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How To Set Up a Pirate EBook Store In Google Play Books

Posted by timothy on from the pirate-business-plan dept.

Nate the greatest writes: Most ebook pirates simply upload ebooks to one of many pirate sites, but the entrepreneurial ones have opened storefronts in Google Play Books. They invent an author's name, and then upload dozens if not hundreds of pirated ebooks under that name, The names can range from Devad Akbak to Ispanyolca, but the really clever pirates choose a legit sounding name like Bestsellers — Books USA Press or Fort Press and then start selling ebooks.

Thanks to Google's indifference, the pirates can continue to sell ebooks no matter how many times copyright holders might complain. If Google takes a pirated ebook down in response to a DMCA notice, the pirates simply upload another copy of the same title.

9 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. Lawsuit incoming? by Dog-Cow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unless every single pirated work is free on their store, Google is in for a massive lawsuit and probably criminal charges for profiting on copyright violations.

    1. Re:Lawsuit incoming? by stephanruby · · Score: 4, Informative

      What about ebay they’ve been selling illegal stuff for as long as the site exists no one sued their arses.

      Wrong. Ebay got sued for that many times. And in some cases, it even lost.

    2. Re:Lawsuit incoming? by stephanruby · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I could personally target one legitimate publisher with many DMCA take down requests (where I lie about my identity). And I could do this repeatedly. That would create a pattern. Wouldn't it?

      Also, I wonder what happens when a scammer is discovered. Is the ebook taken back by Google like Amazon did with 1984? Google Play Books is a DRM bookstore, so technically it could do that.

      No one I know actually uses Google Play Books. It's full of DRM and Google doesn't even prevent competing bookstores from appearing on Android. So it's not like anyone is actually buying any ebook from them. Their prices are not even discounted compared to the ebooks from other bookstores without DRM.

    3. Re:Lawsuit incoming? by CaptainDork · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Along those lines ...

      I'm an amateur photographer and I taped a wedding party where the couple danced. I didn't think about the music the DJ was playing, but Sony sure did.

      I got a DMCA.

      Hell, the thing was on a YouTube channel that gets no hits. Just family.

      They applied that, "what song is this?," algorithm.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  2. OK, so let me get this straight by Brett+Buck · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Slashdot is now sanctioning crimes and giving instructions on how to commit them?

        Someone might have a point about the wisdom of copyright law but there's no doubt that it *is* against the law.

  3. Re: Google reminds me of MS in the late '90s by pollarda · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Keep in mind that by that point IE was being used by Microsoft for a whole lot more than browsing the web. Significant parts of IE was being used for file display / file browser and a whole lot more. IE was intertwined throughout the Windows operating system and thus simply removing it would have been very difficult. At the same time, I'm sure MS could have found a way to not install the users client that displayed web pages.

  4. Nope by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Informative

    The DMCA safe harbor protects them as long as they take it down immediately on request, and google is big enough to weather any lawsuit. Now if you or I were running an app store...

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  5. Re:Here is what I don't get.. by 0123456 · · Score: 4, Informative

    You are aware that every form of ebook DRM is completely broken and serves no purpose other than to annoy legitimate purchasers, right?

  6. Google's YouTube no different by NewtonsLaw · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As a regular YouTube uploader and "Channel Partner", I often find my videos have been copied and re-uploaded (with monetization) by "pirates".

    There are now obviously scripts out there that can be run to automatically create a new channel which consists of nothing but re-uploads of other people's popular videos.

    On countless occasions I have laboriously filled out YT's copyright complaint form, listing a dozen or more instances where a single channel has pilfered my hard work. I always get the standard response "the offending content has been removed" -- but the channels are often still operating. What happened to the "three strikes" for copyright infringement?

    And just as importantly... since *my* videos were clearly being leveraged by someone else to generate revenue... what happens to that money?

    I bet Google still charges the advertiser but no doubt they won't be paying the pirate -- so do they just pocket this money without the need to pay a share to the genuine copyright holder? It would seem so.

    This probably explains why they have made NO EFFORT at all to circumvent these script-created channels that contain nothing but other people's content re-uploaded in clear violation of YouTube's Terms of Service.

    What an earner for Google -- no wonder they don't bother enforcing their "three strikes" policy on channels for which they effectively get to keep *ALL* the ad revenues and no wonder they don't flag (for inspection) new channels which suddenly appear and upload several hundred videos within 24 hours.

    Do no evil? Yeah... right!