Google's YouTube, Blogspot and GooglePlay allow anyone to post, share and sell copyrighted material. This material then makes money for the uploader AND for Google.
Similarly, EBAY will allow somebody to get five accounts all supposedly based in Russia, or ten accounts all supposedly based in Sri Lanka, and even coach these sellers on how to bootleg eBooks with impunity. As in: "Say in your ad you own copyright or it's public domain" and "Say in your ad that you won't be offering a digital download but will send the item by mail."
Whether it's GOOGLE or EBAY the bottom line is that the giant company gets bigger. The Internet monsters have gotten to the point where they can dictate to once-powerful giants. Amazon can tell Disney and can tell book companies, "Nope, we are NOT carrying your product unless you PLAY BALL WITH US." Google's YouTube will say "Sorry, NBC, ABC, CBS, Columbia, Warners and RCA, you might as well play ball with us, and upload your product and get a few pennies in royalties, because we will make you jump through DMCA hoops on EVERY violation you want to report."
What's it take to get justice? Apparently a government agency. In Holland, BREIN is fighting Google's hypocrisy.
Where's the agency looking out for writers? Do writer's unions do nothing except take a huge fee and offer a dental plan? Does HarperCollins, Simon & Shuster and the others think that finding a "Web Sheriff" agency (like Digimarc) is enough? What does Digimarc do? Put in a digital mark on Kindle files so they can track if they're being illegally uploaded and downloaded at Kickass or Demonoid or Pirate Bay? That does NO good when those torrent sites snicker and ignore take-down requests. And where's Digimarc when it comes to filing a DMCA on eBay against a Sri Lanka seller with a long list of best-selling authors being abused?
The publishing world is SUPPOSEDLY full of bright, literate people. It's SUPPOSEDLY loaded with authors who want to champion truth and beauty, and point out injustices and make the "human condition" a little better. Instead, the scummiest Internet torrent sites and even the biggest auction site (EBAY) can get away with massive copyright abuse?
Where's the BREIN for authors and publishers, telling EBAY they can NOT allow pdf mobi epub kindle sellers to run rampant?
Where's the BREIN for authors and publishers, demanding that torrents be blocked and that every ISP shut down service to those who download from them?
Imagine what would happen if the average person couldn't easily go to torrents, forums and blogs, and download the latest best sellers. They'd buy that material, or at least take it out of the library.
BREIN is showing that GOOGLE is not GOD. It's time for politicians to pass strong laws that reduce the power of these gigantic monopolies.
There should be an American version doing the same.
It's also time that publishers and unions truly get organized and quash flagrant abuse. The RIAA can take down any seller who offers the Top 10 albums on mp3. That's why you don't see that crap on eBay, even from ubiquitous Sri Lanka sellers with a dozen aliases. Where's the publisher equivalent?
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