I beta tested a product last week. It’s called Blasty. Their function is to find pirate sites, notify you that your copyrighted material is up for grabs, and give you a chance to take that material down. Of course, I found that all of my books are available free. I found that they’ve been downloaded thousands of times–according to the sites’ stats.
I emailed Blasty and asked if this was a futile effort since these sites shut down and pop up with a different URL all the time. Their reply was that they were working to track the ever-moving pirate sites. They are also sending takedowns to the host sites. They’re working on becoming the most powerful tool against online pirates possible.
I may sign up or I may resign myself to being pirated and all of my (ahem!) intellectual property being given away free. Have you heard of Blasty, tried it, interested or not?
Now about taking other peoples stuff and using it: Jacqui Murray posted about Image Copyrights Do’s and Dont’s in September. It’s worthy of attention. When I use someone’s image without paying for it, I check her guidelines. And guidelines are what the copyright “laws” seem to be. Here are a couple of RULES I’ve made for myself to help me in making decisions about image use:
- I apply the “fair use” and post the image once in the context of teaching/learning. “Fair Use Doctrine is to allow for limited and reasonable uses as long as the use does not interfere with owners’ rights or impede their right to do with the work as they wish.” If I use an image from any open source site, I read their rules. For example, Morguefiles allows downloads and use of photos without credit if you alter the photo, but asks that you give credit if you post the original photo. I err on the side of caution and give credit anyway. Why not? If the image was good enough for me to download it, the person creating it should have their name on it.
- When I’m in doubt, I contact the artist/photographer/graphic designer and ask their permission. I’ve had some say, “You can use it for your blog posts and Email Connects as long as you give me credit.”
Since copyright protection this is such a nebulous “balance” between protecting the creator of those images and public benefit, you might want to take a look at this other article that I found. It’s clear and useful for those of us trying to play fair and not wanting to break any laws.
And then there’s France. The canal journey held a lot of surprises. It was relaxing, but it had its moments of excitement, too. Navigating the bridges and tunnels were the best. The walk along the canal beautiful. The towns so interesting. Here are some shots of our barge and some of the sites.
Patricia Lynne says
I try not to worry about pirate sites too much. There was one recently that I did share and sent a take down because they were charging money for my books––even my free ones.
C. Lee McKenzie says
Now that’s rotten! Sorry.
rbpublishing says
Holy crap. That’s amazing! Bookmarked Blasty and gonna be giving that a closer look. Thank you!!!
C. Lee McKenzie says
Let us know what happens.
Stephanie@Fairday's Blog says
I have never heard of Blasty before your post. Sounds like a good thing that they are working on taking down pirating sites- though it also sounds quite complicated if the sites keep changing URLs. Stinks that people put up the creative work of others for free- especially considering how hard it is to make money as a writer in the first place.
I try to be very careful of copyright laws. Definitely a tricky road right now and lots to pay attention to for sure!
France looks lovely!
C. Lee McKenzie says
I hear what you’re saying. Writers really can’t compete with these pirates; we already have a hard time finding time to write and now we have to monitor sites that give away our work?
Julie Kemp Pick says
Hi Lee! I think we just have to hope for the best, because there are no guarantees. Glad you enjoyed
your canal journey in France! Great photos!
C. Lee McKenzie says
The Internet has opened the floodgates in many areas. This is just another one.
Patsy says
I’ve heard of Blasty, but haven’t tried it. Getting rid of the pirate sites would be great, however I share your reservations.
C. Lee McKenzie says
It’s a challenge!
Sage says
I am sorry to hear that so much of your work is available for free… I have had photos stolen (but I seldom post full size images) as well as have had some research “appropriated” without credit, and some of my “speeches” have been used by others. But I don’t let it bother me. If I was trying to make a living from writing, I would be very upset.
The canal trip looks wonderful!
C. Lee McKenzie says
You’re so right. Those who expect to earn money from their labor should be very upset.
I’m ready for another canal trip one day. Maybe England next time.
Beverly McClure says
The pirating is all so discouraging. Why are people so dishonest? I use my own photos as much as possible, but will be more careful now with using others. Will check on Blasty. Thanks. (When did pirates stop being those guys in the big ships that I loved?) Sigh!
C. Lee McKenzie says
I hear you. I used to be in love with pirates!
Hilary says
Hi Lee – thanks for the info … I’ve noted it … and will (hopefully) remember as and when the time comes …
Love the idea of France and those canal trips … so pleased you had such a happy time … free grapes – yeah why not … cheers Hilary
C. Lee McKenzie says
I’ll let everyone know about my adventure if I do go with Blasty. I still don’t know what their fees are, so it’s hard to decide if it’s worth the expense.
Erika Beebe says
Excellent post Lee. Copyright is something we all need to be aware of. I try to do the same in notifying artists or authors. It’s tricky though when they are too busy to respond. I have purchased the Snappa app which has a bank of free images and fonts. I love it. Happy Thanksgiving. Your trip looks so lovely. I hope to visit France someday. 🙂
C. Lee McKenzie says
Thanks for the resource, Erika. I’ve never heard of Snappa. Appreciate that. Have a great holiday.
