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Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

arstechnica.com

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Re: Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

#21

Post by alexforster »

ckastner wrote: post #4

The counterfeit and review manipulation issues have rendered Amazon unpleasant enough for me that buying local is something I've started to enjoy again. I trust the merchant to have performed some kind of vetting for merchandise sold on premise, and the price is often good or (interestingly enough) even better than on Amazon. Often enough local is still more expensive, but it beats browsing Amazon for an hour, siftin…

My last two Amazon purchases ended up being counterfit, even after spending a ton of time trying to avoid counterfits. I'm still going to use my fake electric toothbrush heads and fake Apple 5W USB charger, but I'm not using Amazon anymore.

Re: Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

#22

Post by rb808 »

mojomark wrote: post #13

Totally, this. As a case in point, my "Digital Image Processing and Analysis: Human and Computer Vision Applications with CVIPtools, Second Edition" text book stated right on the cover that the book was "Not for sale in the US" (or something to that effect). Seemed odd, then I read the intro in which the author was excited that he finally convinced the publisher to print in color. My book was not in color (super grea…

abebooks (part of amazon) sells a lot of international editions. https://www.abebooks.com/books/Textbooks/international-editi...

It makes sense to sell the same book at lower prices in parts of the world where the regular price is unaffordable. Importing those books back to the US is not what publishers want, but I think isn't illegal.

Re: Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

#23

Post by thearn4 »

ckastner wrote: post #4

The counterfeit and review manipulation issues have rendered Amazon unpleasant enough for me that buying local is something I've started to enjoy again. I trust the merchant to have performed some kind of vetting for merchandise sold on premise, and the price is often good or (interestingly enough) even better than on Amazon. Often enough local is still more expensive, but it beats browsing Amazon for an hour, siftin…

I've noticed that it's all come full-circle for me again too, when it comes to purchasing from Amazon. It seems that I can't even trust the "verified purchase" reviews anymore.

Re: Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

#24

Post by mark_l_watson »

Yup, this happened to me: I saw a very low price on a Chez Scheme book and bought it. I am fairly certain the book was an unauthorized copy. I felt like the author and publisher were cheated, but to be honest I did the simplest thing and just kept the book and I am gentle with it when opening it for reading so it does not fall apart.

Re: Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

#25

Post by ocdtrekkie »

lftl wrote: post #19
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More than likely, they can just claim "we're just a platform, someone else uploaded the file". This is the inherent problem with Section 230 immunity for platforms: We've given companies a blank check to be used as part of criminal enterprises, and given them no incentive to police illegal behavior on their networks. In this scenario, Amazon is able to literally produce, sell, and distribute counterfeit material, kee…

Does Section 230 apply at all when we're talking about a physically distributed product like this? I get that, even if it doesn't apply, Amazon's defense is probably that they're an intermediary and not the seller, but I thought the DMCA applied pretty strictly to digital copyright violations, and that any lawsuit in this instance would hinge on older laws for physical-good copyright violations.

Well, for one, there is some exception to Section 230 in the realm of intellectual property, which is an angle that could be pursued, but there's been some "conflicting rulings" on it. But I think Amazon would argue that their publishing service is an interactive computer service, and that they are not the providers of the infringing information.

Which is to say, it's possible Section 230 would not apply here, but Amazon's extremely expensive lawyers would probably fight like heck to include it anyways.

Re: Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

#26

Post by moftz »

mojomark wrote: post #13

Totally, this. As a case in point, my "Digital Image Processing and Analysis: Human and Computer Vision Applications with CVIPtools, Second Edition" text book stated right on the cover that the book was "Not for sale in the US" (or something to that effect). Seemed odd, then I read the intro in which the author was excited that he finally convinced the publisher to print in color. My book was not in color (super grea…

Your situation has nothing to do with Amazon or counterfeit books.

The "not for sale in US" editions are international editions that are usually made with cheaper materials and sometimes with different graphics to avoid royalties. These books usually have the content and are usually in black and white but sometimes there are slight content changes. It's not usually the best idea to buy one of these unless you know it's identical, check the reviews. You need to use the ISBN to find the US edition if you don't want to gamble on a cheap international edition. Funny story, I bought an international edition once, used it for the semester, then sold it back to the third-party bookstore in town for more than I bought it for.

Re: Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

#27

Post by pault »

alexforster wrote: post #21
ckastner wrote: post #4

The counterfeit and review manipulation issues have rendered Amazon unpleasant enough for me that buying local is something I've started to enjoy again. I trust the merchant to have performed some kind of vetting for merchandise sold on premise, and the price is often good or (interestingly enough) even better than on Amazon. Often enough local is still more expensive, but it beats browsing Amazon for an hour, siftin…

My last two Amazon purchases ended up being counterfit, even after spending a ton of time trying to avoid counterfits. I'm still going to use my fake electric toothbrush heads and fake Apple 5W USB charger, but I'm not using Amazon anymore.

Careful with those fake chargers. They're known to catch fire.

Re: Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

#28

Post by BucketSort »

pfarnsworth wrote: post #12

Amazon gets away with this because it's practically impossible for small business owners or authors to police their site. It's similar to Google, where they let counterfeits thrive, but real content creators get fake DMCA notices and shut down. I really hate to say this, but large companies like this need to be regulated via laws. There's simply no other choice. Having Amazon throw their hands up and say "There's not…

No, Jeff Bezos needs more money. Don't touch his profits with regulations.

Re: Amazon Caught Selling Counterfeits of Publisher’s Computer Books–Again

#29

Post by tartoran »

alanfranzoni wrote: post #15
MikeCapone wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

is eBay getting sued every time a counterfeit good is sold?

eBay has no warehouse. eBay has no printing service. But I'd say that eBay should offer a fake-reporting system (which AFAIK exists) and should report users engaging in such activities to police or other institutions. The problem with Amazon is that they seem not to take appropriate action. How can you not be held liable for printing books in an unauthorized fashion AND selling it from your warehouse?

As far as I can tell ebay has fake protection for buyers, they hold onto the transaction for a window of time and the buyer can report a fake, etc.
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