Authors have long been aware that their romance titles can be summarily sentenced and dispatched to Amazon's erotica dungeon without notice, trial, or due process. And, their ranks can be stripped. Or so it is alleged. The crime? Perhaps a bare manly chest on a cover.
Perhaps an alarming keyword, that might even have been added without the author or publisher's knowledge. As we see with "bedding", damning words do get added mysteriously.
Please see Samantha Cole's blog:
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bjpjn4/amazon-erotica-best-seller-rankings-removed
Some take the problem so seriously, there is an app for that, or at least, a free service:
Adult Flag.
Yet, allegedly, Amazon is one of several venues that allow third party sellers to purvey lifelike child sexbots.
John F. Banzhaf explains on valuewalk.com.
https://www.valuewalk.com/2018/04/child-sex-dolls-amazon-youtube-instagram/
One wonders why those things are not in the infamous Amazon dungeon!
Also of possible concern to authors are the allegations that Amazon's CreateSpace provides a "safe haven" for textbook scams, money laundering, and rampant piracy. Nate Hoffelder writes:
https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/04/13/amazons-createspace-provides-a-safe-haven-for-textbook-scams-money-laundering-and-rampant-piracy/
And then, there are the paid, misleadingly glowing reviews that Amazon's paid-review-purges miss, (versus the unsolicited, genuine glowing book reviews that are censored... not that this particular Washington Post article is about books), as discussed by Elizabeth Dwoskin and Craig Timberg.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/how-merchants-secretly-use-facebook-to-flood-amazon-with-fake-reviews/2018/04/23/5dad1e30-4392-11e8-8569-26fda6b404c7_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.764fb77d9b98
On the perils of selling on Amazon, legal bloggers Charlotte Duly and Angharad Rolfe Johnson of the UK intellectual property rights specialist law firm Boult Wade Tennant analyze the legal consequences of Amazon product codes, and perhaps of Amazon "Buy Boxes"..
Apparently, a listing on Amazon that is created by one seller, may be used by subsequent sellers, and sometimes (in this writer's experience) new sellers are forced or confused by Amazon into using the same listing.
This happened to a seller of genuine Chinese flagpoles, and another seller of replica Chinese flagpoles. The problem was compounded by Amazon's "Buy Box" policies, which often give the "Buy Box" advantage to whoever sells a similar product for the lowest price. The replica flagpole seller was found liable for trademark infringement and "passing off".
Legal blogger Nina Goodyear for the international law firm Taylor Wessing commented on an infringing act of selling beds on Amazon. Trademark infringement, that is. The unsuccessful defendants' defense was that someone else had added the claimant's trademarked brand name "Birlea" to the listing without their (the defendants') knowledge.
It is better to be a buyer on the Zon, than it is to be a seller!
Amazon is not liable for copyright infringing products sold on its website, as Cheryl Beise J.D. explains.
http://www.dailyreportingsuite.com/ip/news/amazon_is_not_liable_for_infringing_products_sold_by_third_party_vendors
Mark Schonfeld's legal blog from 2016 for Burns & Levinson LLP asks, "What are we going to do about Amazon?" in the light of what happened to Milo & Gabby in a Seattle court.
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=e6cb18cf-8348-456f-9918-7bd9326011e6
Apparently, this applies even when Amazon advertises a product as "shipped from and sold by Amazon.com".... or perhaps not. Wade Shepard for Forbes discusses how the Milo & Gabby ruling might have given Amazon too much rope. Now Daimler may turn the tables with what Wade Shepard eloquently describes as "the most unglamorous smoking gun in legal history. Wheel caps."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/12/05/amazon-got-busted-selling-counterfeit-mercedes-benz-parts-now-everything-may-change/#86118b222005 link
If Daimler prevails, the dam may burst, and also an alleged bubble may burst. Michael Harris (a financial blogger) calls it The Mother Of All Bubbles, owing to its profits allegedly coming largely from its web services to enterprises such as the CIA and Netflix.
According the Philip Davis, the rest of Amazon lost a lot of money. But, that's another story.
What fun!
Rowena Cherry
Showing posts with label infringement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infringement. Show all posts
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Sunday, April 30, 2017
"Exploit The Work Of Others And Don't Pay Them"
This author does not recommend it... but it is, arguably, why the "P.F.A G.S." companies are making a financial killing... and Wall Street rewards them.
Will politicians continue to reward, encourage, and protect the "permissionless innovators", too? HR 1695 passed in the House of Representatives, but passage in the Senate may not be easy.
HR 1695 addresses the question, "Should the Librarian of Congress (whose job description does not include a requirement for any kind of sympathy for copyright owners or any experience with copyright law) be the boss of the Register of Copyrights and The Copyright Office?"
Maybe about as much as a bean counter should be in charge of quality... or a proverbial fox should be in charge of the hen house.
