP goes, notify the copyright holder. You have done nothing wrong by buying the item, since you haven’t made the copy. The copyright holder can decide whether to sue the violator or not.

As for what to do with the CD, it’s up to you. You are legally in the clear, and will have to decide whether keeping it is the morally correct thing to do.

6

Paypal will not allow you to charge back; even in the unlikely event that the seller still holds the account and hasn’t just withdrawn funds and disappeared, they take the stance that you were not defrauded because the seller sent you something. Not particularly fair or helpful, in my view, but this is what they do (I speak from experience).

7

Why are you assuming the copyright holder “cannot be bothered”? One of the books I wrote is out of print because I wrote a new one with more up-to-date information and I don’t want to reprint the old (obsolete) one when there’s a new one available.

Other books go out of print because the publisher went belly-up and the author hasn’t found a new publisher yet. Or because it was self-published and the author can’t afford a second printing. But even if it is a “can’t be bothered” reason, is that an excuse to steal?

The first part of this is true. The author makes nothing, whether you buy a (legitimate) used copy of his book or an (illegal) ebook some pirate produced.

The second part is not necessarily true. Used books and new books do compete for the same consumer dollars. I don’t begrudge people selling or giving away a legitimate copy of one of my books. I got paid for that copy, and you have the right to do with it as you wish. But if you buy a non-authorized ebook from eBay rather than purchasing a legitimate copy of one of my books, you’re giving money to a crook and robbing me of a potential sale.

If I’m no longer offering my book for sale, at least have the courtesy to buy a legitimate copy, or look at other books I might have available (caveat–I write nonfiction, and I understand works of fiction are not as easily interchangeable).

8

I agree that the loss to the publisher/author may be minimal (absent the circumstances suggested by previous posters), but I resent the fact that this guy preyed on my desire to acquire a legal copy and jacked up the price way beyond any fair value, considering the negligible amount of work he did. If he had said with a wink and a nod, Pirated copies of an out-of-print book, $5, I would have known what I was getting, and could have decided the moral and economic issues for myself. (Yes, he would have been thrown off eBay, that’s a different issue.)

But he went to some lengths in his ad text, and in writing the phony license agreement, to make it seem as if the items were legit. So he committed fraud and violated copyright laws. I feel some retribution is called for.

9

Especially given that you’re in a different country, I’d contact the publisher (and author if you can) and tell them about this. They can decide on the appropriate action.

Your best direct action is probably strongly-worded negative feedback on eBay and a fraud alert to PayPal.

10

commasense, in reply to your OP, you’ve already done what I would do: report him to the publisher and let them take any action they care to.

Off the “what to do” subject, though, I do have some advice for you about getting a copy of the book. Go to www.bookfinder.com and do a search on the title you’re looking for. I have found that even uncommon and rare books that often sell for hundreds of dollars can be found from one of the participating sellers there for a fraction of the highest prices.