How Times Change: Book Copyright Warnings
- Posted by Johanna on February 27, 2011 at 10:28 am
- Category: Meta
I remember paperbacks used to carry, on the copyright page, a warning that if you bought it without a cover someone had committed fraud. Wikipedia reports that the text was
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Today, I was reading an advance galley of a graphic novel and noted the following had taken its place.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Lot of text, hunh? Not sure anyone who might be affected will bother reading all that. I only did because I was curious why the copyright page had so many more words on it than I was used to.
2 Responses to “How Times Change: Book Copyright Warnings”
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February 27, 2011 at 1:57 PM
I see books with the covers torn at the used book store all the time. Usually in the 25 cent bin. I could never buy a book without a cover. Not because it’s illegal, more about the aesthetics. I even have a hard time buying a used book with a creased spine.
February 28, 2011 at 9:24 AM
Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Well, that’d make one of us doing it, anyway.