Today I wrote a “stop using my content” email, called a Cease & Desist letter. I also submitted a complaint to Google, who runs blogspot.com (the service provider of the offender).
Here is the letter I wrote, with identifying information redacted:
Dear Mr. (Offender),
On your Blogspot.com site, you committed unauthorized use of my original, copyrighted work entitled “Book Review: Twilight Series Is a Primer for the Mormon Religion and Is Boring.” at http://www.purplecar.net/2009/05/04/book-review-twilight-series-is-a-primer-for-the-mormon-religion-and-is-boring/ (hereto referred: the “Work”) in your content on [redacted].blogspot.com at URL http://[redacted].blogspot.com/search/label/[redacted]. You are in violation of my copyright.
I have reserved all rights in the Work, first published in 04 MAY 2009 and have registered copyright therein. Your content, published [date] at [time], entitled “[title]” is essentially identical to the Work and clearly used the Work as its basis. Paragraphs were copied and pasted, using word-for-word copying. For example, the content on your site, in full:
The fact that the Twilight Series is a fantasy series about vampires doesn’t distract from the heavy religiosity throughout the entire 4-book story. The series serves only one purpose: to inculcate teens into a christian morality, preferably Mormon. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
Plus, the repetitive and overly simple writing and transparent plot don’t hold a candle (or a fang) to Harry Potter. Not even close. But that’s plain to anyone who reads the first page. I’ll talk about what must be the appeal at the end of the post. Right now let’s look at the morality messages that pelt you at every turn of the page.
[SPOILER ALERT: Plot is revealed.]
First, we repeatedly see Bella’s and Edward’s “struggle” with staying virgins until they marry. Then they marry at age 18 and 17, respectively, having a child immediately. Plain statements supporting a christian theology, the basic beliefs of the Mormon faith (or, perhaps any conservative christian religion) are clearly outlined in the books. After a while, it becomes clear to the aware reader that the series’ purpose is to spread conservative christian theology and moral beliefs through the teens of the world. The Mormon author of the series, Stephenie Meyer, knew what she was doing.
Unfortunately, the constant hammer-over-the-head schtick gets old quick. Meyer makes no effort toward subtlety, and doesn’t offer any fodder for thought. You don’t have sex until you are married and that’s it. No controversy. No other options. The few days before your honeymoon night you are supposed to go to your parents for a frank talk about sex, or “physical love” as main character Edward called it (in a preachy diatribe about how marital sex is the only sex. It’s one of many religious speeches the characters make throughout the book.).
I’m not taking issue with Meyer’s beliefs. She can believe what she wants. But I would like to have people realize what Meyer’s purpose was. And once you see it, the plot is overly predictable. Knowing that she was a Mormon, and reading the morality in the first two books, I knew a child was coming. I slightly wondered how she would do it, but I know enough about the Mormon religion to see that a child would appear as soon as the honeymoon was over. In the case of Bella, the fetus appeared after only two nights of marital conjugation.
The Work from my site, Purplecar.net:
The fact that the Twilight Series is a fantasy series about vampires doesn’t distract from the heavy religiosity throughout the entire 4-book story. The series serves only one purpose: to inculcate teens into a christian morality, preferably Mormon. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
Plus, the repetitive and overly simple writing and transparent plot don’t hold a candle (or a fang) to Harry Potter. Not even close. But that’s plain to anyone who reads the first page. I’ll talk about what must be the appeal at the end of the post. Right now let’s look at the morality messages that pelt you at every turn of the page.
[SPOILER ALERT: Plot is revealed.]
First, we repeatedly see Bella’s and Edward’s “struggle” with staying virgins until they marry. Then they marry at age 18 and 17, respectively, having a child immediately. Plain statements supporting a christian theology, the basic beliefs of the Mormon faith (or, perhaps any conservative christian religion) are clearly outlined in the books. After a while, it becomes clear to the aware reader that the series’ purpose is to spread conservative christian theology and moral beliefs through the teens of the world. The Mormon author of the series, Stephenie Meyer, knew what she was doing.
