Content Stolen on Amazon

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   OldRosesposted 5 years ago

   I received an email through HubPages from a seller on Amazon who was so impressed with my description of a plant that she is now using it on her listing for seeds on Amazon.  She was writing to thank me for the wonderful description.  I checked her seed listing on Amazon and sure enough, it is a copy and paste from my article.  I immediately wrote her back and told her that what she had done is considered theft and demanded that she remove the description.
   
   Since she resides in India,I assume that my threats of legal action will not bother her, so my next move would be to contact Amazon.  Has anyone had any luck with getting stolen content removed from Amazon?  If so, how did you go about it?  I can't find anywhere on the site to report sellers.

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   SANJAY LAKHANPALposted 5 years ago

   I think you can submit your complaint to DMCA.

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      OldRosesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      DMCA is used for complaints involving websites.  I don't think that it applies to stores on Amazon.

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   DrMark1961posted 5 years ago

   Did she take a few sentences out of your article (the description of the plant) or copy the entire hub?
   If it is only part of the article, I think it could be considered fair use. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable in this area will comment.

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      OldRosesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I wasn't aware of that.  I thought that the copyright at the end of our articles protected all of the content.  I'm interested in hearing from others about this.

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         DrMark1961posted 5 years agoin reply to this

         I think it is when someone uses something you say, or words from an article or book, but I do not remember how long it can be. If you use parts from the Bible, for example, but go over a certain limit, it is considered copied content.
         I read your comment about her already removing it, but what about asking her to say something like "this description is from master gardener Carin White, a writer on Dengarden". I know when I plant something new in my garden I want to read an article from someone who knows about it. Not sure how much traffic it will drum up, but it may help to ask her to do this if she uses one of your articles again.

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            OldRosesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            She wants to use my plant descriptions to promote her business selling seeds on Amazon.  In my mind that means I would be writing her marketing material for free.  I think it would be more appropriate to pay me, rather than just giving me credit.

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               DrMark1961posted 5 years agoin reply to this

               Yes, that makes sense.

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               Marketing Meritposted 5 years agoin reply to this

               I think one of the problems you have Old Roses, is the extent to which your plant description is generic. There are four elements to fair use, which can be found here:
               
               https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html
               
               The length of copied text is just one factor. Your work is being used for commercial purposes and there may be the inference that you, as an experienced gardener, are endorsing the seeds being sold. There is also the potential loss of earnings for you, if her product outranks your article on Google.
               
               I know I wouldn't be happy about it. Can only suggest you keep an eye on the seller and report the infringement to Amazon, if and when she relists in the same format.
               
               Good luck!

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                  OldRosesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank you!  That is very helpful.

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   carrie-kelleyposted 5 years ago

   Amazon has an infringement reporting page. I don't know if I can post the link here, but if you Google "Amazon Report Infringement" you should find it. You need an Amazon account and to be logged in to report it. I've had similar problems to yours, and it gets taken down.

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      OldRosesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Carrie-Kelley.  She took down the listing but is now requesting I give her blanket permission to use any of my articles to help her business.  I guess I'm going to have to keep an eye on her.

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   theraggededgeposted 5 years ago

   Or perhaps tell her she can use 10% of your work as long as she pays you 10% of all her sales

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   KC3Ladyposted 5 years ago

   That sounds just about right. Years ago we were spending one out of every five days of writing just tracking down stolen content. Of course, it is internet etiquette to first ask that the content be removed with the thought in mind that the person may not realize. However, there seem to be plenty of people who will adamantly refuse to remove their stolen content as if they are somehow entitled to steal it. I'm interested to see if you are able to resolve this issue.

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      OldRosesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I know exactly what you mean.  I had a hub stolen by a site recently.  I contacted the site owner.  No reply.  I filed a DMCA with their hosting company.  No reply.  Yesterday I filed a takedown notice with Google.  It's very frustrating.

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