It is said that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. I was reminded of this much used (and abused) saying when I discovered that someone has (without my permission) uploaded a segment of the audio version of my book, “The Writer’s Pen and Other Poems” to Youtube. This is, of course a clear violation of my copyright and I have, therefore reported the matter to Youtube. (Anyone who finds that their work is appearing, without their permission on Youtube can report copyright violation here, https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2807622?hl=en-GB. Please note, I have not given the URL containing the infringing material as I do not wish to drive traffic to the infringer’s Youtube channel.

“The Writer’s Pen” was published in September 2018, and the audio edition (narrated by Alex Lee, and available from Audible here https://www.audible.com/pd/B07KPN5FCH in November of that same year. As all users of Audible will be aware, anyone considering purchasing a book can, prior to purchasing, listen to a sample of the work in question. In the case of the illegal upload of my copyrighted work, the person uploading “The Writer’s Pen” indicates that the whole book is available (for free). However he (or she) has, in fact uploaded the sample segment of my book and stated that the whole work can be obtained at a site offering audio books. In fact the uploader eroneously names a website (other than Audible), and on investigating the site in question no search results are returned for “The Writer’s Pen”.

As stated at the start of this post, my copyright in “The Writer’s Pen” has been infringed and this issue has been raised with Youtube. I am, however puzzled as to the motives of the uploader. Why should they name an incorrect site as the source for the audio version of my book? Are they, perhaps seeking to drive traffic to that other site in the hope that people will purchase downloads there? I don’t know. However I suspect that this may well be the case.

I also wonder why only the sample segment from Audible was uploaded. In this instance, I suspect the answer is that the uploader did not wish to purchase my book, which they would need to do where they to have uploaded it in it’s entirety. The sample is, however free to access and is, therefore an easy target for anyone wishing to infringe copyright.

I will update this blog when I hear back from Youtube.

Kevin