What keeps someone from ripping your product and selling it as their own?

17 replies
Hello Warriors,

Today I just finished up my first product and I am becoming increasingly paranoid that someone is going to steal my product, take my copyrights and and sell it as if they are the ones who made the product.

My product is a series of PDFs. As you know, it isnt hard to copy the content out of a pdf and make a new one. It would literally take probably and hour to completely rip a product and to rebrand it.

So how do you protect yourself from this. I have heard a lot of people say to send those DMA notices or whatever they are called, but honestly if this guy is going to rip your product, im sure a notice is going to scare him off.

And how do you even prove that you are the original creater of the product in the first place? How will a host know if the person they are hosting is the thief and not the owner?

I run a web hosting company and I personally would never boot a client off my server unless I wasnt 100% sure about the owner of the product.

Any thoughts on this are greatly appreciated. I would feel horrible if someone stole my hard work and sold it off as their own.

Thank you,
Daniel
#product #ripping #selling
  • Profile picture of the author MarkH45
    Do yourself a favor - don't think about it - just launch it.

    There isn't to much you can do to prevent others from copying your work or sharing it with other people.

    Just my opinion, but don't let fear paralyze you from releasing your product.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[996739].message }}
  • There is nothing you can do to prevent it. Simple, brutal, honest truth. If you don't release your product because of that fear, you won't see a single dollar come out of it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[996769].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author activetrader
    Don't worry about it... I found one of my products completely ripped off letter by letter selling on e-bay for half the price... You can't prevent it... just do it and don't worry about it...
    Signature

    Me

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[996782].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Adrian Cooper
    Originally Posted by dbbrock1 View Post

    Hello Warriors,

    Today I just finished up my first product and I am becoming increasingly paranoid that someone is going to steal my product, take my copyrights and and sell it as if they are the ones who made the product.

    My product is a series of PDFs. As you know, it isnt hard to copy the content out of a pdf and make a new one. It would literally take probably and hour to completely rip a product and to rebrand it.

    So how do you protect yourself from this. I have heard a lot of people say to send those DMA notices or whatever they are called, but honestly if this guy is going to rip your product, im sure a notice is going to scare him off.

    And how do you even prove that you are the original creater of the product in the first place? How will a host know if the person they are hosting is the thief and not the owner?

    I run a web hosting company and I personally would never boot a client off my server unless I wasnt 100% sure about the owner of the product.

    Any thoughts on this are greatly appreciated. I would feel horrible if someone stole my hard work and sold it off as their own.

    Thank you,
    Daniel
    If anyone rips off my products I just hit the hosting provider and payment processor with a DMCA notice copied to the offender.

    Usually the copied product disappears within 24 hours.

    In general terms do not worry about it. Launch your product and deal with issues as they arise.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[996802].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author johnjimat
    there is nothing you can do about it. even if you have really good security, your product still can be copy.what if your buyer that copy your product and lunch for their own?or spread to others for free?.. there is no solution for this. just release your product, dont even care about this problem..
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[996872].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author LB
    Register it with the copyright office. Cheap and proves you wrote it, in addition it may allow for the recovery of statutory damages in a lawsuit.
    Signature
    Tired of Article Marketing, Backlink Spamming and Other Crusty Old Traffic Methods?

    Click Here.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[996904].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
    Plan on it. Someone will either copy it, or simply put it out there for free download to anyone that wants it. Just don't concentrate on the jerks the do this because they are not your market. They are freeloaders, losers, and will never put the information to use. If they did buy, they would refund. They are bottom feeders. Ignore them.

    Instead put your effort into improving your product, making new versions, increasing sales, etc. You can take steps to minimize theft, but dont' go Moby Dick about it or you'll just be a miserable old goat.
    Signature

    Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. -Winston Churchill

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[996993].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Brock
      Thank you for the tips. I had a feeling this is the response I would get.

      I foresee many an angry night ahead of me...going be hunting these guys down like crazy
      Signature
      Clickbank #1 Best Seller: The Deadbeat Super Affiliate.
      Click here to learn how to make money online in your bath robe and gym socks!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[997079].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Robyn8243
        From a practical standpoint the only thing that keeps people from stealing digital
        products is ethics...and some people don't have any.

        It is usually not worth the money, time and aggravation to pursue legal
        action.

        Usually the threat of legal action will slow someone down, but there is no
        way to insulate yourself from this problem.

        You really just need to accept this as a cost of choosing this line of business,
        just as retailers need to accept that they will have some losses due to
        shoplifting and employee theft.

        It may be easier said than done, but do your best not to waste a lot of time
        being aggravated. It's not worth it...and as others have noted your actual losses
        will not be great.

        Robyn
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[997113].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author warriortx
    Just do the best you can, like killing the right click in your pdf so they have to type everything out just little things like that.

    Good Luck
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[997093].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author charlesburke
    Nothing personal intended here, but most ebook products are not so fabulously great that there's a rush to steal the contents. With any luck, your product won't be that great either.

    You can either spend your time obsessing about what somebody else might do, or you can invest your time planning and carrying out a kickass marketing campaign. Putting your mind on where you want to go gets you there a lot faster than worrying about obstacles that haven't even come up yet.

    One strategy you can (and probably should) use is to include bounceback offers in your product so that no matter who sells it, the readers all get directed back to you for all the followup traffic and sales.

    As several other posters have suggested, if some bottom feeder does happen to try and feed off you, just have a simple plan in place to deal with it. This lets you stay flexible and proactive and handle weird people without ever breaking stride.

    For example, you'll get unreasonable refund requests. Refund 'em and move on.

    You might have server downtime. Hey it happens... wait it out or change hosts... move on.

    Your site may get hacked and trashed... fix it from the backup you keep and move on.

    Unexpected crises may hit your personal life... handle it the best you can and move on.

    Fear is a great immobilizer. And if you let it, it'll rob you of much more than any two-bit pissant copyright infringer ever could.

    Hope this helps.

    Cheers from warm and smiling Thailand,
    Charles
    Signature
    MisterEbook.com
    Special offer for all Warrior authors... MisterEbook.com/warriorsonly.html
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[997161].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Steven Fullman
    From experience...

    The worst that could happen is:

    You worry so much about getting ripped off that you spend a fortune on products which'll stop you getting ripped off (as much)

    ...then you decide not to launch at all.

    DON'T fall into that trap.

    Steve
    Signature

    Not promoting right now

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[997222].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ahlexis
    Since you (now) know you're going to be ripped off, PLAN FOR IT!!! Turn the theft into a (viral) advantage. Figure out a way to get a benefit from someone who did NOT pay you for the product somehow.

    Some people put affiliate links in their digital product to do that. Others let affiliates sell the product and keep 100% of the sales but set it up with a $7 script that adds the reseller's buyers to the product creator's mailing list so that the list grows large quickly from the efforts of others.

    Take that weakness and use it to your advantage, turn it into a strength somehow.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1001379].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mitch Miller
    Originally Posted by Traffic-Bug View Post

    Register with copyright and you wouldnt need to worry about someone stealing your products.
    That is a ridiculous comment. That itself doesn't stop anybody.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1001787].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author joshly
    I will advice you to release it and think of other uses you can put the product to. Do enough marketing you will enjoy the fruit of your labour.
    Signature
    Lean To Create Your Own Wealth Now! Click here to find out more
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1002397].message }}

Trending Topics