This post is an edited consolidation of a week's worth of reporting about the demolition of an online content pirate by a group known as "No Pirates". Each day's post in this effort is indicated.
----------
FIRST
POST:
Within the
past day it was brought to my attention by a Facebook
friend that there is a site proudly promoting the fact that they are
freely distributing eBooks without author permission. The administrators of
this group, known as "The Ultimate Ebook Library (TUEBL)", are
unapologetic regarding their underhanded methods. In fact, on their Facebook page (no longer available), the administration
flaunts that they "are NOT an American organization so we are not bound by
your US laws anyway". The general tone of the administrators is one of
mocking arrogance, as they point out that they have been doing this for two
years and nobody has been able to stop them. They effectively dare us to do
something about it.
Their Facebook page has taken on a feel much like any
trolling session, with those who know they are morally corrupt offering much by
the way of straw man arguments and red herrings in order to attempt to justify
their dubious deeds. Including ad hominem, typically troll-ish goading, some of
the justifications by supporters of the site include one reader asking,
"how is this ethically any different than going to the public library
reading a book?" Another considers it to be an issue of too many fingers
in the pie by stating, "I dont[sic] want to pay your publisher for not
publishing anything." Another poster commented, "Outdated systems of
distribution didn't try to prepare themselves for the internet at all."
One misinformed, or completely biased poster claims, "why r the ebooks
having same costs as physical book ?" Still yet another uninformed poster
states, "its cheaper in Australia to buy ebooks than print. Guess those of
you in the US are spoilt[sic] with your cheap books." One even uses a broad
generalization to explain why this theft of intellectual property is justified
by claiming,"The complaining authors are the ones that are lacking
confidence in their work." The administrator of the page goes so far as to
claim that "copyright infringement is not theft." Oh, I see. So it is
permitted to knowingly and willingly infringe on the hard work of an author, as
long as you don't call it theft. As you can imagine, the authors are crafting
well-worded, sensible objections to these flimsy excuses.
A poster
who apparently is part of the administrative group, Travis McCrea, claims,
"We are doing a wonderful thing...we are going to keep doing what we are
doing...There is no stopping us, legally, technologically, or otherwise. I can
be hit by a bus tomorrow, and we have a plan in place to keep the sites active
in that senario[sic]." He also states that authors like TUEBL, that the problem
for indie writers is obscurity, not piracy, and that soon TUEBL will have a
system in place to compensate authors. This is problematic, since it is obvious
by the backlash from the authors that many, probably MOST, have issue with
TUEBL. Also, indie authors are not generally represented by big name
publishers, and they have already negotiated some type of meager pay system
with the publisher or distribution company of their choice.
TUEBL also
has a website. On their legal disclaimer page they claim that "While
Canada may, in fact, be America's hat... we do actually have our own laws,
regulations, and legal system." What they fail to point out is that the
unauthorized use of copyrighted material is a crime. In Canada, as well as in
the United States, intellectual work is copyrighted upon creation, and no
filing of rights is necessary. The page also includes the thinly veiled threat
of intimidation, as they state, "Also please note that any email that we
receive is public information and will be published in full on our blogs, Twitter, Facebook,
and any other social network that we desire." It is clear that they do not
intend to honor the hard work of the authors, and in fact expect to bully these
very same people into limiting contact with this organization.
A deeper
look at Travis McCrea, the leader of this outlaw group, can be found at his
public Facebook page. Through his posts at this
site, and some of his tweets, it is discovered that he prides himself on being
a "pirate". He failed at his attempt to gain a parliament seat by
running on the Pirate Party platform in Canada. On his personal Facebook page, he
claims that the site he runs is a "book sharing website." He neglects
to point out that this site in no way solicits the permission of the authors of
the books he "shares". His LinkedIn
profile claims he is the CEO at "Angry Parrot Communications."
He is a fan of The Pirate Bay, and seems fixated in general with the notion of
being a pirate. It is time to make him walk the plank.
It is time
for us to gather forces, as we have already begun to do, and stop this
repulsive thieving. If you are an author, or if you know one, or if you realize
that this type of activity is detrimental to authors, please help. Visit the
TUEBL page and protest. Email Travis
McCrea, or message his Facebook page (no longer available) to let him
know that this type of activity is not permitted by the global community, no
matter how he tries to justify his actions by propping up his false
interpretation of laws as his shield. Let him and his supporters know that this
type of activity will not be tolerated. We, as a grass roots movement, and
defenders of integrity, can make a difference. Thank you for your help
regarding this matter.
