Saturday, July 31, 2010

Facebook and privacy. Did you know...?

Sort rant of sorts.

I've just discovered that if I click my cursor on the photo /avatar of a friend on Facebook, I can transfer it to my desktop? It wouldn't have occurred to me to try (and of course, I've deleted the proof after conducting my experiment), except that someone challenged me as to why I don't accept the friendship requests of anyone whose avatar is an image of a small child.

Why would someone want the photo of someone else's small child? I've no idea.

Anyway, be careful what you put on the internet. If you didn't know that anyone can snag your profile image from any of your friends' pages, now you do.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Authors Guild on Wylie

Thursday's announcement that the Wylie Agency, through its new publishing arm, Odyssey Editions, has a deal with Amazon to exclusively distribute at least 20 books in electronic form has shaken the industry. The 20 books include many important 20th century American works, including Invisible Man, Lolita, Portnoy's Complaint, Updike's Rabbit novels, The Adventures of Augie March, The Stories of John Cheever, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. These works are all in print and all, apparently, governed by old publishing contracts in which the authors didn't expressly grant electronic rights to the print publishers.

Random House, which holds the print rights to many of these titles, reacted Thursday afternoon by disputing that authors retained electronic rights to these books and saying that it would not do business with Wylie for English-language works "until this situation is resolved."

This is the most important development in electronic publishing since Apple entered the market offering publishers an "agency model" for selling e-books. Several aspects of the Wylie/Amazon/Random House entanglement merit comment:

1. Authors retain e-rights in standard publishing contracts unless they expressly grant those rights to the publisher, as we've consistently said and as a federal court held in Random House v. Rosetta Books. It's fine and proper for these authors and their heirs to exercise those rights, and we applaud the Wylie Agency for finding a way to make it happen.

2. That said, when an agency acts as publisher, serious potential conflicts of interest immediately come to mind. The most obvious of these is the possibility of self-dealing to the detriment of the agency's client, the author. If, by acting as publisher, the agency receives a higher percentage of the author's income than it would normally be entitled to, or if it receives other benefits that the author doesn't share in appropriately, then a conflict seems unavoidable.

Our understanding is that Wylie, as agent and publisher, is taking no more than it would as an agent. That is, Wylie/Odyssey is limiting its total compensation to its rate for commissions. If our understanding is correct, then our concerns about conflicts of interest are considerably eased. Other literary agencies contemplating similar deals should be aware that even non-monetary provisions in e-book distribution contracts could create conflicts of interest. A clause binding the agency to not sign exclusive deals for any of the books the agency represents with other e-book distributors, for example, would present a clear conflict of interest. (We have no reason to think Odyssey's contract with Amazon contains such a clause. From what we know, it appears that Wylie has avoided any conflict of interest.)

3. That the Wylie/Odyssey agreement is reportedly exclusive raises many questions and concerns. Authors should have access to all responsible vendors of e-books. Moreover, Amazon's power in the book publishing industry grows daily. Few publishers have the clout to stand up to the online giant, which dominates every significant growth sector of the book industry: e-books, online new books, online used books, downloadable audio, and on-demand books. (That Random House, by far the largest trade book publisher, has retaliated against the powerful Wylie Agency but not against Amazon, which must be equally culpable in Random House's view, tells you all you need to know about where power truly lies in today's publishing industry.) Adding to Amazon's strength may yield short-run benefits, but it's not in the interests of a healthy, competitive book publishing market.

There must be consideration for this exclusivity, of course, and we can only speculate as to what it is. Though we'll keep our guess to ourselves, we think the consideration wasn't monetary: we doubt that there was an advance paid for the rights or that Amazon has agreed to pay Odyssey more than 70% of the retail price of the e-books, since that might trigger most favored nation provisions in Amazon's contracts with other publishers.

Regardless of the exclusivity issues, any direct agreement between a literary agency and Amazon is troubling. Amazon has, time and again, wielded its clout in the industry ruthlessly, with little apparent regard for its relationships with authors or publishers or, for that matter, antitrust rules. Any agency working directly with Amazon may find its behavior constrained in unpleasant and unpredictable ways. Agencies should proceed with extreme care.

4. To a large extent, publishers have brought this on themselves. This storm has long been gathering. Literary agencies have refused to sign e-rights deals for countless backlist books with traditional publishers, even though they and their clients, no doubt, see real benefits in having a single publisher handle the print and electronic rights to a book. Knowledgeable authors and agents, however, are well aware that e-book royalty rates of 25% of net proceeds are exceedingly low and contrary to the long-standing practice of authors and publishers to, effectively, split evenly the net proceeds of book sales.

