Register Guidelines E-Books Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book General > News

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 03-23-2017, 08:37 AM   #1
JSWolf
Resident Curmudgeon
JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
JSWolf's Avatar
 
Posts: 73,645
Karma: 127838196
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
Vox Day’s conservative publishing company Castalia House has book pulled from Amazon

Amazon is giving this rip-off cover a go ahead when clearly it's violating copyright.

Quote:
Amazon blocked sales for The Corroding Empire, a scifi book from Vox Day’s conservative publishing company Castalia House, because the cover bore an uncanny resemblance to John Scalzi’s latest book, The Collapsing Empire. And it wasn’t a coincidence.

Update: Amazon has since resumed sales for The Corroding Empire, with the original cover. We’ve reached out to Amazon for more information.
http://io9.gizmodo.com/amazon-pulls-...alflow#replies
JSWolf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 09:15 AM   #2
MikeB1972
Gnu
MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,222
Karma: 15625359
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Device: BeBook,JetBook Lite,PRS-300-350-505-650,+ran out of space to type
While agreeing that vox is being an arse as usual I'm glad this wasn't blocked.

It's different enough that to count this on infringing would bring the sci-fi, fantasy and romance sections down to a couple of hundred titles each given the similarity between covers in these genres.

BTW : Trade dress not copyright.
MikeB1972 is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 03-23-2017, 10:17 AM   #3
Cyberman tM
Evangelist
Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cyberman tM ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Cyberman tM's Avatar
 
Posts: 439
Karma: 2248782
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Austria
Device: Inkbook Prime; Icarus Illumina;ImcoV6l;EB600;Kobo
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB1972 View Post
It's different enough that to count this on infringing would bring the sci-fi, fantasy and romance sections down to a couple of hundred titles each given the similarity between covers in these genres.
Books that have covers THIS similar deserve to be removed from the literary pool:

snip - changed to attachment
(Image taken from the article linked above)

This cannot be coincidence.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	ytjeswo4c5hrw37c913e.jpg
Views:	390
Size:	83.2 KB
ID:	155802  

Last edited by pdurrant; 03-23-2017 at 11:01 AM. Reason: image too big
Cyberman tM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 10:35 AM   #4
MikeB1972
Gnu
MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,222
Karma: 15625359
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Device: BeBook,JetBook Lite,PRS-300-350-505-650,+ran out of space to type
Click image for larger version

Name:	neutronium_alchemist.jpg
Views:	541
Size:	223.4 KB
ID:	155800

Lets ban them both because Hamilton got there 20 years ago.

Sure the vox one is a rip off, but can you imagine what the randy penguin would do if they found out they could ban anything with a similar cover to any of their books?
Jim Butcher could never release another book because all his covers look the same

How similar do they have to be before you ban it?
MikeB1972 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 10:36 AM   #5
mgbino
Groupie
mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.mgbino ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 199
Karma: 3039394
Join Date: Mar 2014
Device: Nook Glowlight
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyberman tM View Post
Books that have covers THIS similar deserve to be removed from the literary pool:

(Image taken from the article linked above)

This cannot be coincidence.
I find it amusing that Vox Day started a publishing company apparently just to troll Tor books.

That's like level 20 trolling right there.

Last edited by pdurrant; 03-23-2017 at 11:01 AM.
mgbino is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 03-23-2017, 10:45 AM   #6
MikeB1972
Gnu
MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,222
Karma: 15625359
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Device: BeBook,JetBook Lite,PRS-300-350-505-650,+ran out of space to type
Quote:
Originally Posted by mgbino View Post
I find it amusing that Vox Day started a publishing company apparently just to troll Tor books.

That's like level 20 trolling right there.
I think it's just Scalzi, not even Tor
MikeB1972 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 10:55 AM   #7
gbm
Wizard
gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.gbm ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 2,080
Karma: 8796704
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Kobo Clara HD,Hisence Sero 7 Pro RIP, Nook STR, jetbook lite
The only part of those covers that is covered by copyright is the Painting/image, while the images are similar they are clearly different enough to not be infringing.
If Castalia House had named it The Collapsing Empire it would have been legal--can not copyright titles.

My take on this is if Castalia House sues then Tor will settle and pay at least in the six figures. Its called tortious interference with business relations.

