Somehow, so they think, it ENTITLES eBay bootleggers to stick any books they want onto a disc and mail it off, all royalties to themselves.
On the torrents, where piracy is simply a big giggle, the snotty slogan is "Because we like FREE."
. In the real world? And on EBAY?
Some weeks, a sneaky newcomer tries to rob from publishers and authors for as long as possible. Then there are others who do it openly and brazenly, figuring that nobody will notice.
Like THIS guy:
How could such a ridiculous ad even BE on eBay?
Yet this seller has been in business quite a while, declaring that GNU protects him. Maybe J.K. Rowling's rep or Penguin's rep is shrugging and saying, "Gosh, if there's a creepy thing like the EU, there could be a GNU?"
Maybe big ugly Stephen King doesn't care at all, or his publisher's VeRO rep isn't checking GNU auctions because he's an ostrich with his head in the sand?
If you check some of the feedback on these Brits, you see that they've been at it a long, long time.
Do I have to say it again? WRITER IS THE NIGGER OF THE WORLD.
Where's the outrage over writers being stolen from, and their rights ignored? Why is it that on eBay there are rules prohibiting KKK material but NONE specifically saying that you can't financially RAPE authors:
For some reason, this GNU excuse is embraced by BRITISH book thieves. Perhaps Americans know that copyright law doesn't say "copyright belongs to the original owner, but I can make copies and take all the money because, er, uh, because of GNU."
EBAY should of course outright forbid sellers from offering DVD book auctions with NO titles listed. It's one thing to put every "public domain" book (like the complete Shakespeare) onto a disc. It's another to simply list that you are offering THOUSANDS of current best sellers, or THOUSANDS of great titles...or that you'll custom make a disk with all the books by any author.
Many of these auctions could easily be shut down if only a single VERO rep was paying attention.
Type in ebook or pub or Kindle and you find most of the violations.
Ebay allows anyone to browse WITHIN an auction, so if you type in a few key words (an author's name or KINDLE, ePub or download) it's easy to find creeps like these.
Must I explain why this scabby, penny-ante piracy is bad? That it's not just the principle of some toffee-nosed twit hiding behind a faked-up caveat to make money for his dark beer with his fish and chips?
When somebody buys a DVD containing literally HUNDREDS of books, there's not much reason to buy downloads off Amazon is there? When a seller shrugs and says "tell me the name of ANY author, and I'll put all their titles on a DVD for you," that isn't doing libraries any good, is it?
We've seen the way Blockbuster video crumbled, due to streaming technology. We've seen how Tower Records and the other chains were destroyed by piracy and the rise of the mp3. And now, bookstores and libraries are supposed to become parking lots?
It's pretty sad that some publishers advertise their stupidity by giving huge advances to a few reality stars and provocateurs, and don't even check eBay for OBVIOUS VIOLATIONS.
As it is, we're seeing more and more authors forced to accept small advances or NO advances from tiny indie companies that have inept proofreading and the crappiest paper. We're seeing more and more authors haplessly doing what musicians do, and using vanity companies to hoist files up where they are lost among the thousands of amateurs also flooding Amazon with cheap downloads. CDBaby has a division called Bookbaby. You know who makes the money, BABY? It ain't the authors.
Piracy on the torrents and in forums and secret "clubs" on Facebook is bad enough. Lax Internet laws mean that these sites are seldom blocked or prosecuted. But EBAY? Where little criminals snicker and make $5 or $10 off a DVD loaded up with stolen COPYRIGHTED books? That's more than a crime. That is an outrage.
Publishers and authors need to take their heads out of their asses. Ebay, by law, must respond to valid DMCA's from VeRO (verified rights owner) reps. I'm a VeRO rep. It's not brain surgery. It takes me only a few minutes to find and report violations.
In case you're wondering how in the world these Brit Twits thought "GNU" applied in their case, the answer is simple. They are too greedy to think. They are too stupid to care. And they are too childish to actually understand that the GNU does NOT apply to putting stolen PDF and Kindle files on a DVD-R and burning them.
A quick glance at Wikipedia and another typical page on GNU:
Yes, like the kid with his hand in the cookie jar, these worthies have some lame excuse they made up. "You don't SAY I couldn't have more cookies, Mommy." And "If I modify a book by making it into a PDF file, and then burn it, I've created an original software program."
Whatever.
It's a sad, sad problem that the big arrogant companies such as EBAY and AMAZON and GOOGLE are bullying everyone. Copyright owners have to practically BEG for justice. They have to ask nicely. They have to jump through all the hoops and fill out all the forms.
And EBAY certainly doesn't have an easy way for ANYONE to contact them and tell them, "This seller is talking GNU bullshit."
It is important to make the GNU extinct...not, not the GNU that is in a zoo, but the GNU that lives in the warped minds of book thieves.
