As our goals clearly state, our goal is to stop illegal pirating of ebooks by issuing take-down notices to file-sharing sites and their members. We may also seek legal action, where required.
We are authors, publishers and other book industry people who see the damage ebook pirating has caused, to individual authors and to the industry itself. We see no real benefits in piracy, only loss of potential sales and the diminishing value of our works.
Pirates aren't our fans. Our true fans are the people who don't mind paying $1.99 or even $9.99+ for our ebooks. They see this purchase as an investment, as worth it. Taking it free without the author or publisher's consent clearly tells us you do not value this work.
Though we understand WHY many people share files illegally, we won't condone it. In most developed countries, copyright laws are in place to protect content providers. Many countries have signed a variety of copyright treaties that further protect our works outside of the author's country.
Don't think that because you're downloading ebooks in a European country that you're exempt from copyright laws. You aren't. Not if your country signed any of the copyright treaties. In fact, in many countries, pirates are fined thousands of dollars for copyright infringement and illegal distribution. In some countries, pirates are sent to prison.
We are aware of ALL the excuses pirates make for breaking the law. Fact is, they're breaking the law. No excuses will excuse that.
Many pirates say they don't like DRM because it's too restrictive. They claim they steal ebooks because they already bought it for one device and can't use it on another. Why aren't you using the device you downloaded it to? You knew when you bought it the file would work for that device. Sorry, not an excuse.
We hope to see changes in the book industry, such as better DRM for ebooks and better device-sharing capabilities, without sacrificing copyright or allowing pirating.
Many pirates claim they steal ebooks because they can't afford the price. That doesn't work for us either. Many ebooks are very affordable; most are cheaper than their print counterpart. You'll find ebooks ranging from $0.01 to about $12, with a very large selection under $5. If you can't afford $5, why not search for authors and publishers who are giving away books? There are numerous opportunities to get free ebooks LEGALLY. Just don't share them!