Bargain-basement e-book royalty rates will not last. Low e-book royalty rates will, as e-book sales become increasingly important, emerge as a dealbreaker for authors with negotiating leverage. Publishers will, inevitably, agree to reasonable royalties rather than lose their bestselling authors to more generous rivals and startups. We suspect publishers are well aware of this and are postponing the unavoidable because it seems to make sense in the short run. We believe this is short-sighted.

A major agency starting a publishing company is weird, no matter how you look at it. This sort of weirdness will only multiply, however, as long as authors don't share fairly in the rewards of electronic publishing. Publishers seeking to manage this transition well should cut authors in appropriately. The sooner they do so, the better. For everyone.
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Feel free to forward, post, or tweet. Here is a short URL for linking: http://tiny.cc/f9et5

And a PS (which is also rather fascinating)
We don't know the details of the Odyssey-Amazon agreement, but we can make some informed guesses. The agreement is most likely under the agency model, with Amazon paying Odyssey 70% of the retail price of the books. Wylie and Odyssey are together taking a typical agent's commission as compensation: 10 or 15% of the 70% received from Amazon. In round figures, this means that the author receives 60 to 63% of the retail price of the book.

For comparison, a typical contract with a traditional publisher pays e-book royalties of 25% of net proceeds. If the e-book is sold under the agency model, the author's share is 25% of 70%, or 17.5% of the retail price of the book. After the agent's commission, the author receives roughly 15 to 16% of the retail price of the book.

For a $9.99 book under the Odyssey-Amazon agreement, the author would receive royalties of $5.94 to $6.29 per book, net of all commissions. For a $9.99 e-book under a typical contract with a traditional publisher sold under the agency model, the author would receive royalties of $1.49 to $1.57, net of all commissions. The difference is about $4.50 per unit, a 300% increase in author income.
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Feel free to forward, post, or tweet. Here is a short URL for linking: http://tiny.cc/d5uhn

With a fan like this, who needs enemies!



Maybe I am mistaken. Maybe Sandra Brown and Katie Allen and Stephanie Meyers and Sarah Dessen truly do work for PayPal and for Yahoo and for Freebiemaster and are happy with a secret cut of the $2.00 per download that Freebiemaster charges for the "freely available", "free" books they "share".


I don't know. I cannot think that the authors' cut will be much after PayPal deducts its $0.40 minimum out of the $2.00, and Freebie Master takes his share. I wonder who pays the agents and the publishers.


FreebieMaster is within the law. He has a disclaimer:
Please note that we are not the 'hosts' of these books, neither did we upload them to any hosting provider. We simply find links to books, that were freely available on the web and share our findings with our members!
Pointing at ebooks and advising people to take them is a lot safer than pointing at money in a till.


Anyway, all these wonderful books come with a review. It is possible that the reviewer's copyright has also been infringed, and that the pirate site snagged her reviews illegally, along with the covers which were presumably posted without permission, and the ebooks themselves which are almost certainly not intended to be free, and may be assumed to have been posted in violation of the authors' copyright.


Here are a few excerpts from a very long page advertising "free" and "freely available" ebooks. I deem these clips to be covered by Fair Use, because this is only a fraction of what is on the page, and I am using the fractions to educate, and to illustrate critique etc etc

 


The Switch

I have been a Sandra Brown fan from day one. Her romance novels have been some of the best I have ever read. Her early mainstream novels are better than her recent ones. If you read the inside flaps on the dust cover of "The Switch", you will basically know the story and the author does not stray far from the review. "The Switch" was a fair read but could have been so much better.
For starters this book was too long! (469 pages) This story could have been told with 100 less pages. There were few characters and the information relayed between them at times became repetitive. I did not find any surprises. The murderers are revealed at the time of the murders and the reader is aware of the diabolical plot and just tags along for the ride. By the time you are halfway through the book you should be able to figure out Melina's "dark secret". I questioned it at the very beginning. And spicy sex scenes? Ms. Brown just does not write them like she once did.
In short I found this book to be an OK read although predictable and a bit long. If you want to read one of her better novels try Charade or Exclusive. The Switch seemed to have so much potential but did not deliver for me.





