What do you think about ebook piracy?

Almost all of my books have been pirated. I'd like to catch the scum and string them up by the bollocks.

Cease and desist orders are almost useless, for as soon as you get one instance taken down, another pops up.

I've even had people email me asking for free books because they'd prefer to get them from me than use pirates, then they get all huffy when I have the temerity to ask for money.

James W said:

I just read an article about ebook piracy (https://kindlepreneur.com/ebook-piracy/) and it got me thinking.

Is piracy always a bad thing?

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In a free-market system, where writers and artists only make money when their books or creations are sold, then yes, I'd say it's always bad. Every copy pirated is a copy the author (and any others in the pipeline that got the book into the reader's hands) isn't getting paid for. Most writers make very little money, so this kind of thing definitely adds up. Writing and publishing quality books (whether via self publishing or trade-publishing routes) is hard work, and if it becomes completely unprofitable, few people will bother. That will hurt consumers too.

In the article, it's mentioned how a lot of the time it isn't worth going after pirates. This can be due to the fact that sometimes the book they claim to offer illegally isn't actually in their possession. Instead, they simply use popular book titles as a way to lure people into malware situations.

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There are a number of crimes where it's hard to catch perpetrators or to prove their guilt if they are caught. I'd guess that it isn't always worth it to prosecute individual shoplifters who only steal relatively inexpensive merchandise either, but that doesn't mean filching paper copies of books off store shelves isn't always wrong. And shoplifers typically only steal one copy at a time, while pirates can not only steal for their own individual consumption, but distribute it to friends (or even sell cheaper, pirated copies online).

Another issue is that the cost of making up for the sales lost to piracy will drive the costs of books up for everyone else too.

The article was good but didn't really mention any firsthand experiences which people have had.

I've read more about the topic and have heard some people saying that a pirated copy of your book can actually get you kicked out of Kindle Unlimited! Does anyone know if the above issue with KU is actually the case?

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No idea, but it makes sense. why would Amazon (or any other retailer) want to enable people who steal what they're trying to make money from selling?

I'd also love to hear any other stories related to ebook piracy, either experiences or advice.

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I haven't published anything yet, so I can't tell a story from my own experience from that end. I always buy authorized copies of the e-books I read (there are ways to borrow them temporarily via libraries or loan them to friends temporarily, but I haven't experimented with that thus far). I suspect a large chunk of the discretionary money I spend is on books, both paper and electronic, but I consider it well spent, and I like the fact that it helps the authors I enjoy reading.

When I spend some time having take-down notices sent, the number of pirated copies of my books is much lower. So I would not assume it is a pointless activity.

In the absence of data who knows how pirated copies effects sales. It is probably different depending on a lot of factors. But I struggle to see how it would be widely beneficial.

James W said:

I just read an article about ebook piracy (https://kindlepreneur.com/ebook-piracy/) and it got me thinking.

Is piracy always a bad thing?

In the article, it's mentioned how a lot of the time it isn't worth going after pirates. This can be due to the fact that sometimes the book they claim to offer illegally isn't actually in their possession. Instead, they simply use popular book titles as a way to lure people into malware situations.

Click to expand...

Yes, piracy is always bad, and yes, there's a high probability of malware in the files as well as on the servers providing them.

If people want to read without legally obtaining a book, they can use libraries.

And yes, sending takedown notices when you're aware of your books being where they shouldn't be is worth doing; spending hours worrying about it is not.

Piracy reduces the number of copies books sell through publishers. When writers' sales aren't good their publishers will sometimes (often?) drop them, so their future books won't be published. So piracy not only affects the books which are pirated, it also has a detrimental effect on authors' careers. It's a bad thing.

Piracy is objectively bad, but unavoidable and nearly impossible to work around. I'd argue that it's better to focus one's efforts in writing new stuff or promoting existing books, than going after pirates.

Also, in addition to the points discussed above, let's consider that those who are going to pirate your book, probably weren't going to buy it anyway. It's a different demographic.

There is no objective way to determine the benefits of suppressing piracy. But sending out notices via Muso can be done with negligible amounts of mental energy. I think saying it is sapping your creative time and has zero benefit seems like a post hoc justification for not bothering. I don't always bother myself, but that's because I am lazy and a dilettante author rather than a full time professional.