Special
thanks goes out to Katherine Christina Rochholz for bringing this to my
attention.
--------------
UPDATE:
Thanks to a concerted effort by many authors, publishers and fans, PayPal has frozen the account for this underhanded
group. They are no longer able to collect money for the work of others. In
addition, Amazon has pulled the plug on Mr.
McCrea and company, as well. There have been many, many requests for Facebook to shut down the page. As we speak, there is
a group of dedicated authors and supporters reaching out to other authors who
may not even know they are being exploited. Some of these authors have
responded, and are requesting removal, joining forces, and in general are
working to make sure this guy is done with this outlaw type of conduct. If you
like, you may join our "event" on Facebook
by going here:
All of
this in about five whole hours! We appreciate your support!
------------
SECOND
POST:
PROGRESS
MADE:
This post
is to provide some information about the activity among the group members, as
we continue to mobilize in order to stamp out the piracy of our work. The group
is now nearing 200 strong, made up of a variety of indie authors, publishers,
illustrators, readers and their supporters. Our effort within 24 hours has
successfully impinged on the flow of information and money within the pirate
group, in that and have both discontinued them from using their
services. We have a dedicated contingent of people who have been diligently
contacting authors and bringing this dastardly group to their attention. There
has been a quick and positive response from these injured artists, many of them
having names you would recognize. Still more of our supporters have been
spreading the word of our efforts like wildfire.
HURDLES
REMAINING:
Since this
unlawful group isn't selling the copyrighted work directly from their
site, does not recognize their
activities as violating their TOS. At this point, there doesn't appear to be
much we can do except to continue to report the page. The other catch is that
if we post our defense on the page, it brings up their numbers. Our strategy at
this point is to keep the contact on their
page at a minimum.
We have
had limited success in keeping their server shaky, as our group bombards their
search engine, looking for authors to contact. The page is available, then it
isn't. The page is available, then it isn't. The misinformation provided by the
pirates is that this is due to the number of books being downloaded.
Considering their lack of integrity to this point, it is apparent that they are
not being honest. We are working to have their rights stripped, and to shut
down their website, but this is not easy to do.
The
biggest hurdle seems to be the arrogant ring-leader of the outlaws himself, and
the philosophy he espouses: That all artistic content should be free and
readily available to anyone who wishes to obtain it. This is a very idealistic
stance, as the term "starving artist" is not cliche for no good
reason. Also, there is no reason why a person's hard work should go unrewarded.
And, most important, to obtain and distribute the copyrighted work of an author
or artist, without their knowledge or permission, for a financial gain, is
AGAINST THE LAW!
NEXT
STEPS:
We are
continuing to contact authors at a feverish pace. This may be our best weapon
against these criminals, going forward. The track record of these groups is
that after they are dismantled, they will sneak around and set up shop
somewhere else. It seems as if they have no other skill or talent. Much like
any other career criminal, they will pursue their only trade in more and more
ways, making pursuit difficult. One of our missions is to stay abreast of their
criminal movements, and place a giant spotlight on their activities.
We are
closely monitoring the financial and social activities of the rogue band, in
case they work to garner funds or support from alternate sources. This is their
supply line, and we have the means and knowledge in our group to keep a close
eye on their movements.
I am
continually impressed by how quickly our message of justice is being spread. In
addition to contacting well-known authors, our group has managed to think
outside the box, and has been working to secure the efforts of the FBI, RCMP,
JAG, and other enforcement agencies related to this type of criminal activity.
Apparently this style of criminal activity has no place among the hard workers
of our craft, and now is the time to pull out all stops.
Thank you
for your help and support. It means a lot to all of us involved. Please feel
free to contact me if you have any questions, comments, concerns or
suggestions.
--------------
UPDATE
FROM A MEMBER OF OUR GROUP:
From a
friend (non-author, just a friend) He contacted the Legal Departments of all of
the "Big 6" - Penguin has already
responded:
Response
from Penguin Group:
"Thank
you for contacting us, (protecting his name). We are not aware of having
authorized the rights to sell Penguin Group (USA) Inc. books through this
channel and we appreciate that you've taken the time to contact us and share
this information.