Maybe that's why this reviewer is apparently doing what she can to destroy the author's livelihood

Seeing Blind

Seeing Blind was so intense, I could not put it down. Katie Allen is a great author, I cannot wait for upcoming books. Five Stars!
Cassie thought that she had escaped from the psychic abilities that had haunted her all her life. After two years of vision-free bliss living on her small farm outside the tiny town of Napping, Cassie's only worry is her secret desire for the hot local sheriff, Ty.
But her quiet, anonymous life is destroyed when murder rocks the sleepy town and Cassie's visions thrust her into the middle of the grisly mystery. Reluctantly drawn into her own search for the killer, Cassie begins to unearth the town's tangled secrets with the dubious help of Napping's residents...and the sheriff whose mere presence is enough to make her blood boil.

Piracy makes my blood boil!


One-Two Punch

With 'Breaking the Silence' Katie Allen jumped to the top of my "must buy" list, and with 'One-Two Punch', she more than seals the deal. The writing is good, the plot is excellent, the romance is tender, and the sex is hot.
Where Katie Allen truly excels however, is in her ability to infuse her characters and writing with a sense of reality. I've been sitting here struggling with how to describe the extent of her talent. It's not that the plot is so true to life; let's face it, committed relationships between buff gym owners, beautiful former soldiers, and, well, how to describe Beth(?), aren't the everyday norm. The closest I can come is to compare it to a book I once read in which the main character, an author, infused so much detail and life into her primary characters that they came to life. (They ended up moving into her apartment and causing all kinds of trouble, but that's another story for another day.) Beth, Harry, and Ky really do jump off the page at you; and not only are they realistic, but they're people that you would want to know. Like Jenny and Will, (and who can forget Christian), from 'Breaking the Silence', the characters of 'One-Two Punch' would be welcome in my world. Of course, if I could be Beth or Jenny...
Rather than dealing with my bumbling attempt at description, buy 'One-Two Punch' and 'Breaking the Silence' and meet the characters yourself. You can never have too many friends.

"You can never have too many friends"????

The reason I posted two reviews of books by the same author is to illustrate a point. Many savvy authors and publishers may give away the first book in  a series, in the valid expectation that people who read the first book by an author they haven't tried before, will be hooked and will buy subsequent books.

Pirates don't buy the second book. They request it on or before release day. They go to almost any lengths to read it without paying for it. Here's publicly posted proof.

This site has Share This functionality embedded in it. So, it is public. It can be shared with all Twitter, all Facebook and 200+ more. The site invites "members" to share the page with friends and family.

Note for publishers, authors, agents.... if your book isn't being "shared" and falsely described as "free", this is bookmix 13. http://bookmaster.weebly.com/bookmix13.html

The same link with a substitution of number 13 for any previous number ought to take you to some of the other selections that have been distributed or the distribution of which has been facilitated by this commercial, book-sharing-for profit operation.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Here's your free video

Normally, I don't share advertising, (and I have an agent, so I didn't watch this before posting it!) but apparently, Steve Harrison has put together a panel of literary agents who share their tips on how an aspiring author might snag their interest and capture them.

Here's your free video

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Authors, e-book Pirates, could we get along?

Pirates, file-sharers, lend me your eyeballs for a moment. You want to read the latest releases without paying for them, and you'd like to make some money at the same time.

Your reasons vary. Maybe you are in a foreign land and cannot purchase books legally for one reason or another... price, currency restrictions, censorship, the Western Decadence in your favorite genre. Maybe you think that you are making a noble protest about the cost of books or ebooks. Maybe you are unable to find honest work, so you make money from commissions from file-sharing sites, or from AdBrite-placed advertisements.

Many of you are articulate, literate people, and while you cannot possibly read the 400,000 books that some of you are on record as downloading in a year on 4shared, you are voracious readers and you like to recommend what you have enjoyed to others.

Meanwhile, authors cannot get reviews. Review sites are crying out for staff reviewers... but the positions are usually unpaid. As more and more authors write better and faster, and publish electronically, the shortage of reviewers becomes more acute.

I object to any whiff of blackmail on principle, and the literary world looks down on "paid" reviews as being somehow dishonest. Goodness knows why. The purchase of a print advert in any number of magazines guarantees an author a review. Not necessarily a good review, but a review.

What would happen if pirate sites became legitimate book review sites?

Former pirates would get free books to read before they went on general sale. Maybe authors or publishers would pay a small fee, or purchase advertising so their cover legally showed up beside the review. Pirates could be anonymous. Legitimate ebook distribution to ex-pirate reviewers would be no different or less accessible, because review copies go out at no charge anyway.