Quote:
Tortious interference, also known as intentional interference with contractual relations, in the common law of torts, occurs when one person intentionally damages someone else's contractual or business relationships with a third party causing economic harm.
Tor had no legal grounds to ask Amazon to take it down, I am surprised that Tor legal allowed it--that is it legal was even consulted.

bernie
gbm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 11:00 AM   #8
pdurrant
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
pdurrant's Avatar
 
Posts: 71,406
Karma: 305065800
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Norfolk, England
Device: Kindle Voyage
This is a clear case of passing off, IMO. It wouldn't be legal in the UK under UK common law.
pdurrant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 11:08 AM   #9
pdurrant
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.pdurrant ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
pdurrant's Avatar
 
Posts: 71,406
Karma: 305065800
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Norfolk, England
Device: Kindle Voyage
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB1972 View Post
How similar do they have to be before you ban it?
Similar enough that one is obviously based on the other, and could be mistaken by the general public for the original.

It's called "Passing Off"
pdurrant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 11:10 AM   #10
AnemicOak
Bookaholic
AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.AnemicOak ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
AnemicOak's Avatar
 
Posts: 14,391
Karma: 54969924
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Minnesota
Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +
Quote:
Originally Posted by gbm View Post
Tor had no legal grounds to ask Amazon to take it down, I am surprised that Tor legal allowed it--that is it legal was even consulted.
Where does it say Tor requested a takedown? Not seeing it in the linked article.
AnemicOak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 11:13 AM   #11
Cinisajoy
Just a Yellow Smiley.
Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cinisajoy ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Cinisajoy's Avatar
 
Posts: 19,161
Karma: 83862859
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Texas
Device: K4, K5, fire, kobo, galaxy
Similar is not identical.
Can anyone give me proof that Vox actually ripped off the cover and wasn't just using it for inspiration?

Might I recommend looking at Historical Romance covers.
Cinisajoy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 11:18 AM   #12
MikeB1972
Gnu
MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.MikeB1972 ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 1,222
Karma: 15625359
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Device: BeBook,JetBook Lite,PRS-300-350-505-650,+ran out of space to type
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdurrant View Post
Similar enough that one is obviously based on the other, and could be mistaken by the general public for the original.

It's called "Passing Off"
That's why I called it "Trade Dress", not copyright.

TBH though, most book covers are similar enough that I don't think a lawyer would go near this one.

We don't seem to have protection from dodgy movies on SyFy/Horror Channel either :-
Snakes on a train (Possibly better than the original)
Transmorphers, Metal Man, Atlantic Rim, The Day the Earth Stopped.
The list is endless - Ok, I love dodgy creature features
MikeB1972 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 06:37 PM   #13
JSWolf
Resident Curmudgeon
JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
JSWolf's Avatar
 
Posts: 73,645
Karma: 127838196
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB1972 View Post
While agreeing that vox is being an arse as usual I'm glad this wasn't blocked.

It's different enough that to count this on infringing would bring the sci-fi, fantasy and romance sections down to a couple of hundred titles each given the similarity between covers in these genres.

BTW : Trade dress not copyright.
The cover is similar enough to be a rip-off of the Scalzi cover. It is NOT different enough. It's similar enough to cause mistaken purchases. The book has to go and Vox Day has to go away forever.
JSWolf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 06:40 PM   #14
JSWolf
Resident Curmudgeon
JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
JSWolf's Avatar
 
Posts: 73,645
Karma: 127838196
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB1972 View Post
Attachment 155800

Lets ban them both because Hamilton got there 20 years ago.

Sure the vox one is a rip off, but can you imagine what the randy penguin would do if they found out they could ban anything with a similar cover to any of their books?
Jim Butcher could never release another book because all his covers look the same

How similar do they have to be before you ban it?
Similar picture, same font and same text layout. It's a blatant rip-off and if you don't see it as such, I feel sorry for you because Vox Day has a thing for John Scalzi and that's why he had this cover made the way it is.

Last edited by JSWolf; 03-24-2017 at 08:13 AM.
JSWolf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-23-2017, 07:45 PM   #15
JSWolf
Resident Curmudgeon
JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.JSWolf ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
JSWolf's Avatar
 
Posts: 73,645
Karma: 127838196
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB1972 View Post
That's why I called it "Trade Dress", not copyright.

TBH though, most book covers are similar enough that I don't think a lawyer would go near this one.
So what would have to be done to this cover to make it too similar? The photo is using a very similar picture with similar coloring and the same font with similar sizing and similar layout. It's so similar it's easy to mistake it for the original if the person looking isn't looking closely enough.
JSWolf is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Books pulled from Amazon Waylander General Discussions 4 07-09-2016 01:32 AM
Free (Kindle) 11 2012 Day-to-Day Calendars from Andrews McMeel Publishing arcadata Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) 4 11-11-2011 12:02 PM
Big House vs Small House Publishing Steven Lake Writers' Corner 36 06-14-2011 08:45 AM
TeleRead Sold to North American Publishing Company anurag News 9 02-12-2010 11:53 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:16 AM.


MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.