Unfortunately, the constant hammer-over-the-head schtick gets old quick. Meyer makes no effort toward subtlety, and doesn’t offer any fodder for thought. You don’t have sex until you are married and that’s it. No controversy. No other options. The few days before your honeymoon night you are supposed to go to your parents for a frank talk about sex, or “physical love” as main character Edward called it (in a preachy diatribe about how marital sex is the only sex. It’s one of many religious speeches the characters make throughout the book.).
I’m not taking issue with Meyer’s beliefs. She can believe what she wants. But I would like to have people realize what Meyer’s purpose was. And once you see it, the plot is overly predictable. Knowing that she was a Mormon, and reading the morality in the first two books, I knew a child was coming. I slightly wondered how she would do it, but I know enough about the Mormon religion to see that a child would appear as soon as the honeymoon was over. In the case of Bella, the fetus appeared after only two nights of marital conjugation.
In a side-by-side comparison, you will find that the posts are identical.
You did not receive permission from me to use the Work as the basis for “[title]” nor did you receive permission from me to make or distribute copies, including electronic copies, of same. Therefore, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages.
I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of all infringing works derived from the Work, and all copies, including electronic copies, of same, that you deliver to me, if applicable, all unused, undistributed copies of same, or destroy such copies immediately and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future. If I have not received an affirmative response from you by [date give them about 2 weeks] indicating that you have fully complied with these requirements, I shall take further action against you.
You also appear to be in violation of Blogger.com/blogspot.com’s copyright policy. I have submitted a form to Google to bring their attention to your unauthorized use of my copyrighted work.
I have copied a Mr. [redacted] from Blogger.com/blogspot.com on this letter.
The RSS of alerts on my online content from FairShare usually stays pretty quiet. Even when another site uses my content and a new alert is generated, 99% of the time a link back to my blog accompanies the post. Even then, the post isn’t a full copy but a summary and a link. I have no problem with this, as I license my content under a Creative Commons copyright.
For those of you who aren’t familiar, here’s a 3-step process on how a blogger can protect the words she writes from being plagiarized or stolen.
1st: a blogger visits the Creative Commons website and picks which type of copyright she wants. I’ve chosen the copyright that allows other people to re-post my content, as long as they link back to me or give me credit and they don’t use my work to make money. They can’t sell my work or use it to sell other things, even if they do link back to me.
2nd: the blogger downloads the graphic and puts it on every page of her blog. Mine looks like this:
3rd: the blogger uses various web applications to send alerts via RSS or email whenever her content shows up somewhere on the Internet. I use FairShare to look after all my content and Google alerts to look after various keywords, including my name and blog name. When someone uses my content, those alerts will fire me an RSS update or an email, respectively.
That’s the basic way to keep track of where your work ends up online.
When I get an alert, I immediately investigate. If everything looks OK and within the terms of the Creative Commons copyright, I leave it be. About 99% of the alerts fall within what’s called “Fair Use.” In other words, the other site that borrows my content links back to my blog, giving me credit, and the site isn’t covered in ads or selling any products.
Today I started my RSS reader and found an alert from FairShare that was in that 1%.
FairShare showed me the site New and Used Books, where my review of NurtureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman was listed under the ad for the book. I was not credited. The full review was posted, not a partial clip. There was no link back to the Amazon site where I had posted my review, there was no link back to my blog. No link at all. And they were using my review (albeit a non-favorable one) to sell the book.
This is when I send a “cease & desist” letter. Basically, a cease & desist is a letter that says, “Please link to me or remove this content immediately. You are violating my copyright.” In other words, somebody owes me money or credit, and if you don’t delete my content from your site, you must pay me.
NewandUsedbooks is still violating my copyright because they are using my words to sell a book, but even that I could let go if they just linked to me or to my Amazon review (which links to my blog).
Here is my email to Newandusedbooks.com. It is a typical cease & desist email that I write:
“You have used my content and are violating copyright. Please either remove my book review or give me the link credit to my blog. You have taken the online reviews from Amazon.com but have not linked to that either. I will be forwarding a copy of this message to Amazon.com.
