Pirated, Fake and Counterfeit Ebooks Are a Constant Presence on Amazon

It is a well-known fact that the authors put a great deal of time and effort into writing books of their own. In many ways writing a book is like a culmination of all their writing dreams.

This is why the news about books being pirated is very upsetting for most writers. Book piracy is nothing more than outright theft.

And it is heartbreaking for writers because they get no monetary compensation despite the fact they put in a great deal of time and effort into the process.

What’s more heartbreaking though, is the fact that there is a constant presence of pirated, fake, and counterfeit books on Amazon. The online retail company is considered one of the largest and most prolific in the industry.

And being such a big company, you would think they would find a way to prevent books from being pirated on their watch.

This problem has been quite prevalent for some time and a good number of self-published authors have launched complaints and some well-known publications have written articles about this problem. And yet, despite the public scrutiny, there is not that much that publishers and authors alike can do about it.

Although Amazon has created some measures on how to combat this problem. Most notable being its Project Zero. Sadly though these measures are proving to be ineffective to root out the problem.

This is because Amazon places the responsibility of protecting their books on the authors and publishers. It is considered the author’s and publisher’s responsibility to report any intellectual property issues.

And even worse is the fact that this program is invitation only. So if you are just a small-time author or publisher, there is little chance that you’ll be even included. Overall the measures, are not enough.

So what could you do as a small-time author or publisher? Sadly, there’s really not much you could do. This is because Amazon and its contemporaries are very powerful and expansive.

And although there are copyright laws that could help you out, Amazon is just too big to take on head-on. It would take a fortune and a great deal of time and hard work to even make a case.

So what could we learn from this issue? We learn that being a small-time author is a challenge.

The odds are stacked against you from the start. And even if you don’t want to work with huge online retail companies like Amazon, you will need to do so in order to stay competitive.

But don’t despair, this is part of the publishing game. The best you could do is be aware that your intellectual property is very vulnerable when it is put online.

And you should be vigilant about your rights and look for ways to protect your work the best you can. Overall, book piracy has been a constant presence in the publishing industry and you should just do your best to cope with it until they could find a more effective solution to this issue.

Now that you know the threat of counterfeit books, you can take the right steps to protect your work! Visit the Writers Republic blog for more news and writing tips.

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Become a Self-Published Author in 3 Simple Steps

Pirated, Fake and Counterfeit Ebooks Are a Constant Presence on Amazon

Become a Self-Published Author in 3 Simple Steps

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