Query Regarding Ebook Content Theft

A few weeks ago you posted:

Wonder how those ebooks were "written"...and if there's more to the story...

You've been posting here for five years - and don't know about copyright or plagiarism or stealing the work product of other people?

NO - it's not OK to take someone's book, rearrange the words and call it your own.

NO - it's not OK to steal portions of several books and sell it as your own.



Looking at the title, not sure why this question is asked....whether it's YOUR book that copies others - or other other people copying YOUR book...it's the wrong thing to do.

If you have PLR ( Private Label Rights) you can change the E-book but only IF you have the rights , as others have said you are stealing anthers hard work

Yes it is illegal, you will burn in hell for all eternity and your testicles will drop off...

Well you may get sued anyway.

Read this...

Copyright legal definition of copyright

Well, you all misunderstood me. I have no interest to sell someone's ebook.

My doubt is: Can I rewrite completely? not sentence by sentence, instead rewriting with my own words.

In this forum, we find many wso's who has rewritten the same stuff and selling with their own name. then why its not illegal?

How will you really write articles on your websites? Would you not look into other websites/ebooks, get an idea and rewrite on your own words? So, is this not plagiarism in this case?


If possible, pls try to understand my query.

One more thing: I found some ebooks in which there is no disclaimer, no copyright, nothing mentioned. just having Author Name, website url. So, can I use these ebook for giveaway freely?

NO - I don't "rewrite" articles...I research and learn the subject - I take notes of FACTS on that niche - and then I write my own articles on the topic.

No, they aren't your books to give away - you don't own the copyright. They don't have to TELL you - because the book is copyrighted the moment they published it.

We DO understand - and you need to understand the answers. You cannot take someone else's article or book and claim it as your own. It's wrong to rearrange (rewrite) someone else's product and call it your own (that is called a 'derivative work').

What you can do is look for PLR (private label rights) articles and ebooks - they are very inexpensive to buy and you can publish those, give them away or rewrite them as you please. Do google searches for

PLR ebooks

PLR articles

and you'll' find a lot of options you can use.

I think we understand your question completely. You're asking if it is legal to steal content and pretend that it's yours by putting that content in your own words and if it's legal to steal from two ebooks instead of just one.

No. It's not legal. It's plagiarism.

Okay, you answered my [deleted for some reason] question. Let's have a go at it.

There's a difference between "rewriting" a single ebook and researching multiple books and using your own spin to put them together. The first is content theft, the second is research.

As for the WSOs, you may be seeing people trying to take the lazy way to use PLR content. A lot of people change only the author name (which is within their license), but the result is exactly what you noticed - a lot of duplicate offerings with different names slapped on them.

As to your current attitude, realize that there are a lot people looking for easy-button get-rich-quick answers asking for guidance on how to steal and not get caught. Your initial query wasn't clear, but could be read in than vein. Don't take it personally. Remember, it it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it may not be a duck -- but that's the smart way to bet.

No, not without a license. Copyright begins the moment content is published in fixed form, even if that's just a file on your hard drive.

It sounds like you want to do things the right way, so do yourself a favor. Spend a few hours doing your homework on "public domain" content. You'll learn how to spot content that is free to use.

Okay, thanks for clarifying me.

I have another doubt which is regarding pen names. I have seen many websites, who used to keep their original photo, originnal name in their own websites, may be they want to establish as an expert in their niche.

But in my case, I want to put my leg in all my favorite niches and I dont want to show my face, name in any of my websites. So, can I run my websites & ebooks using pen names ?

I believe you can use the same pen name if, and only if, the niches are very tightly related. In the fitness market, the same set of exercises might apply to both young athletes and older 'weekend warrior' types. so you could likely use the same pen name.

The other possibility is that you could use the same name for two different niche markets. Usually one business and one not-business. For example, I've been in marketing for almost two decades and chasing fish for over five. Is it really far-fetched that I might have expertise in both? Another example is Tom Brokaw, who writes books and does TV shows on both American history and fly fishing.

Like Frank said, though, no one knows for sure whether the name you use is the one you were born with.

Gill, I process (rewrite) between 20K and 40K of words every single month from my clients giving me orders from all over the world. This fact doesn't make me an expert, especially not a legal one, in this field nor does it mean I'm posting this comment to get a job. Yet, I do believe I have a pretty much good idea what's happening here. First of all, the whole industry is one big rewriting industry. There are so many "borrowers" that you really don't have to worry. You mentioned that you're thinking about 2 models. So, it all depends how intelligent is your rewriter guy. If you gonna rewrite it all from A to Z just the way it is, then it's not gonna end up well for you. In the first case, don't aim for some bestselling eBook. When you use your own wording, you can still defend yourself, but the damage is going to be done either way. The "owner" is gonna slam your credibility and he or she may show what you did by giving examples of side-by-side content. The second scenario is much better one. You take a little bit from here and there. You mix it. You pay attention to titles and chapter structure. You're good to go. There's an endless sea of similar eBooks and borrowed content, which is processed over and over again. This is the reality. I really wanted to help based on my real-freelance-life experience. All the best and good luck. Cheers! Nesha

Second question first. I used to spend a lot more energy trying to track thieves, but the truth is, I usually found them by chance. Either something just looked too familiar, or someone tipped me off.

Which leads to your first question. Yes, the thief may be in a country where copyright is not respected, or where suing is more trouble than it's worth. The fact that, at this time anyway, the USA is still the biggest profitable market in the world, and most countries have similar laws works in your favor. So you may not have to sue the thief.

Usually, a take-down notice sent to the thief's host and domain registrar will take care of it. If they're selling the stolen ebook, make it their host and payment processor, along with any affiliate networks they may be using. The objective is to get the stolen content taken down and/or stop the illegitimate sale of your book.