I would suggest writing to Amazon specifically to ask before I wrote anything for them. 
 
-Christine

I did write to Amazon and explained the situation. Hopefully I will hear back from them soon. Peter mentioned something about Amazon still might have my book review somewhere in the back pages, even though I deleted it already? I am hoping they do. If not, perhaps I will get a solid answer from them about whether the author is an “Affiliate” or not. Armed with that information, I've made my case. From the quick turn the authors legal counsel made away from the agreement issue, I think I hit a nerve on that point. Time will tell.

There are ways to make his life miserable, but so far I like the C&D letter idea. While googling on this topic, I saw one somewhere. Now all I have to do is find my way back to it again! I wonder how long before I hear from Amazon?

Thanks for the well wishes Christine. I'm glad I happened across your site here. )

Sharon

He is a “maroon!” lol Who knows what his reasons are for digging in heels on this. What he keeps telling me is, he has the right to do so. His lawyer and I are in a dialogue and I'm beginning to wonder about his capabilities. He shared some of his research with me and he is citing cases from 1966, 1986, 1981, and the youngest one being 1991. Sorry, but I find this hilarious! And they don't even apply to our issue! Rather than simply tell me what kind of agreement he has with Amazon, he has switched gears, claiming Fair Use now. I have a sneaking suspicion I hit onto something with that “Participation Agreement” In most cases, Fair Use would not allow for the copying of the complete book review. He also said that since I quoted from their book (very minimal), I don't see them “whining”! lol Oh, and once I used any of their quotes, my book review is fair game. It's really been something else.

BTW, I know both of these fellows (on the internet, not in person) and have for awhile. I've recently changed some of my views and they are not playing nice now that I'm (in their eyes) some kind of enemy. So there is some personal stuff going on in the midst of this but I'm not mixing the two and have limited my talks about the copyright issue to their uh… legal counsel. (I still can't get over the dates on these case's he is bringing up! Anyone can google and find more current information about copyright laws! Goodness! lol)

Thanks for well wishes!

Sharon

It's not in the book author's best interest to use a review that the writer wants removed. He's innocent to the ways of Google. You could, if you were so evilly inclined, “google bomb” him and his site with horrible reviews, etc. If he were a smart author, he'd comply with your wishes immediately. It isn't worth the risk of pissing off Amazon and it isn't worth the risk of pissing off the wrong, ultra-connected person on the web. This guy sounds crazy, though. Book sales are so touch and go these
days. Authors don't want to make stupid moves like make a fan angry … it
will wind up on Facebook, Live Journal, MySpace, Twitter, etc. You
don't want the first entry of a Google search to return anything but
your website.

Write to Amazon, but perhaps also write the book author a C&D letter. A Cease and Desist letter is quite effective in most cases. It's a legal letter that is an official warning by you to the offender. It's a matter of due course in a legal case. Judges will expect you to give a person fair warning before you sue them. If you need templates of a C&D letter, just search the internet or ask around. A lawyer can write one for you too, for usually a small fee. If you have a friend who is a lawyer, have them write it for you but sign your own name. Send it to the book author. Most people will immediately stop using your content once they get a C&D.

Good luck.
-Christine Cavalier, PurpleCar
http://www.purplecar.net/

________________________________

>>He called me deceptive and a few other choice things and didn't answer the question, so there isn't much cooperation on their end.

I believe that Bugs Bunny would say “What a maroon!” Why would he want to start a fight over this?

Good luck w/ your battle — I hope you prevail. Irrespective of whether or not he is legally right, it bothers me that he is using a deleted review against the review author's wishes to enrich himself.

Thank you for the feedback. I am going to write to Amazon to clarify the situation. I did go to Amazon's “Partication Agreement” which is for those who sell product, and it clearly states they are also under the same privacy terms as the buyer, or in my case, the one who wrote a review. In one section of the agreement, it clearly distinguishes between an Affiliate and a Participant, so I asked the author to clarify whether he was an Affiliate or a Participant. He called me deceptive and a few other choice things and didn't answer the question, so there isn't much cooperation on their end. But, if I find out they have violated my copyright on the review, then they have more to lose than I because they could lose their right to sell the book at Amazon. I don't know if they've even thought about it that far down the road or not. Who knows.

Thanks again for the feedback. When I get this straightened out, I'll let you know the results.

Sharon