It’s obvious by now that with the digitalisation of the publishing industry, publishers have had to face a new series of issues, such as storing data in a safe way and finding ways to ensure that content can’t be modified. One of the biggest issues is piracy, which was around before ebooks were made available online – people would print the book and distribute it for free. However, hackers have found a way of accessing ebooks posted on NetGalley and distributing them, most of the time through torrent websites, such as The Pirate Bay, online reading websites or cloud storage websites, such as TUEBL (Springen, 2014).
When I came across TUEBL as one of the most well-known book piracy spaces, I realised that I did know this website. The first time I heard about TUEBL, it was suggested as a catalogue by the Android reading app called MoonReader+. The app allows you to open ebooks and for a small price, the pro version will also read and format PDFs; it can download content from a number of catalogues, but the user has the option to add links to websites themselves. However, back then, TUEBL had a great number of copyrighted works, from well-known series such as the Harry Potter one to all the latest releases. Supposedly, users are not allowed to upload copyrighted material on the website and this is the policy that they stand by, but it was a different matter in practice, since the books were only taken down when authors raised this issue.
As much of a problem as this is, it was not mentioned in newspapers – it has been spoken about on blogs, and TUEBL also came forward to make a statement, which is why the information should be taken with a grain of salt. But the voices of authors were heard, and TUEBL was known in certain circles for being a website guilty of piracy (Spring, 2012). Travis McCrea states that it was not the website’s intention to host copyrighted material without the author’s will, and that developing an entirely new DMCA to avoid this sort of thing was in order.
However, there were also voices stating that TUEBL is a good idea, copyrighted works or not, and one of the reasons would be the ads on the website and how the revenue is directed to literacy-based charities.
The discussions around piracy are a constant in the digital age, but the point still stands: TUEBL was uploading the works of authors and distributing them for free, despite the clear refusal of said authors. Nowadays, a visit on the website will tell you that they upload only authors that wish to have their work there for feedback and statistics, and that any instance of copyright infringement should be reported.
It would seem that authorship has managed to win in this case, but TUEBL is not the only ebook-sharing website, and piracy still remains an issue.
Word count: 488
Bibliography
Anon., 2012. TUEBL or not TUEBLE? That is the Question. Green Pirate. [online] Available at: http://blog.greenpirate.org/tuebl-or-not-tueble-that-is-the-question/ [Accessed 10 November 2014]
Anon., 2013. Libraries Vs. Tuebl. Parajunkee. [online] Available at: http://parajunkee.rocks/post/711212/libraries-vs-tuebl [Accessed 10 November 2014]
McCrea, T., 2013. TUEBL Addressess Copyright Concerns From Authors. Cheapass Fiction. [online] Available at: http://cheapassfiction.com/2013/11/16/tuebl-addressess-copyright-concerns-from-authors/ [Accessed 10 November 2014]
Moon+ Reader, 2014. Google Play Store. [online] Available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flyersoft.moonreader&hl=en_GB [Accessed 10 November 2014]
Spring, T., 2010. 'E-Book Piracy: Is Your Download Legitimate?', PC World, 28, 3, pp. 23-25, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 2 November 2014.
Springen, K., 2014. ‘The Piracy Problem’, Publishers Weekly, 261, 29, pp. 20-23, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 2 November 2014.
When I came across TUEBL as one of the most well-known book piracy spaces, I realised that I did know this website. The first time I heard about TUEBL, it was suggested as a catalogue by the Android reading app called MoonReader+. The app allows you to open ebooks and for a small price, the pro version will also read and format PDFs; it can download content from a number of catalogues, but the user has the option to add links to websites themselves. However, back then, TUEBL had a great number of copyrighted works, from well-known series such as the Harry Potter one to all the latest releases. Supposedly, users are not allowed to upload copyrighted material on the website and this is the policy that they stand by, but it was a different matter in practice, since the books were only taken down when authors raised this issue.
As much of a problem as this is, it was not mentioned in newspapers – it has been spoken about on blogs, and TUEBL also came forward to make a statement, which is why the information should be taken with a grain of salt. But the voices of authors were heard, and TUEBL was known in certain circles for being a website guilty of piracy (Spring, 2012). Travis McCrea states that it was not the website’s intention to host copyrighted material without the author’s will, and that developing an entirely new DMCA to avoid this sort of thing was in order.
However, there were also voices stating that TUEBL is a good idea, copyrighted works or not, and one of the reasons would be the ads on the website and how the revenue is directed to literacy-based charities.
The discussions around piracy are a constant in the digital age, but the point still stands: TUEBL was uploading the works of authors and distributing them for free, despite the clear refusal of said authors. Nowadays, a visit on the website will tell you that they upload only authors that wish to have their work there for feedback and statistics, and that any instance of copyright infringement should be reported.
It would seem that authorship has managed to win in this case, but TUEBL is not the only ebook-sharing website, and piracy still remains an issue.
Word count: 488
Bibliography
Anon., 2012. TUEBL or not TUEBLE? That is the Question. Green Pirate. [online] Available at: http://blog.greenpirate.org/tuebl-or-not-tueble-that-is-the-question/ [Accessed 10 November 2014]
Anon., 2013. Libraries Vs. Tuebl. Parajunkee. [online] Available at: http://parajunkee.rocks/post/711212/libraries-vs-tuebl [Accessed 10 November 2014]
McCrea, T., 2013. TUEBL Addressess Copyright Concerns From Authors. Cheapass Fiction. [online] Available at: http://cheapassfiction.com/2013/11/16/tuebl-addressess-copyright-concerns-from-authors/ [Accessed 10 November 2014]
Moon+ Reader, 2014. Google Play Store. [online] Available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flyersoft.moonreader&hl=en_GB [Accessed 10 November 2014]
Spring, T., 2010. 'E-Book Piracy: Is Your Download Legitimate?', PC World, 28, 3, pp. 23-25, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 2 November 2014.
Springen, K., 2014. ‘The Piracy Problem’, Publishers Weekly, 261, 29, pp. 20-23, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 2 November 2014.