Music Tech Policy's Chris Castle opines on the politics of librarians.
https://musictechpolicy.com/2017/04/28/the-politics-of-librarians/
So does The Trichordist, with comments
https://thetrichordist.com/2017/04/28/the-politics-of-librarians/
As the Authors Guild points out in a recent article, the interests of Librarians and Copyright Owners are not the same. Librarians wish to disseminate as much information and entertainment as possible to the maximum audience, at the least possible cost. OTOH, Copyright owners are enormously encouraged and incentivized if they are paid.
To digress on the topic of being paid, or of being *not paid*, read the Eccentric Eclectic, who quotes Karen Springen's estimate that in 2014, over $80,000,000 per year is lost to ebook piracy (and illegal file sharing)
https://eccentriceclectic.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/e-book-piracy-can-i-make-it-stop/
For a balanced view on *not being paid* check out the vigorous debate in the comments section of:
http://the-digital-reader.com/2017/03/01/new-pirate-site-focuses-audiobooks/
(This author uses "balanced" with tongue in cheek.)
In case you are wondering, "P.F.A.G.S." are Pandora, Facebook, Amazon, Google, Spotify. The order of their initials is dicated entirely by a requirement that the acronym can be pronounced.
Chris Castle explains the abuse of "address unknown" compulsory license filings, what the loophole is, and five ways it could be plugged: (Initially, I used "scandal" but changed it to "abuse", because something is only a scandal if a lot of people are talking about it.)
https://musictech.solutions/2017/04/27/five-things-congress-can-do-to-stop-tens-of-millions-of-address-unknown-nois/
These companies are allegedly exploiting a loophole in the law (I assume with a nod and a wink if not active collusion from the current Librarian of Congress) to avoid paying musicians and songwriters any royalties at all... for older releases, and also for the newest releases.
According to Tech Music Policy, Congress could put a stop to this rank injustice. One would think that the Librarian of Congress could put a stop to it without waiting for Congress. But, the interests of Librarians are not congruent with the interests of artists and writers and creators.
For authors, this "address unknown" exploitation has echoes of "orphan works" (remember the "Hathi Trust" case, where libraries and a search engine alleged that they could not locate eminently locatable authors of works they wanted to exploit?)
As for compulsory licenses, there are few authors who refuse to create and sell ebook versions of their own print works, but there is an audience that believes that owners of Kindles or computers or smart phones have an absolute right to an ebook version of any work they wish to read.
Finally, for authors newly discovering that they may be pirated, perhaps by online so-called libraries, Robert Stanek provides advice and a good template of a DMCA notice:
http://readindies.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-to-do-if-your-ebook-is-pirated.html
All the best,
Rowena Cherry
Will politicians continue to reward, encourage, and protect the "permissionless innovators", too? HR 1695 passed in the House of Representatives, but passage in the Senate may not be easy.
HR 1695 addresses the question, "Should the Librarian of Congress (whose job description does not include a requirement for any kind of sympathy for copyright owners or any experience with copyright law) be the boss of the Register of Copyrights and The Copyright Office?"
Maybe about as much as a bean counter should be in charge of quality... or a proverbial fox should be in charge of the hen house.
Music Tech Policy's Chris Castle opines on the politics of librarians.
https://musictechpolicy.com/2017/04/28/the-politics-of-librarians/
So does The Trichordist, with comments
https://thetrichordist.com/2017/04/28/the-politics-of-librarians/
As the Authors Guild points out in a recent article, the interests of Librarians and Copyright Owners are not the same. Librarians wish to disseminate as much information and entertainment as possible to the maximum audience, at the least possible cost. OTOH, Copyright owners are enormously encouraged and incentivized if they are paid.
To digress on the topic of being paid, or of being *not paid*, read the Eccentric Eclectic, who quotes Karen Springen's estimate that in 2014, over $80,000,000 per year is lost to ebook piracy (and illegal file sharing)
https://eccentriceclectic.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/e-book-piracy-can-i-make-it-stop/
For a balanced view on *not being paid* check out the vigorous debate in the comments section of:
http://the-digital-reader.com/2017/03/01/new-pirate-site-focuses-audiobooks/
(This author uses "balanced" with tongue in cheek.)
In case you are wondering, "P.F.A.G.S." are Pandora, Facebook, Amazon, Google, Spotify. The order of their initials is dicated entirely by a requirement that the acronym can be pronounced.
Chris Castle explains the abuse of "address unknown" compulsory license filings, what the loophole is, and five ways it could be plugged: (Initially, I used "scandal" but changed it to "abuse", because something is only a scandal if a lot of people are talking about it.)
https://musictech.solutions/2017/04/27/five-things-congress-can-do-to-stop-tens-of-millions-of-address-unknown-nois/
These companies are allegedly exploiting a loophole in the law (I assume with a nod and a wink if not active collusion from the current Librarian of Congress) to avoid paying musicians and songwriters any royalties at all... for older releases, and also for the newest releases.