Here is the link to your page where you violate my copyright:
http://newandusedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=zmore&manu=Twelve&prodGroup=Book&item_ASIN=0446504122&author=Po%20Bronson&SubscriptionId=0JN0QHH0QAG4YVY4FY02
Here are the first few phrases of my review:
‘Conservative agenda by non-scientists.: (2009-09-20)
New York Magazine journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman team up to add commentary and more information to their articles in this new book published by Twelve, a division of the Hachette Book Group.
The last page of the book has this blurb about Twelve:’
I expect this situation to be resolved by Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009 by 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (GMT – 5).
Thank you.
Christine Cavalier
christine@purplecar.net”
Today is Sunday. I didn’t expect a quick response, but a few minutes later I received this email from newandusedbooks.com:
“Dear Ms. Cavalier,
New and Previously Owned Books is an Amazon affiliate. We have not “copied” anything from Amazon rather as an Amazon affiliate and by contract with Amazon, we receive by automatic “download” the books, book covers, reviews, prices, availability, etc. directly from Amazon. We do not select what reviews to post on any given book – they are downloaded from Amazon. We cannot control what Amazon puts on their site and we cannot add to their descriptions and cannot add a link to your blog within their downloaded review.
I hope this explains where the information is coming from and alleviates your concerns.
Vickie Denney
www.ReaderToReader.com”
I wrote back immediately, but have yet to hear a response:
“Dear M. Denney,
Thank you for writing with a prompt reply.
Does your server refresh the pages often? If we remove our content from Amazon, can we conclude that it will then be removed from your site?
-Christine Cavalier
christine@purplecar.net”
Then I went and deleted all 4 of the reviews I posted to Amazon.com, despite the reviews’ good ratings and conversations they generated.
Newandusedbooks.com passed the buck to Amazon, saying that the catalog content they lease from Amazon isn’t controlled by them (or their seemingly parent company readertoreader.com). Does Amazon strip the links before they sell the content? Or does newandusedbooks.com strip the links when they post the Amazon catalog content to their site? The response I received didn’t answer these questions, and I don’t think my follow-up email will get much of a response, either.
I don’t need to pour over Amazon’s Terms of Service. I can already guess that Amazon has standard legalese that states they own the content of all reader reviews on their site. I proceeded to delete all my reviews and decided that the few links back to my profile or blog aren’t worth it. My stats never showed very many links back to my blog from Amazon, and I don’t need to spend time building up a “reputation” on Amazon as a good reviewer.
I know, I know. I’ve been blogging since 2004, I should’ve known better. I was thinking it was an even trade-off for the potential in new blog readership. I didn’t think Amazon would sell my content without at least a link back to the original content on its own site.
This is one of those situations that critics Andrew Keen, @AmandaChapel, et al., cite when they bemoan the current practice of online retailers using free content by amateurs. Readers write free reviews on Amazon and Amazon sells them along with their catalog content to book selling sites. The Publisher’s Weekly reviews are also on Amazon, but Amazon doesn’t lease out that content because Publisher’s Weekly tells Amazon they must pay for that work. The lone avid reader/blogger has no team of lawyers looking after them like that. Amazon and other sites take advantage of readers’ want for connection, or fame, or whatever misguided motivations and sell their very-marketable, worthy content for their own profit.
What do you think of this? Has this happened to you? Do you use copyright protection on your work? Let me know in the comments.
As for me, I say, “Bye-Bye, Amazon.” Now I’m going over to Goodreads.com to see if their revenue model is based on members’ free reviews.
I recently received a comment about the lack of commas in my writing. This is just a quick post to say that my comma decisions are deliberately made. I choose a flowing style when I can; this means I forgo putting commas in common places.
In the 1700’s, commas were much more common. Those writers dropped commas in places you didn’t realize existed. Eventually, the pauses were dropped in favor of a smoother style. We English writers will use fewer commas as time goes on. My general rule is to first think of eliminating ambiguity, then concentrate on the flow of the piece (flow is a very close second, though). Writing is meant to convey information and emotion. If you’re sure you are impressing people with the unambiguous meaning of your words, then make sure the tone of the work leaves the right impression as well. You want the reader to walk away with a feeling in their gut that comes from information in their head (and yes, I know I used “their” there, instead of “he” or “she.” That’s another post topic I’ll approach someday).