Because of
the volume of mail received, we cannot guarantee that you will receive a
personal response as to the final resolution, however, we will certainly see
that this is sent along to our Legal department for review and follow-up.
Thank you
again for allowing us the opportunity to look into this matter."
------------
P.S.- The
group is now over 200 strong, and continues to grow!
-----------
THIRD
POST:
As we
enter our third day of battle, the spirit among the group is high. We are
nearing 300 members, and the pace at which this motivated group is
accomplishing their objectives is scary fast! In addition to cutting a majority
of the offending site's funding ability, we have also managed to squeeze them
from social groups. As our yet unnamed group of patriots continued to mount a
charge, they also contacted many high profile authors to inform them of their
work being solicited on the offending website. All of the authors who have
responded so far have been very much against this unlawful and unethical use of
their copyrighted work. Many, some of whom I know you are familiar, have said
that they will have their legal teams become involved with the battle.
There was
also a concerted effort among the group to tag books with information notifying
people that the books were on the site without author knowledge or permission.
The offending site tried to follow up and erase the information, and eventually
had to give up and disable the ability to post tags. There was also a movement
among an anonymous group in one of their forums in which the misinformation
provided by the TUEBL site was categorically challenged by the group of freedom
fighters involved. The exchange was a resounding success, and was helpful in
answering questions of many misinformed "borrowers" of eBooks. The
now defunct Napster was mentioned as a historical reference for what can happen
to the people who download copyrighted material, even if they are not
knowledgeable of their participation in criminal activity.
Many
involved contacted authorities. Many involved found out so much information
about the "head pirate" that there was rumor that by tomorrow we may
know what color socks he has on. Many banded together, and stood for justice.
Following are a few chosen excerpts of our day:
From
authors and publishers:
"Dear
_______, Thank you so much for alerting us. It was very kind of you to take the
time to do so. We shall get in touch with _____'s relevant publishers and try
to put a stop to this. It really is so sad that so many people don't believe in
paying the creators of the stories they want to read."
"Thank
you for your email about ________’s titles on tuebl.com. I’ve sent it on to
___________ here in London."
"I'm
with DAW/Penguin and didn't know about this pirate site until this event page
let me know (they have all 5 of my _______ books up there). Based on what he
did with ______, I sent this up to DAW. They're engaging their legal counsel and
will go up to Penguin's counsel if necessary."
"My
assistant has been going after all my books that are pirated, and, shocking as
it seems, the other sites are more ethical than this one. You say "take it
down", they take it down. This guy is a whole new level of thieving
bastard, and my publishers are not amused."
Response
from HarperCollins Canada (via their FB page):
"Thank
you very, very much for this _______! It's so great to know that someone is
looking out for us :)"
The unfortunate response from Facebook when
many of us requested they remove the offending page:
"Thanks
for your recent report of a potential violation on Facebook. After reviewing
your report, we were not able to confirm that the specific page you reported
violates Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities."
A copy of
some of the written requirements of the site to remove author material:
"The
electronic book, ___________ by ________, is being distributed in violation of
copyrights. I am posting below, the copyright page of this book, showing that
__________ has copyrighted the work, _________, an electronic book.
Neither
____________ nor ___________ Publishing has authorized the distribution of this
work in ANY format. The download link can be found here: http://www.tuebl.com/browse/...
and http://www.tuebl.com/book/...
I swear,
under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate
and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the
owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. I have a good faith
belief that use of the copyrighted material described above on the allegedly
infringing web pages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or
the law."
A copy of
an email sent to the "head pirate's" employer:
"You
have an employee by the name of Travis McCrea who is a thief and runs an
illegal website that pirates books. I am alerting you to this as I am an author
and have many friends of whom he is stealing from this very moment on his
website. The situation has currently been turned over to to the FBI. He will
bring unwanted attention to your company as this hits the media, just giving
you a heads up."
A reply
from a famous author to a member of the group:
"Thanks.
I sent it on my publisher and my lawyer and my agent.
We'll see
what they can find out.
(Famous
Author)"
As you can
see, the response on the part of the injured has proven to be widespread and
consistent in nature. I am happy to report that the tone of the offenders has
changed a bit, and instead of the arrogant and condescending tone used two days
ago, they are reeling and pleading. Unfortunately for them, we will not stop
until the site is permanently condemned. Now that we have seen the injustice,
there is no way to unsee it.
Thank you
for your interest regarding this matter. Stay tuned for further updates.
