O.k this is a tough one for me and really want some help before my next step. I sold a book last year and had a friend sell it for me in the states where I gave him info for his site he used to promote it and we went halves on sales. Well the book took off and i got it done professionally and not just put together with a binder and a printer. I told him I could no longer have this arrangement and he said fine, ill just sell the ones i have and thats it. Well i have emails asking me if i have anything to do with his site as he is pretending to be me and still usaing my info that i have on my own site, basically my wording. I dont want a big fall out but i cant have this continue as its cheapening my work and he is using my name/wording to make money. He no longer sells my book, but uses the title of the book which links direct to C.Ds and an affiliate product that has nothing to do with me. What can I do and where do I stand as this can't go on. Thanks
Your situation stinks, especially if you thought this guy was your friend. I would say he is not, if you asked him to stop and he's still doing it. If you haven't talked to him about it, you should. You need to tell him that you don't want to make a big deal about it, but you will if he keeps using your words and your name. In most countries copyright goes to the writer as soon as the words are fixed in tangible form. If your "friend" is using your words without your permission, you can file a DMCA take-down notice with his hosting provider. There's some more information here on how to do that: File a DMCA takedown request with the site and its host. Directions here: http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2005/...e-dmca-notice/ You can also file a DMCA request with Google, for them to remove the site from their index. Instructions here: http://www.google.com/dmca.html (Follow the directions exactly, including Faxing your signature) I don't know about the legalities of the impersonation issue.
Thank you Nonny, He is using not just my wording, but also my name claiming to be me. I emailed him over a week ago and just got a 'O.k I will change it' but he still has not. I am going to give him another couple of weeks and then take some steps to stop him as he is just using all my work and my name, the title of my book, everything and its more than peeing me off as I am very well known around the web now and he is totally devaluing who I am as his site is awful and looks like a total con, blackening my name. Thanks for your help Paul
If I was you I would go with a DMCA notice right now. You gave him a week. If he didn't take it down in that time, he is not going to take it down in another couple weeks. Not only that, a lot of states in the US have a law against using someone elses name (its mainly used for when someone tells a false name on a traffic stop, but still a law nonetheless.)
Sorry, this should be the right one: http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2005/09/29/how-to-write-an-effective-dmca-notice/ But it doesn't seem to be working properly. Maybe the site is down?