Here are some different areas around the web I visited today that talk about comma usage.
***Wacko Wednesdays: Each Wednesday, I’ll outline a human quirk or phenomenon in the study of Personality Psychology, or perhaps talk about a specific type of research into personality. I’ll provide information, links, and my own experiences to help you along in your goals of writing memorable characters.***
Writers don’t write about mothers much. I was at a writing conference where the speaker asked the audience to call out something they’d read that examined the mother-child relationship. No-one spoke up. The speaker had made her point. The mother/child relationship is very complex and close to the heart. Even Disney likes to kill off moms so they don’t have to deal with trying to navigate those murky-mommy-issues waters. Fathers, on the other hand, abound in fiction. Father’s Day is this Sunday. Because we know all psychosis comes from our parents (not!), for today’s Wacko Wednesdays, let’s talk about at writing about the father/child relationship, or writing a character as a father.
For decades, psych research focused on the mother’s parenting as pathology for mental illness in children. More and more, researchers are looking at the father’s influence (especially with the area of girls and eating disorders). The father’s attitudes and behaviors toward parenting would influence your main character (MC). The father’s raising of your MC will probably all be backstory that happens offstage (i.e. not in the novel), but it is perhaps the most important character detail that fuels your MC’s current motivations. Let’s take a look at how some psych research examines how a father’s behaviors influence his children.
In the book, “The Role of the Father in Child Development” (.pdf of intro here), Editor Michael E. Lamb outlines the 3 areas that many researchers concentrate on when researching the father/child relationship: Engagement, Accessibility,andResponsibility.
“Whether and how much time fathers spend with their children are questions at the heart of much research conducted over the past three decades. In the mid-1970s a number of investigators sought to describe—often by detailed observation and sometimes also through detailed maternal and paternal reports—the extent of paternal interactions with children (Pleck & Masciadrelli, this volume; Lamb & Lewis, this volume). Many of these researchers have framed their research around the three types of paternal involvement (engagement, accessibility, responsibility) described by Lamb, Pleck, Charnov, and Levine (1987). As Pleck and Masciadrelli note, researchers have consistently shown that fathers spend much less time with their children than do mothers. In two-parent families in which mothers are unemployed, fathers spend about one-fourth as much time as mothers in direct interaction or engagement with their children, and about a third as much time being accessible to their children. Many fathers assume essentially no responsibility (as defined by participation in key decisions, availability at short notice, involvement in the care of sick children, management and selection of alternative child care, etc.) for their children’s care or rearing, however, and the small subgroup of fathers who assume high degrees of responsibility has not been studied extensively. Average levels of paternal responsibility have increased over time, albeit slowly, and there appear to be small but continuing increases over time in average levels of all types of paternal involvement.”
Engagement, Accessibility and Responsibility are the three things you can think about when forming your character.
Engagement: How “hands-on” was your MC’s father when she was small? Was he a good guy but had a job that took him away often? Did he just seem like he was yelling everytime he spoke to his kids, but he was just trying to encourage them?
Accessibility: Could your MC bring any question under the sun to her dad or was she relegated to communicating with him through his secretary? Did he send the MC off to boarding school and say “See ya at Christmas?” Was there always a DO NOT DISTURB sign on his door, but he was very attentive at dinner time?
Responsibility: Did your MC’s father support his family well? Was he a good earner but a fierce disciplinarian? Was he a drinker but loved his family with all his heart? Was he a drifter that constantly told his kids to reach for the stars?