-----------
FOURTH
POST:
Day three
in the battle against a particular eBook pirate site proved to be fast and
frenzied, as our growing group of eBook authors and supporters continued to
gain ground. In addition to a variety of activities being worked on by very
skilled and determined people, the group was also in the midst of a venue
change, causing some effort and resources to be directed to the venue rerouting
activities. Coordinating an effort among almost 400 people is time and resource
consuming!
The day
started with feedback from members of our group, loosely termed at this time as
"No Pirates", indicating responses once again from well known authors
and big six publishers who are pleased with our efforts, and have pledged
support of their resources to help in the battle. Knowing we had strength from
a variety of allies started our day with a degree of refreshed vigor.
There
wasn't much surprise in the reports that Facebook was still safely keeping
their distance. A few different approaches to enlisting their help with the
pirates resulted in explanation letters, but no discontinuation of services.
This wasn't discouraging, as we had a variety of successes in other ways, and
as we quickly gain experience, we have come to realize that the issue of
internet piracy is a hot button topic, and some companies simply aren't willing
to commit for any variety of reasons. There will continue to be an ongoing
dedicated portion of our effort and resources toward this cause.
There was
also a hurdle with an online pay company outside the country, and the server
host for the outlaw site. This is curious, since normally a server host will
not tolerate any violation of their TOS. The main reason for this is liability.
In the event that a company is involved in illegal activities through the host
server site, the site then may be held in some way liable for the unlawful
activities. As a result, most hosts have zero tolerance for TOS violations. The
main violation, in this case, is the re-posting of copyrighted material after
legally being contacted to remove the material. The internationally recognized
instrument for this type of notification is known in the industry as a DMCA
(The Digital Millennium Copyright Act) notification. This generally accepted
form of documentation is used universally as a type of cease-and-desist order
designed around very clear internet laws created about twelve years ago. In our
case, specific authors injured by the actions of the pirate group have
submitted DMCAs, only to see their material removed, then re-posted. Most host
server sites recognize this as not worth the risk of litigation, and are quick
to stop this disgusting action by stripping the offending person or site from
using their services. Curiously, in this situation, the host server has been
reluctant to engage responsibly. The No Pirate group is continuing to submit
DMCAs, both on an individual basis, and in a general sense.
As for the
online pay site, it operates out of Sweden. While the pay site hasn't directly
denied several requests by supporters to discontinue operations with the
pirates, they have not taken the steps to withdraw from the offenders either,
as did PayPal and Amazon. Several members of the No Pirate group shared the
same message from the pay site, indicating they will "look into the
issue". A continued effort to campaign on behalf of harmed authors is
expected to bring about the prudent withdrawal of support from the pay site.
The
activities today were concerted and intense. Since Monday, this was the first
day that the pirate group made any movement from their haughty arrogance, and
tried to counter in any meaningful way. Up until now, they have been inundated
with a flood of aggressive and purposeful authors, but they have apparently
misunderstood us to be less effective than we have ultimately proven to be.
They have been complacent up until now, and I believe they have finally
realized that they have a fight on their hands. The way they have been
scrambling all day has been fun and amusing.
For
instance, I started my day with a troll in the comments of my blog. I have been
expecting this, and I have actually been slightly disappointed the last couple
of days in this regard. Not today! There he was, all shrouded in a rarely used
and disposable ID, ready for action. His typically troll-ish remark lie there
in my comments section like so many childishly constructed words: "Quite a
circle jerk you have here, Stephen." Five minutes later, he was a fading
memory, as the important part of my day began.
As usual,
there was feverish activity at their Facebook site. The usual herd of thugs
were there, ready to take on our front-line forum soldiers. As I occasionally
popped in to offer support, I noticed that the administrators of the page were
quick about removing posts in a typical attempt to sway the tone of the
rhetoric. One of our most dedicated warriors was so effective in her dialog
that she was given her own distinct celebrity status by the thugs. They
referred to her and the rest of us as "The Cassidy Army". This
distinction made the rounds through the group, and has been a source of rousing
mirth and levity ever since.
This
exchange led to the opponents creating their own blog. They appointed some
"Twitterette" of theirs to run the blog. It was really nothing
containing any substance. The quote from Bill Shakespeare, "Better a witty
fool than a foolish wit" comes to mind. She wasted blog space with an analysis
of the Facebook activity and nothing more. It was definitely along the lines of
what I expected, given the caliber of our opponent, to date.