And as for pirate users being a non-overlapping set with paying customers, I know people with 6-figure salaries who pirate when they can, and pay when they can't--at east in relation to movies. I doubt there is no overlap whatsoever.

Theodore Koukouvitis said:

Piracy is objectively bad, but unavoidable and nearly impossible to work around. I'd argue that it's better to focus one's efforts in writing new stuff or promoting existing books, than going after pirates.

Also, in addition to the points discussed above, let's consider that those who are going to pirate your book, probably weren't going to buy it anyway. It's a different demographic.

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I'm just going to point out the responses from three people who have many years of experience in publishing:

AW Admin said:

Yes, piracy is always bad, and yes, there's a high probability of malware in the files as well as on the servers providing them.

If people want to read without legally obtaining a book, they can use libraries.

And yes, sending takedown notices when you're aware of your books being where they shouldn't be is worth doing; spending hours worrying about it is not.

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Maryn said:

It's also an indicator of the professionalism and commitment of one's publisher whether they care about piracy or simply shrug when you send them links where your books that they published are being given away.

It was a factor in pulling my first novel when its contract expired. They didn't care.

Maryn, who did

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Old Hack said:

Piracy reduces the number of copies books sell through publishers. When writers' sales aren't good their publishers will sometimes (often?) drop them, so their future books won't be published. So piracy not only affects the books which are pirated, it also has a detrimental effect on authors' careers. It's a bad thing.

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If somebody wasn't going to buy my book, why the hell would they want to pirate it? To fill their Kindle to capacity? Because it's there? I've never understood that argument. It comes up time and again every time the subject gets discussed and I fail to see any sort of logic behind it.

Piracy is wrong. Point blank and full stop.

Theodore Koukouvitis said:

Piracy is objectively bad, but unavoidable and nearly impossible to work around. I'd argue that it's better to focus one's efforts in writing new stuff or promoting existing books, than going after pirates.

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That's wrong. There are statutory reasons to defend copyright; publishers and authors are obligated to defend their rights if they wish to maintain them. S.v. Rear Window.

Theodore Koukouvitis said:

Also, in addition to the points discussed above, let's consider that those who are going to pirate your book, probably weren't going to buy it anyway. It's a different demographic.

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I don't much care. People who, knowing the dangers, assist malware to proliferate are evil.

And then there's the whole ethical issue of theft, and yes it's theft and yes it's wrong.

Don't see any upside at all for readers or writers.

James W said:

I've read more about the topic and have heard some people saying that a pirated copy of your book can actually get you kicked out of Kindle Unlimited!

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To clarify: are you saying you've heard of authors being dropped from KU for pirating other people's books, or when someone else pirated THEIR book? If the former, then sure, I can see that. If the latter, then... IF it's true, I'd say Amazon is really turning the screws (again).

Theodore Koukouvitis said:

Also, in addition to the points discussed above, let's consider that those who are going to pirate your book, probably weren't going to buy it anyway. It's a different demographic.

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I often see this stated in defence of piracy but never see it substantiated.

When I was a selfish teenager I would pirate music through torrents. If there wasn't a torrent available, as happened fairly often, I would buy the song legitimately. eBooks weren't really a thing back then but I'm sure I would have done the same, because I didn't give a crap how it affected the artists. I wanted the track and would steal it if I could, but if I couldn't then I would buy it. I very much doubt I was an exceptional case.

In case it isn't obvious... I absolutely am not defending what I used to do. I was a brat. And when I grew up I bought the tracks that I could remember stealing.

When I was a whippersnapper, I used to sell a shareware telnet client. There were keygens and cracked versions out there, and I knew it. But one time, an owner of a keygenned version (you could tell by the serial number) contacted me for support.

I suggested he buy a license, then we'd talk. Never heard back from him.

There is a difference between saying "This is wrong, but hard to stop," and "This is hard to stop, so we'll just say it's not really wrong and the problem's solved."

When it comes to theft, there's always a point where fighting may be more expensive than ignoring. It comes with shoplifting - if you wanted to absolutely stop it, you could, say, weigh each customer entering and exiting the store. You'd probably catch some thieves and deter others, but it likely would be more trouble than it's worth. Even if the store doesn't make every possible effort to stop you from shoplifting, though, doesn't make it all right to stuff that cute blouse into your purse.

So with e-books, it may be hard to fight piracy. That doesn't make pirating ok, or victimless.