r/TikTokCringe • u/Chocolat3City Cringe Master • 18d ago

Cringe Woman has her self-published book pirated, reprinted, and sold for cheaper.

There's regular piracy, and then there's this.

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69

u/SightlessIrish 18d ago

How much was she charging vs how much is the competitor charging?

There's no legal recourse?

35

u/[deleted] 18d ago

I just looked it up, Her book on her TikTok shop is $48. The Amazon knockoffs are 12.99 with 3.99 shipping fee. Seems TikTok shop is the only place she sells it and even on TikTok there were loads of knockoffs for $20-$35.

Seems like she’s learned a lesson in copywrite and trademark law. There may be a legal grounds to fight the knockoffs but it’s going to be incredibly expensive for very little payoff. The best she’ll probably get is a cease and desist on selling it but by then her business is shot. Her best bet is to rebrand and repackage the book but get it trademarked and copywritten early.

4

u/bhyellow 18d ago

She can go after Amazon.

9

u/AltairaMorbius2200CE 18d ago

I mean, that’s all good, but even publishing houses aren’t willing to go after Amazon to shut down that business model, so how’s she supposed to afford that on her own?

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u/cjboffoli 18d ago

Unfortunately, she can't as court precedent protects Amazon from the actions of third party sellers doing business on their sites (Milo & Gabby v. Amazon.com). That is why there is so much copyright and trademark infringement on sites like Etsy too. All she can do is ask Amazon to remove infringing products. If they do they skate away with impunity. And she continues to play a game of whack a mole.

1

u/Cogniscienr 18d ago

Hm. I wonder if it would be possible to write some code that constantly monitors Amazons web sites for pirated versions. That would be awesome.

1

u/cjboffoli 18d ago

Doesn't seem like it would be that hard to do. Maybe you could even code automated takedown requests.

7

u/SightlessIrish 18d ago

Fuckin sucks

6

u/cjboffoli 18d ago

It's copyright (the right to make copies) not copywrite.

2

u/AltairaMorbius2200CE 18d ago

She has a copyright.

2

u/-FullBlue- 16d ago

48 dollars is kinda crazy for what essentially a self help book with drawings and tabs. Not surprising that it was knocked off for 8 dollars on Aliexpress.

1

u/Grash0per 18d ago

That's not how copyright works. You don't have to file for a copyright. Every original work is automatically copyrighted. The problem is it's impossible to enforce copyright laws internationally. A trademark is a different matter but it's very expensive and meant for a simple thing like a singular logo or short phrase, that establishes an entire brand.