One of our
new members tells of actually calling the lead pirate and speaking to him
directly. This was a source of interest for awhile today, as it was unexpected.
This source explains that, once again, the main offender was given a chance to
reconcile his position, and admit his wrong doings.
Of course
he didn't, and this additional opportunity for him to do the right thing and
refusing to do so only strengthened the resolve of the No Pirate group. There
is nothing which will build solidarity of opposition like an unscrupulous
fuhrer unwilling to recognize his own shortcomings!
Among our
findings today was that neither the group nor the head pirate in question are
listed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) charities directory. This is
counter to their repeated statements that they are a charitable organization.
As many of the No Pirate participants have stated, saying you are charitable
does not make it true. In fact, in this case, it appears to be blatantly false.
Unless they are significantly buried under monikers or DBA names, they aren't
registered as a charity. No Pirates has made it a point to send this information
to the appropriate authorities, who have been very receptive and responsive to
our efforts in this regard.
One of the
members of our group noticed that President Barack Obama was one of the authors
whose book was in the pirated database. Needless to say, it didn't take long
for us to send that information out to the proper people. We also had a member
contact their senator. She is Canadian, and her senator has a history of
strongly advocating on behalf of infringed copyrights. In this case, we have
the right dog in the fight.
Another
member provided recent information regarding the MegaUpload criminal case. She
pointed out many similarities to our present situation. In addition, it would
appear that there are some very exacting circumstances that are more than just
similar. The very conditions which brought that untouchable organization to its
knees are the same conditions which will also dismantle the current eBook
pirate group.
Our group
had great morale today, as we danced with our disappointingly feeble opponents.
One member initiated the feature of Facebook which allows your pages to be seen
in "pirate" language. Others followed suit, and for awhile we had fun
with pirate phrases. The hash tag #PiratesAhoy is what we have come to employ
as our Twitter locale. We are looking forward to bringing this pirate group
down as they continue to ignore laws and
the wishes of the authors, and they continue to present their arrogant
opinion camouflaged in idealism. They think they know our intentions better
than we do. They act as if we should just comply with their dishonest activity,
since they surely know what is best for us, the creators of our craft. To us,
those are the words of oppressors, and the destiny of online publishing is ours
to create.
Please
enjoy the following blogs. They are created by supporters of our effort, so
please take the time to click over to their sites. Thank you.
Suzie
Welker explains in a very endearing way why she enjoys and supports the work of
indie authors
Chris
Meadows shows his support as he talks about the efforts of the No Pirates group
Aaron
Speca neatly dissects the legality of the claims of the pirates
Author Ben
S. Reeder sums up the fight in smart, efficient terms
-----------
FIFTH
POST:
It has been
a fruitful week, in terms of progress. Again, our day was filled with success,
and by the tone of the enemy, victory will soon be ours. Now is a good time for
a lighter voice, as our group is in need of something less serious after a hard
fought charge. In the process, maybe those on the other side may begin to
realize how important our voice is, light or heavy. In order to bridge that
gap, I felt that the least I could do is speak their language for the sake of
offering them a chance to restore their honor. They may demonstrate this, of
course, by ceasing their foul activities.
All words
and definitions were acquired from "Pirate Words and Phrases"
We began
our contact with a hearty "Pirates - Ahoy!" They must have been a bit
squiffy, as our first greetings were met with bilge, both from the captain and
all hands. This was most disenchanting, and no matter our attempts to create a
sense of being among buckos, this lot behaved as bilge rats. We had no choice
but to ready our six pounders and inform them of a fire in the hole. They
showed us the sharp edge of their cutlasses, hoping we would not notice the
useless points. The stage was set. We simply could not stop until the captain
was dancing the hempen jig, and the crew measured for their chains as we
fashioned their gibbet cage.
To them,
it was easy. They saw us as broadside. As a group who went on account long ago,
they considered themselves to be in a superior position. They were surprised
when we began a variety of ways to bring a spring upon her cable, and they
changed their tune. They started running a rig with laws, and hoped to send us
on our way. It wasn't meant to be, however, and we pressed on, not content
until we saw the scallywags dancing with Jack Ketch, or drinking together in
Davey Jones' locker.
Maybe the
next group of pirates will be more considerate when addressed with
#PiratesAhoy!