According to Tech Music Policy, Congress could put a stop to this rank injustice. One would think that the Librarian of Congress could put a stop to it without waiting for Congress. But, the interests of Librarians are not congruent with the interests of artists and writers and creators.
For authors, this "address unknown" exploitation has echoes of "orphan works" (remember the "Hathi Trust" case, where libraries and a search engine alleged that they could not locate eminently locatable authors of works they wanted to exploit?)
As for compulsory licenses, there are few authors who refuse to create and sell ebook versions of their own print works, but there is an audience that believes that owners of Kindles or computers or smart phones have an absolute right to an ebook version of any work they wish to read.
Finally, for authors newly discovering that they may be pirated, perhaps by online so-called libraries, Robert Stanek provides advice and a good template of a DMCA notice:
http://readindies.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-to-do-if-your-ebook-is-pirated.html
All the best,
Rowena Cherry
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Website Owners And Blog Owners -- Protect Yourself
I've only seen this on legal blogs... Effective December 1st 2016, if you want Safe Harbor protection for your website or blog or app, you need to register your copyright agent information with the Copyright Office.
Otherwise, you don't get Safe Harbor protection if someone posts a hyperlink on your site or blog that links to infringing material.
Read more on this legal blog
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2d78785b-8083-46b6-89f3-2c725911aeea
Many thanks to Coe W. Ramsey of the lawfirm Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Leonard LLP
for his article on Lexology.
According to Mr. Ramsey, the copyright office has reduced the fee for registering an copyright agent to $6.00 but when this author looked at the LOC.GOV site it is still showing the old price (which is much more expensive).
http://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/
Mark Whittow and Trevor M, Gates of K&L Gates LLP share their perspective on the new rule, and
have more links and tables.
https://www.iplawwatch.com/2016/11/new-dmca-safe-harbor-copyright-agent-requirements-for-online-service-providers/
David J Wittenstein of Cooley LLP offers his own clear guidance on the new rules :
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d599720a-3b71-438e-94a7-48da57fb5586
Some of us blogging authors may not feel that we are "service providers", but there are blogs that appear to infringe on authors' copyrights and/or link to online file storage sites where infringing copies of ebooks are illegally made available for downloading. We've all seen them. This new rule appears to make it very clear that hyperlinking is infringement.
By the way, dear visitors, you may not hyperlink to other authors' ebooks, but you might need safe harbor protection if visitors or guests (or you yourself) snag and use photographs lifted from social media sites that someone else posted without the copyright owners' permissions.
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2284dee5-438d-43d5-b81e-1b207050ecc8&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2016-10-24&utm_term=
If you are an author and wish to check that your copyrights are registered, go here:
http://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/
You can enter either your books by title, or enter your own name for instance (Cherry Rowena) or even search by keyword.
All the best,
Copyright agent for this alien romances blog:
Rowena Cherry
rowena@rowenacherry.com
PO Box 7301
2211 South Telegraph
Bloomfield Hills
MI 48302
Otherwise, you don't get Safe Harbor protection if someone posts a hyperlink on your site or blog that links to infringing material.
Read more on this legal blog
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2d78785b-8083-46b6-89f3-2c725911aeea
Many thanks to Coe W. Ramsey of the lawfirm Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Leonard LLP
for his article on Lexology.
According to Mr. Ramsey, the copyright office has reduced the fee for registering an copyright agent to $6.00 but when this author looked at the LOC.GOV site it is still showing the old price (which is much more expensive).
http://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/
Mark Whittow and Trevor M, Gates of K&L Gates LLP share their perspective on the new rule, and
have more links and tables.
https://www.iplawwatch.com/2016/11/new-dmca-safe-harbor-copyright-agent-requirements-for-online-service-providers/
David J Wittenstein of Cooley LLP offers his own clear guidance on the new rules :
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=d599720a-3b71-438e-94a7-48da57fb5586
Some of us blogging authors may not feel that we are "service providers", but there are blogs that appear to infringe on authors' copyrights and/or link to online file storage sites where infringing copies of ebooks are illegally made available for downloading. We've all seen them. This new rule appears to make it very clear that hyperlinking is infringement.
By the way, dear visitors, you may not hyperlink to other authors' ebooks, but you might need safe harbor protection if visitors or guests (or you yourself) snag and use photographs lifted from social media sites that someone else posted without the copyright owners' permissions.
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2284dee5-438d-43d5-b81e-1b207050ecc8&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2016-10-24&utm_term=
If you are an author and wish to check that your copyrights are registered, go here:
http://www.copyright.gov/onlinesp/
You can enter either your books by title, or enter your own name for instance (Cherry Rowena) or even search by keyword.
All the best,
Copyright agent for this alien romances blog:
Rowena Cherry
rowena@rowenacherry.com
PO Box 7301
2211 South Telegraph
Bloomfield Hills
MI 48302
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