Your reviews would probably be way more popular than the most popular and well trafficked review sites such as Amazon, or RT, or Dear Author. You could have legitimate advertising, syndicate (or not) your own copyrighted reviews, and continue to make friends and influence people.

What am I missing?

Friday, July 16, 2010

Astatalk - Question: Posting/Req newly released books. thread

The site has a "Share This" function so anyone who wishes to do so may share a link to Facebook or Twitter or any of almost 300 sites.

In this discussion, common pirates discuss the morality of sharing copyrighted novels the same day that they go on sale to the public.

Astatalk - Question: Posting/Req newly released books. thread

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Saturday, July 10, 2010

How Advertisers Promote E-Book Piracy, and What You Can Do About It



This is one way that pirates make money while appearing to be "generously" sharing ebooks without a profit motive. They accept advertisements that are placed by a reputable company such as AdBrite.

http://www.adbrite.com/mb/how-publishers-splash.php

It should be said that AdBrite has an agreement --a responsible agreement-- that "publishers" ie bloggers sign to pledge not to publish illegal content.


https://www.adbrite.com/mb/publisher_landing_page3.php


Snip from AdBrite's policy pages:
AdBrite prohibits ads from displaying on sites with the following content:

    * Any pornographic material, adult material, or mature content including thinly censored nudity. Due to the risk of adult content, we do not allow image hosts or free web hosting services.

    * Any offers for illegal activities, products or services.

    * Promotion of fake documents, copied material, or paper mills.
Advertisers presumably trust AdBrite when they sign up.

http://www.adbrite.com/mb/target_ads.php


However, as we can see, there are issues. Unscrupulous pirates are making money, and authors are being hurt.
AdBrite (much to its credit) has a contact form where anyone may report suspicious activity

http://www.adbrite.com/mb/email_support.php


But, one has to be massively outraged and persistent to find it!


I was. And am. A lot of my friends and colleagues have been ripped off since December by a pirate using blogspot, AdBrite, and a file hosting site. This pirate violated everyone's TOS. My question is, why isn't it easier to detect and stop this sort of thing?


However, now you know, next time you see a pirate on Wordpress or Blogspot poke around and see if you can find out who is placing the ads


Purely for shock value, I want to show you how many authors' books were being illegally shared by "download" links on a blogspot site.
Clicking the "Download" link (which is a very risky thing to do in these days of viruses and trojans and the possibility that you actually will illegally download a book and be sued!) in this case took would-be readers to a non-searchable page on a file hosting site.


(BTW I have messed with the "links" below, so they no longer go to the pirate site)