==================================
ahoy - An
interjection used to hail a ship or a person or to attract attention
bilge -
nonsense or foolish talk
bilge rat
- A rat living in the bilge of a ship. It is considered the lowliest creature
by pirates
bring a
spring upon her cable - To come around in a different direction.
broadside
- To get along broadside a ship was to take it at a very vulnerable angle
bucko - A
familiar term meaning friend
cutlass -
A short, heavy sword with a curved blade used by pirates and sailors. The sword
has only one cutting edge and may or may not have a useful point.
Davy
Jones’ Locker - A fictional place at the bottom of the ocean. To die at sea is
to go to Davy Jones’ Locker.
dance the
hempen jig - To hang
fire in
the hole - A warning issued before a cannon is fired.
gibbet
(cage) - Chains in which the corpses of pirates are hung and displayed in order
to discourage piracy
to go on
account - A term used by pirates to describe the act of turning pirate.
hands -
The crew of a ship
Jack Ketch
- The hangman. To dance with Jack Ketch is to hang
measured
fer yer chains - To be outfitted for a gibbet cage
pirate -
One who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without commission from a
sovereign nation
run a rig
- To play a trick
six
pounders - Cannons
scallywag
- A villainous or mischievous person
squiffy -
Somewhat intoxicated; tipsy
------------
SIXTH
POST:
This week,
an internet pirate has taken serious casualties. In their monthly newsletter,
they describe a situation where they are innocent. Here I present to you the
other side of the coin, point by point, as they are misrepresented in the
pirate organization's newsletter..
TUEBL
NEEDS YOUR HELP
---
Misguided fans of authors are waging an illegal war on TUEBL filing false DMCA
notices to services like Facebook and Twitter, which link to no infringing
content.
Actually,
harmed parties are waging a perfectly legal war on TUEBL, filing proper DMCA
notices to services like Facebook and Twitter, which link to specific
infringing content.
--They
have also gone after our fundraising solutions which we use to collect
donations to keep our servers up .This is an obvious attempt, by a small group
of radicals, to force authors to bury their head in the sand instead of looking
at new options for the distribution of their content.
They successfully
shut down your fundraising solution, and your servers were moving information
illegally. This is an obvious attempt, by a dedicated group of authors,
publishers and supporters, to engage their rights to determine where their
content is distributed.
---TUEBL
also provides unfiltered access to children and adults all around the world, in
places that normally cannot afford western ebooks and certainly cannot afford
the cost of shipping physical books.
A vast
majority of their "customers" are in the U.S., according to TUEBL's
own records. It is also interesting to note that it is suspicious for a child
or adult to be able to afford an advanced technological gadget like an
e-reader, but not to be able to afford a three dollar eBook.
---We
provide knoweldge[sic], language, and most importantly immagination[sic] to all
these people and it warms our heart when we get those emails and letters
telling us how much we have helped someone.
Kumbaya.
There is no proof of this huge philanthropic effort, and all credible and
regulated sources support this perspective. All evidence supports an
underhanded and illegal operation.
-----TUEBL
has thousands of authors who submit their content to our site so that it can be
found and shared by their fans, and so they can have a larger income based on
the increased numbers of fans.
TUEBL has
thousands of members who illegally upload authors' work without their consent
and knowledge so that it can be shared freely thousands of times to people who
have no intent on ever purchasing the works legally so that the authors may get
proper payment for their work.
---Other
authors don't want this to happen because they are afraid of the future, and
will fight tooth and nail to hurt a valuable service like TUEBL.
TEUBL has
no authority to speak on behalf of authors. Most authors don't want this to
happen because they are entitled to determine the future of their craft. They
will fight tooth and nail to decommission an illegal and dishonest service like
TUEBL.
---We have
a strong belief that it was a Distributed Denial of Service attack pointed
against our website and our mail server which eventually crippled our old mail
server which forced many DMCA notices to get lost,
A belief
is only a way of saying you have no proof. If I believe in the tooth fairy,
Santa Claus and the Easter bunny, it still doesn't make any of them real.
---this
was a strategic move as these people who work against us know that if we cannot
remove infringing content from our servers, then we would be legally liable and
could be shut down.
This was a
strategic move, as these people who will eventually put your shady business out
of operation know that if you conduct business in a way which makes you
regularly legally liable then you shouldn't be in business at all.
---We got a new mail server though! We have
hardened our infrastructure, and we are going forward even stronger in our
resolve to help share books with everyone!