Look for ways you can build in contradictions in each of these areas, then think about how a kid would reconcile those inconsistencies. How we judge people is a lot of our character. A father’s personality greatly influences our sense of judgment. In flat characterizations, fathers are either no-good bums or unsung heroes, drinking louses or quiet loyalists. Usually a main character (MC) comes to acknowledge the father’s cheating ways or learns to appreciate the constant wisdom that they couldn’t recognize before. It’s all so cheesy and cheap. Try to go for some more depth. What kind of roles does the father character in your book play? What kind of parent is he? Is he a stand-offish, everyone-has-to-learn-for-themselves kind of guy or is he a soccer dad that is with his kids every step of the way? How can he be both? What generation is he in? Is he a 70-year-old but a modern diaper-changing/sling-wearing dad? Was he raised to think he’d let the kids grow up before he had any kind of relationship with them, even though he’s just 20 years old?
Take those three aspects of measuring fatherhood, Engagement, Accessibility and Responsibility, and mix and match good and bad characteristics of each. Make the father character a conflicted, true-hearted, complicated being that marked your MC with distinctive world views. Happy Father’s Day, to all of those dads out there!
As many of my family and close friends know, I have joined the ranks of the caring men and women who have military pen pals currently serving tours in Iraq. Through Twitter, I learned of Email Our Military (@MailOurMilitary), a volunteer service that grew out of a national security measure that banned all mail addressed to “Any Serviceman.” I took on two pen pals. We’ve been exchanging emails for about two or three weeks now.
For security reasons, I cannot go into details about these two service people or the content of our emails. But I do have a lot to say about writing and using our hobby for good things. If you are a writer, like me, why not take on a pen pal? You can send fiction, poetry, your shopping list, whatever. But you shouldn’t write ‘anything.’ Let me explain.
A controversy seems to be stirring on Twitter. One of my online contacts, a pretty staunch conservative as far as I can tell, appears to have publicly criticized the eMOM program. I didn’t bother to look up all the entries because I want to assume the best in everyone. The best I am assuming for the critic is this: Perhaps he is, at heart, worried that some Viet Nam throwback liberal will get an eMOM pal and spew vitriol about the war and politics. The concern is that any serviceman who gets such an email can be put in a diminished psychological state, and therefore be put in danger. The critic may also worry about how ‘regular’ people may not be trained to deal with the stress that comes along with being deployed in a war zone, and that well-meaning writers, hawk or dove, can say the wrong thing and amplify the stress.
I’m hoping the eMOM people will see this post and respond with their own views, because they are the experts. I’m not. I’m just a peppy person who thinks I could brighten someone’s day, even with my plain picked-fence descriptions of daily life in the ‘burbs. I am also, by chance, a person who has seen a lot of trauma in her life and feels strong enough to listen if my penpals need me to. Any person who has ever been a friend to anyone else in life can do that.
I’m a ‘bleeding heart liberal’ who writes poetry and hates sitting in church. I breast fed my children and carried them around in slings and am married to a person with a PhD in Philosophy. Those few facts should give you enough ammo to make up all the stereotypes you want about me and my political beliefs. It doesn’t matter. I have enough of a brain to realize that I am writing to people employed as soldiers in a war zone. I know that anything I write can be misconstrued and weigh heavily on the mind of a soldier who may go into combat. I also realize this isn’t rocket science, and American soldiers, although human, are highly trained professionals that are taught to block out stupidity when they are in the line of fire. They aren’t children, and neither are the eMOM civilian participants.
As a creative and professional person, I write. As an American, I see it as my duty to write to a soldier or two in Iraq. We need to wake up, people. We are one country. This war and those soldiers are our responsibility. Yes, “OUR,” which includes you. You sitting right there reading this. Write what you can. Your emails don’t have to be perfect. If you are too shy or afraid, recruit your best outgoing friends. Find someone who is sending care packages and donate something. Whatever. Those service people just want to be remembered and respected. That’s it! How EASY is that?
And you know what? You may take away more value than you can ever dream of. I get a little misty-eyed when I read how deeply grateful my penpals are just for a mere shout out. It’s a big huge piece of humble pie that ALL of us Americans, blue, red, or PURPLE, could eat. Twice.
Tags: cease and desist letter, copyright act, copyright infringment, example, fair use, how do I protect my blog posts?, protect your work, work, write 
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