Nora Roberts (45) Ann Jacobs (14)  Gaelen Foley (10) Madeline Hunter (10) Candace Camp (9) Mandy M. Roth (8) Sandra Marton (8) Young adult (8) Abby Green (7) Erin McCarthy (7)  Amanda Ashley (6) Cathy Maxwell (6) Gail Faulkner (6) Gena Showalter (6) Marjorie M. Liu (6) Maryjanice Davidson (6) Melanie Jackson (6) Nalini Singh (6) Barbara Metzger (5) Brenda Joyce (5) Eve Vaughn (5) Joan Wolf (5) Miranda Lee (5) Mlyn Hurn (5) Annette Broadrick (4) Charlaine Harris (4) Elizabeth Thornton (4) Fiona Brand (4) Georgette Heyer (4) Ginna Gray (4) J D Robb (4) Jo Goodman (4) Julie Anne Long (4) Lucy Monroe (4) Penny Jordan (4) Rachel Bo (4) candice hern (4) Adele Ashworth (3) Allyson James (3) Amy J. Fetzer (3) Angela Knight (3) Anna Godbersen (3) Anthology (3) Anya Bast (3) Barbara Dawson Smith (3) Barbara McCauley (3) Barbara Samuel (3) Bertrice Small (3) Brenna Lyons (3) C T Adams and Cathy Clamp (3) Cathryn Fox (3) Christina Dodd (3) Emilie Rose (3) Evangeline Anderson (3) Iris Johansen (3) Jane Feather (3) Julie Ortolon (3) Karen Marie Moning (3) Maggie Shayne (3) Margaret Moore (3) Melissa Schroeder (3) Nancy Warren (3) Patrice Michelle (3) Patricia Briggs (3) Patricia Grasso (3) Ruth Wind (3) Spy (3) Action (2) Ally Carter (2) Amanda Browning (2) Amanda Young (2) Amy Fetzer (2) Andrea Kane (2) Anh Leod (2) Anne Bishop (2) Annette Blair (2) Annmarie McKenna (2) Anthony Horowitz (2) Ashley Ladd (2) Aubrey Ross (2) Barbara Clark (2) Ben Bova (2) Brenda Jackson (2) Carla Cassidy (2) Carol Grace (2) Charlotte Boyett-Compo (2) Christine Warren (2) Comic book (2) Elizabeth Young (2) Emma Darcy (2) Emma Holly (2) Hannah Murray (2) Heather Cullman (2) Helen R. Myers (2) Horror (2) Janet Chapman (2) Jenna Mills (2) Jennifer Crusie (2) Jennifer Labrecque (2) Jo Leigh (2) Jordan Summers (2) Kelley Armstrong (2) Laura Wright (2) Linda Winstead Jones (2) Mackenzie Mckade (2) Madelyn Alt (2) Marion Zimmer Bradley (2) Mary Balogh (2) Mary Winter (2) Meljean Brook (2) Nicholas Sparks (2) Rachel Caine (2) Yvonne Lindsay (2) Zoey Dean (2) gay (2) Alexandra Sellers (1) Alexis Morgan (1) Alicia Sparks (1) Alison Roberts (1) Allison Lane (1) Ally Blake (1) Alyssa Brooks (1) Amy Elizabeth Saunders (1) Amy Frazier (1) Andrea Da Rif (1) Angel Lynn (1) Angie Daniels (1) Anita Birt (1) Ann Major (1) Ann Vremont (1) Anne Mallory (1) Anne Manning (1) Arianna Hart (1) Ashlyn Chase (1) Barbara Delinsky (1) Beverly Rae (1) Blayne Edwards (1) Bonnie Hamre (1) CJ Cherryh (1) Cait London (1) Camille Anthony (1) Cara Summers (1) Carolyn Jewel (1) Catherine Spencer (1) Cecily von Ziegesar (1) Charlene Leonard (1) Charlene Sands (1) Chemistry (1) Cheryl Biggs (1) Cheryl St. John (1) Christie Kelley (1) Christie Ridgway (1) Ciana Stone (1) Cris Anson (1) Crissy Smith (1) Dahlia Schweitzer (1) Daisy Dexter Dobbs (1) Day Leclaire (1) Deborah Hale (1) Deidre Knight (1) Devyn Quinn (1) Doreen Desalvo (1) Doreen Orsini (1) Elizabeth Jewell (1) Ellen Fisher (1) Ellen Schreiber (1) Emma Goldrick (1) Erin Blackwell (1) French literature (1) Gayle Wilson (1) Glen Cook (1) Hannah Howell (1) Heather Holland (1) Ilona Andrews (1) Isabel Sharpe (1) Isabel Wolff (1) Isabelle Drake (1) J.c. Wilder (1) J.k. Rowling (1) James bond (1) Jane Sullivan (1) Janelle Taylor (1) Janice Bennet (1) Jenna Petersen (1) Jennifer Fallon (1) Jennifer St. Giles (1) Jennifer fulton (1) Jess Michaels (1) Jessica Day George (1) Kathleen E. Woodwiss (1) Kathleen O'Reilly (1) Leda Swann (1) Lesbian (1) Leslie Kelly (1) Lynn LaFleur (1) Marilyn Pappano (1) Mary Mcbride (1) Mary Wine (1) Meg Cabot (1) Melani Blazer (1) Melanie George (1) Melanie Milburne (1) Melinda Mcrae (1) Melissa Mcclone (1) Merline Lovelace (1) Michele Hauf (1) Michelle Albert (1) Minda Webber (1) Moira Mctark (1) Monica Mclean (1) Murder (1) Nancy Friday (1) Naomi Horton (1) Pamela Toth (1) Paula Marshall (1) Penthouse (1) Piper Banks (1) Poetry (1) Red Garnier (1) Rick Cook (1) Robin Schone (1) Samantha Hunter (1) Samantha James (1) Sara Craven (1) Shana Galen (1) Shelley Bradley (1) Sylvia Day (1) Toni Blake (1) alice borchardt (1) alison kent (1) 


PS

Just seen on Venture Beat
http://venturebeat.com/2010/03/02/book-piracy-costs-u-s-publishers-3b-says-study/
Attributor’s plan is crafty. The company doesn’t try to shut down pirate sites. Instead, it goes after the ad networks most of them use to make money by showing ads on the download pages for ripped books. Attributor tries to get the ad network – Google, Yahoo, AdBrite — to withhold a percentage of the money they would pay to the site’s operator, and give it to the book’s copyright holder instead.
The New York Times reported last year that Google and Yahoo “have reacted coolly to the proposal.”