Monkey
see, monkey mail. Did you harden your infrastructure with money you were saving
for the starving children with brand new e-readers, but not enough money for
cheap eBooks? The authors who create the books are going forward even stronger
to ensure that the way their books are shared with everyone is done the way they
want it done, and not left to the discretion of people with no intent of
compensating the authors in any way.
--- To do
this we need your help! We cannot fight alone, and our funds are currently all
locked up from PayPal freezing our primary account (luckily some funds were
funneled through to our secondary PayPal account).
Your funds
are currently frozen by a legitimate, honest company with credibility. What
does that say about you? Especially when you turn around and mention some shady
way of funneling money through a covert channel.
---We highly encourage everyone to use [an
alternative funding source] in general as it makes it fast and easy to support
your favourite authors, bloggers, and content creators - in particular we would
like people to use [an alternative funding source] to donate to TUEBL.
This
alternative funding source, by all appearances, is sympathetic to the cause of
stealing the works of authors.
-- We also
have a [another alternative funding source] you can send money to: -----------
Dodge and roll
-- You can
also send money to paypal@travismccrea.com using [yet another alternative
funding source]
I am
guessing that the illegal use of the term "paypal" in this instance
is overlooked as having integrity or strengthening their case for credibility?
Of all of the names they could have chosen, they decided to rip off yet more
copyrighted and owned material to further their financial cause?
--The last
alternative is to send money to gppaypal@gmail.com using paypal but we prefer
other alternatives since PayPal is crap.
See above.
Also, I know that your derogatory opinion of a company makes me more sure of
their credibility, thus more willing to do business with them.
---Please
make your donation today, it's soooo sooo important to keep our website up and
going. We need your help to keep our amazing site going.
And yet it isn't important to make sure new
and struggling authors have a fighting chance at making a living, since the
copies you distribute are given away for free, and any donation lines your own
pocket for reasons of your determining?
Debunking
Myths [the TUEBL way]
There have been lots of rumours [and truths]
flying around about what TUEBL does, what we use our money for, and the
legality of our service... let us address a few:
MYTH:
TUEBL IS ILLEGAL
FACT:
TUEBL operates under Canadian copyright law and even go[sic] above and beyond
to abide by US Copyright law by following the DMCA.
REALITY:
TUEBL operates in Canada so that US Copyright law does not apply, and they make
it extremely difficult for authors to have their work removed and protected
from being uploaded again to the site.
MYTH:
TUEBL HURTS AUTHORS
FACT: Through our Amazon links program we know
that TUEBL has encouraged the sale of hundreds of books. What's sad, is that we
used all affilate earnings to buy books for children in South America, the next
batch of books was going to be going out August 6th to Columbia, however, the
over zealous authors followers flooded Amazon with requests for our affiliate
program to be shutdown and so it was.
REALITY:
Despite the allegations that all of their money is used to help poor children
in South America, they are not in any way registered as a charitable
organization, therefore there is no legitimate record of any of their
unprovable charity. Dedicated and organized authors provided Amazon with proper
documentation and proof of hurtful activity, and Amazon withdrew affiliate
services for TUEBL.
MYTH: TUEBL
MUST CONTACT AUTHORS WHO HAVE CONTENT UPLOADED ON TUEBL BEFORE MAKING IT PUBLIC
FACT: Not only are we not legally required to
do this, it isn't logical. We assume that the authors are already uploading
their content. If this was a legal requirement than Youtube would have to
review every video and then contact the creator, or Facebook would have to
review every image uploaded and then contact the artist before letting the
image be public. This would destroy our modern web experience.
REALITY:
Yes, TUEBL found a loophole in the law which they are exploiting. They
"assume" the authors are uploading the content, but it is clear that
they actually know that the authors are NOT the ones uploading the content.
Dishonest users are uploading eBooks by the thousands without the consent or
knowledge of the authors. TUEBL is not comparable to YouTube or Facebook, and
in fact their Facebook account was disabled due to the continued requests by
authors. If our "modern web experience" allows pirating, then it
needs to be changed anyway.
MYTH:
TUEBL MAKES A PROFIT
FACT: TUEBL has actually cost me hundreds of
dollars, we dont take any revenue from our advertisements (when we had them)
nor from our affiliates. We believed that taking the advertising revenue would
be like taking credit for the work of authors, so we gave that money to
Childrens Literacy charities.