J.H. Moncrieff says
I haven’t heard of Blasty, but I’m not sure it’s worth fighting the pirates. Like you said, new sites crop up every day. Seems like a losing battle.
Back in the day, J.A. Konrath said that stolen ebooks don’t take away from a writer’s sales, but can actually gain them new fans. Not sure if that’s true or not, but with so many authors giving away ebooks for free, you have to wonder.
C. Lee McKenzie says
Konrath was probably right. And I scratch my head wondering why any of us write with the idea of profit. 🙂
Alexa says
Oh, wow. Your trip looks so fascinating!
Best of luck blasting those pirates!
Alexa
thessalexa.blogspot.com
verbosityreviews.com
C. Lee McKenzie says
Well it’s an interesting battle. Happy T’day, Alexa.
Lynda Dietz says
For some reason, everyone thinks they’re owed “something” for free. I’m sorry to hear your books are being stolen, and wish, like you, that at least the thieves would leave a review to make up for some of it.
C. Lee McKenzie says
Small payment, indeed. So glad you posted your article about reviews.
Liz A. says
I had not heard of Blasty. Hopefully they can help. It’s terrible that your work is out there like that. We can dream that maybe it leads people back to actually paying you for your work? (I know, not likely, but there was an author that had that perspective.)
C. Lee McKenzie says
I knew about the pirates; I just didn’t know the extent. That was eye-opening, indeed.
Jemi Fraser says
I stopped using images that weren’t my own a while back because of the risks.
Love your pics – that river tunnel is awesome!! Like going into a river Hobbit Hole 🙂
C. Lee McKenzie says
Isn’t it? I was doubtful we’d fit, but I did wonder, “What if there’s a different world on the other end?” We think alike, Jemi. 🙂
Elephants Child says
Not certain whether my comment landed or was lost in the morass.
I hadn’t heard of Blasty – and mourn its necessity.
I almost invariably only use my own images – but have wondered from time to time whether other people use them too.
C. Lee McKenzie says
WordPress likes to toy with our minds and make us think we haven’t left messages when, if fact, they came through. Thanks for trying twice and thanks for the comments.
Elephants Child says
I hadn’t heard of Blasty. And mourn its necessity.
Mostly I only use my own images. And have occasionally wondered whether others use them too.
Nas says
Hi Lee,
I’ve been using Blasty for three of my authors which amounts to thousands of books. They are very good!
And I try not to use any image off Google. I also ask authors to send me original images for blog posts.
Awesome to see your French photos. I’ve been to France earlier this year and had a lovely time.
HR Sinclair says
River tunnels! How fun. I haven’t heard of Blasty (until now). I list the image credit for everything I have on my blog too. It’s worth it.
C. Lee McKenzie says
You use a lot of images, so that’s very wise.
I load my phone with images and try to use as many of my own as possible.
Jacqui Murray says
I too tried the Blasty beta program and was similarly discouraged. How do so many people get my books! I’m disgusted.
Thanks for the shout-out. Even if others won’t follow the law, I choose to, as you can see by the Do’s and Don’ts I list!
C. Lee McKenzie says
I was happier before I found out the extent of the piracy. 🙂 Appreciated your article and I think it’s very important for bloggers to have that information. Glad to shout it out.
Pat Hatt says
I have used photos, always ones that are free to use, but then some of those have been stolen and placed on sites too, so you have to watch that. Can’t win.
As for pirate sites, yep, they pop up a ton. Can be hard to stop them. And sometimes you have to watch sites that say they stop them because they may skew the stats to get you to buy into them, not that they do that, but some do.
C. Lee McKenzie says
Funny, huh? Or just more stealing, I guess. I don’t think we’re going keep copyright safe. It was always a challenge, but the Internet has made it almost impossible.
Christine Rains says
I get paranoid about images too. I have a bunch I downloaded and paid for from BigStock, but for free ones, I use Pixabay or Wikicommons. Fantastic pictures from France!
C. Lee McKenzie says
Those are good resources.
ChemistKen says
I always worry about the images I use. Even if I go to the standard free sites and the photo is listed as can be used freely without attribution, I still give the attribution anyway. I’m happy to give credit, and I’m scared to death of using any photo incorrectly.
As far as pirate sites go, it’s a mixed bag. Supposedly the publicity from being seen there is good for increasing your legal sales, but the jury may still be out on that one.
C. Lee McKenzie says
Like I said, at least give reviews to book you take without paying the author. That would help some.
Barbara says
Hi Lee, I’ve not heard about Blasty, but I will be going to take a look as soon as I’ve left this comment. It must be beyond frustrating to have your work ‘stolen’ like that!
The use of images is always a tricky thing to get right. I try to use my own wherever possible. If I don’t think it’s ‘safe’ to use an image, I don’t use it – I certainly don’t want to risk breaking the law.
C. Lee McKenzie says
I hear you, Barbara. I used to be more careless–dumb actually–about using images. I’m not anymore.
Let me know what you think about Blasty.