We're having the piracy debate again, and I've gotten some feedback that while my original blog post on battling piracy for authors is great, it's a little long...

So here's the short(ish) version! If you want the long version, head back to the OG post.

Methods we'll cover:

• Google search takedown requests
• Manual DMCA requests
• Automated services
• Website specific takedown/report forms

If you're enrolled in Kindle Unlimited/KDP Select, be sure to keep detailed records of your attempts to remove the pirated copies of your books. This will help should Amazon ever attempt to terminate your account due to breach of the exclusivity clause.

If you're wide, you don't have that to worry about, but it still sucks when people steal your shit, and you don't have to be okay with that.

So, read on.

First, Register Your Copyright

I know, you automatically have copyright when you write the book, but when it comes to battling these pirates, or battling the 'Zon... it's not going to do much.

You need the fancy piece of paper.

Please take the time to register your copyright formally. In the US, you can do it yourself through copyright.gov, you can do it BEFORE you publish (but wait until the book content is finalized), and it's $45-$65 per title depending on the options you choose.

Here's the Copyright Office video tutorial on how to file. You can also preview the application for a literary work here.

Google Search Takedowns

1. Go to the Google Search Takedown Request form for Legal Concerns and create a new request
2. Choose "Google Search Result"
3. For " Select the Google product where the content you are reporting appear?" choose "Google Search" 
4. For "Which product does your request relate to?" choose "Google Search"
5. For " Does this request relate to content generated by AI within a Google product?" choose "No" (unless this is what your request is relating to...)
6. For " Select the reason you wish to report content" choose "Legal Reason"
7. For " Select the reason you wish to report content" choose "Intellectual Property"
8. For "Select the reason you wish to report content" choose "Copyright"
9. For "Are you the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf?" indicate the appropriate response
10. For " What is the allegedly infringing work in question?" choose "Other" if it's a search result link
11. Click "Create Request"
12. Complete the form
1. It's vital that you use the name you registered the copyright under to complete the form. If that was your Pen Name, use your Pen Name. If that was your LLC, use that. If that was your legal name, use that.
2. Description: My copyrighted book, BOOK TITLE, is being infringed by being offered for free at this URL, beginning with the text “[insert first line of book or blurb.]” My book is copyrighted with the US copyright office under registration number [INSERT COPYRIGHT OFFICE REGISTRATION NUMBER]. This is an unauthorized distribution of my intellectual property and I am requesting this search result be removed immediately.
3. Authorized URL: [insert authorized storefront link (i.e. Amazon)]
4. Infringing URL: [insert infringing link you want removed]
13. You can submit up to 10 requests at a time. To add a new one, click "Create New Group." You may submit ONE infringing URL per "Group"
14. Once the form is complete, click submit.

I recommend bookmarking the Reports Dashboard that it will redirect you to after submission so you can check on the status of your reports periodically. You may or may not get a notification when URLs are removed.

Manual DMCA Requests

I do want to preface this section by saying: many (if not all) of these sites will not respond to these direct DMCA requests. That's because they are registered and operated in countries where 1) the DMCA does not apply and 2) what they're doing is entirely legal.

I don't mean this to be discouraging, but I do want everyone to be realistic about this. Sending these requests is likely NOT going to solve the problem.
Regardless, having a record that you at least attempted the removal may be useful. 

Find the contact email for the DMCA or otherwise on the site and here is a template you can use:

Hello,

My name is AUTHOR NAME and I am the author and copyright holder of the book BOOK TITLE. Your website or a website that your company hosts (according to WHOIS information) is infringing on at least one copyright owned by myself. You can find evidence of my copyright here (under registration number REG#).

An eBook was copied onto your servers without my permission. The original eBook, to which I own the exclusive copyrights, can be found at:

Thank you,

AUTHOR NAME

Automated Takedown Services

There are services that will scan the web for unauthorized copies of your work and send takedown requests for you... but neither of them are unverisally great.

There are two options currently available: 

1. Muso
2. Pirat.io

Muso is great about Google Search Takedowns on your behalf, but not so much about actually getting content removed, and after a while, people have reported that they seem to just...stop having any results removed, despite there clearly being some.

They also have told me before there are some sites they don't even bother trying to send takedowns to because they know they won't respond. Which... red flag.

Pirat.io has great reviews... from the people they actually reply to. The biggest complaint here is that they do not respond to inquiries and when they do, they will ghost after the first email exchange. So if you can actually get them to connect with you, which seems to only be extremely high volume/profit authors from anecdotal evidence, they might be a great option. 

But personally, I've attempted multiple times to get them to respond to an inquiry and have had no luck.

Website Specific Forms

Some websites have dedicated forms for submitting takedown requests. These websites are typically going to take these requests much more seriously. 

Examples include (but are not limited to):

• Soundcloud (people put the "PDF" link in the description)
• Apple Books (especially for KU authors)

Find the forms (I've linked them above for convenience) and complete them entirely. They may or may not follow up to advise of removal. 

For Soundcloud in particular, you will need an account. However, they are very quick about removing items and I've always had all infringing content removed within 48 hours after my submission.

In Conclusion

Regardless of who you are, your books will likely be pirated at some point in your career. With the sophisticated technology, it's nearly guaranteed at this point. They have bots that scan Amazon and can strip watermarks in a second. 

The better prepared you can be, the easier it'll be to respond and not let your emotions get the better of you.

Having your livelihood threatened by this sucks. I know, truly. But I hope these steps help provide some level of comfort in being able to take some action.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send me an email!