REALITY:
This rhetoric is craftily worded, as you notice no mention of donations or
other sources of revenue. If the beliefs of TUEBL folks is that the money they
make should not be used to compensate authors, but instead can be used for
anything they want it to be used for, then of course they should be willing to
deal with hundreds of offended authors, many of whom already donate to
charities of their choosing. If a company believes it is decent to steal
someone's work and then take any profit made from that work and distribute as
they see fit, then why is that company even allowed to exist? Hundreds of
authors in a week's time, and thousands going forward, will certainly disagree.
If you run
a company which continually provides protected content without the owner's
permission or knowledge, then you are running an illegal company. If you run a
company which makes any kind of monetary compensation without compensating
people who actually do the work, you are running an unethical and dishonest
company. If you create processes which humiliate a person by exposing their
personal information, and make the process as difficult as possible, then you
are providing a disservice to humanity. If you create a system where these
rigorous processes must be repeated over and over again as you turn a blind eye
to their work being mistreated, then you can only be considered a tyrant. If
you decide that this ideal is somehow the way an industry should be run, then
you should not be involved in running an industry. If you think that you have
the right to dictate the evolution and progress of someone's craft, without
their consideration, and in a condescending way, then you deserve to suffer the
wrath of the said craftspeople.
-----------
UPDATE 8/6/2012:
It has been brought to my attention that the last vestige of hope for this pirate group - their website - has officially been resolved. While we successfully managed to shut down their paypal, amazon and facebook accounts, their ship was barely afloat with their website. Due to a bit of intel, I checked for myself to see if their website was still up and running. The site no longer exists. This pirate has officially met his doom! We will continue to remain diligent, however, as pirates are nothing if not persistent, especially if they are as smug as this one. His deeds will remain fresh in our collective memory, and any future uprisings will be met with sufficient force. Say hello to Davy Jones for me, mister pirate man. May your vacant, burning galleon be a message to others willing to attempt harm to the fine members of my craft. While this is currently the case, I fully expect this one to float back up to the surface.
---------
UPDATE: 8/10/2012
As expected, we are now in the process of playing a game of "pirate whack-a-mole." The pirate site has been up and operating again for the past few days. They have changed the wording on one of their pages, indicating that any of their members who choose to should pay the authors for their work. To date, I have had no reports of this happening, nor do I expect to. Of course, if this does happen, I will be sure to post it here. I am concerned about the work of an author being uploaded after it has been taken down, due to the request of the author/publisher. If the organization knows enough to take down the book in the first place, then they should be liable if the work is put up again. This is just organizational responsibility, and if this type of negligence was being routinely utilized as a business practice in any other capacity, it wouldn't be long before the business is shut down. Please continue to follow this post for any new updates. Thanks for your support!
----------
UPDATE 8/6/2012:
It has been brought to my attention that the last vestige of hope for this pirate group - their website - has officially been resolved. While we successfully managed to shut down their paypal, amazon and facebook accounts, their ship was barely afloat with their website. Due to a bit of intel, I checked for myself to see if their website was still up and running. The site no longer exists. This pirate has officially met his doom! We will continue to remain diligent, however, as pirates are nothing if not persistent, especially if they are as smug as this one. His deeds will remain fresh in our collective memory, and any future uprisings will be met with sufficient force. Say hello to Davy Jones for me, mister pirate man. May your vacant, burning galleon be a message to others willing to attempt harm to the fine members of my craft. While this is currently the case, I fully expect this one to float back up to the surface.
---------
UPDATE: 8/10/2012
As expected, we are now in the process of playing a game of "pirate whack-a-mole." The pirate site has been up and operating again for the past few days. They have changed the wording on one of their pages, indicating that any of their members who choose to should pay the authors for their work. To date, I have had no reports of this happening, nor do I expect to. Of course, if this does happen, I will be sure to post it here. I am concerned about the work of an author being uploaded after it has been taken down, due to the request of the author/publisher. If the organization knows enough to take down the book in the first place, then they should be liable if the work is put up again. This is just organizational responsibility, and if this type of negligence was being routinely utilized as a business practice in any other capacity, it wouldn't be long before the business is shut down. Please continue to follow this post for any new updates. Thanks for your support!
----------
Stephen L. Wilson
No Pirates founder
If you would like to help with the effort to end piracy, please contact me. If you want to join the Facebook group, friend me and I will invite you.