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Open Letters To Software Companies About The Profitability of Piracy

This isn't the best of days to be sending out media requests for quotes about how the use of an auction site works well for major companies. We know that it does not necessarily work out for the authors whose ebooks are sold repeatedly.

3736 ebooks are currently being sold on iOffer.com, usually the vendors offer to email the works to up to 10 different paying customers... probably every day. However, I'd like to add a little spice to my upcoming radio show on Tuesday, so am asking Autocad, Poser, and Chief Architect how selling on iOffer is generating business for them.

Dear Mr Saeed, Mr Bliss, Ms Ha, Ms Brooks,

I am radio talk show host Rowena Cherry, and I talk about copyright infringement on my educational radio show, CRAZY TUESDAY on PIVWR. 


For my show on July 6th, I would love a quote from you about the selling of your products on the global auction site iOffer.com
I am particularly interested in whether you find the publicity profitable when individuals auction 10 copies of your product range for $40 when you sell the product for a MSRP of $3, 995

http://www.ioffer.com/i/autocad-electrical-2011-instant-delivery-149726793

As I look around iOffer.com I am impressed by how successful your authorized vendors are at selling your products at such incredible discounts.
This must be close to an example of how the "piracy model" really is a win-win situation for everyone!

If by chance these vendors on iOffer are not authorized resellers, I should love a quote from you on how you feel about iOffer.com
etc etc
Rowena Cherry




Dear Chief Architect,

I am radio talk show host Rowena Cherry, and I talk about copyright infringement on my educational radio show.
For my show on July 6th, I would love a quote from you about the selling of your products on the global auction site iOffer.com

I am particularly interested in whether you find the publicity profitable when individuals auction 10 copies of your product range for $40

http://www.ioffer.com/i/Chief-Architect-X2-Professional-3D-Home-Design-Software-144355111

As I look around iOffer.com I am impressed by how successful your authorized vendors are at selling your products at such incredible discounts.
This must be close to an example of how the "piracy model" really is a win-win situation for everyone!

If by chance these vendors on iOffer are not authorized resellers, I should love a quote from you on how you feel about iOffer.com

 etc etc
Rowena Cherry

Dear Nisha,


I am radio talk show host Rowena Cherry, and I talk about copyright infringement on my educational radio show.
For my show on July 6th, I would love a quote from you about the selling of your products on the global auction site iOffer.com

I am particularly interested in whether you find the publicity profitable when individuals auction 10 copies of your product range for $35 when you sell the product for a MSRP of $249.99

http://www.ioffer.com/i/poser-pro-v-8-2010-professional-free-shipping-144280627

As I look around iOffer.com I am impressed by how successful your authorized vendors are at selling your products at such incredible discounts.
This must be close to an example of how the "piracy model" really is a win-win situation for everyone!

If by chance these vendors on iOffer are not authorized resellers, I should love a quote from you on how you feel about iOffer.com

 :-)

There are almost a thousand Microsoft auctions going on. Here's an example of one of them (I do not recommend making a purchase, because I have a feeling Microsoft already knows about this, and it is not hard to find out who bought what on iOffer.com )

http://www.ioffer.com/i/microsoft-office-2007-pro-professional-retail-box-new-109874219


Microsoft sends thank-you notes. They are generic, but beautifully informative!

Microsoft Corporation thanks you for your recent correspondence to our Anti-Piracy team. Microsoft devotes substantial time and effort towards fighting software piracy, and we appreciate your shared interest in this cause.
Our staff promptly reviews every submission we receive, but due to the sensitive legal nature of these matters, it is not possible for us to provide feedback or updates about actions taken on your report.
Your report matters. For example, in 2007, customer reports directly contributed to the investigation and eventual prosecution of the biggest software counterfeiting operation in history.
In the Web sites below, you will find more information about Microsoft’s initiatives designed to help protect customers and fight software piracy.
Once again, we thank you for your interest and participation in fighting software piracy.
Yours sincerely,
Microsoft Corporation
Anti-Piracy Team
Please address questions or additional correspondence to piracy@microsoft.com. Note: We cannot provide information regarding individual reports or ongoing investigations.

Friday, July 02, 2010

The Composer and the Pirate

jasonrobertbrown.com - weblog - archives

This, you must read. It is fascinating! A transcript of correspondence (with permission of the correspondee) between a copyright infringer and a composer and copyright owner.