Ebayer selling copied youtube lessons, caution it could be yours next

MiaRosie

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Whilst working my way through ukulele listings on ebay I came across an auction for a pc cd *beginners guitar lessons - ukulele special* - so I looked at it.

It stated that the seller had redistribution rights and was able to sell this item. So I bid, and won, and paid and had it sent to me from Poland.

It arrived quickly, I popped it my computer and :confused: :confused: :confused: the 24 lessons were all copies of Mike Lynch lessons from youtube.

I immediately got in touch with the seller who replied stating that he COULD sell it ( I wonder if he feels that because they were published in an open 'forum' it gave him the right ? ), but that if I wanted a refund to return the cd to him.

I then got in touch with Mike Lynch who confirmed that he had not given anyone permission to duplicate or sell his work. Following that I spoke on the phone with ebay who are taking action.

So, two things, be aware that there are still people out there that will go to any length to make some money, regardless of whose toes they stand on - - and be aware that despite what people write in their ebay listings you can't always believe that they DO have the redistribution rights.

Who knows who they will target next time ?
 
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Got cha!

Thank you for your posting and follow through--it is appreciated mi compadre. We need more people of principle to take action.
 
Thanks for the heads up!!!
 
Wow, thanks for the heads up. I hate seeing things like this happen since Mike worked so hard in creating the lessons and giving them out for free.
 
Nice catch Rosie!
 
Is Paypal going to refund you the money from his account? They should since he fraudulently used Paypal to rip you off.
 
So how do you guys feel about copyright violations now?
 
So how do you guys feel about copyright violations now?

A fair point.

On the other hand, objecting to someone doing the parasite with material that Mike generously shares for free is, IMHO, rather different from getting p*ssed about corporate killjoys enforcing copyright for the sake of it when material is covered for fun and tribute with no intention to deprive the copyright owner or make money.

As I say, a very fair point but personally I still feel the same as I did before.
 
So how do you guys feel about copyright violations now?

I'm not sure this is protected under Fair Use (despite it's vagueness).

side note soap box: IMO, our current copyright laws are unconstitutional, and completely out of line with what the Framers had in mind. [sarcasm]Thanks a lot, Disney.[/sarcasm]
 
the ukulele cd is not listed on it - worth keeping an eye for it though, to see if it pops up again at any time.

Interestingly the contact address shows a place in Catford London, whereas the cd was shipped from and expected to be returned to, Poland ( i was sent the address and it was also on the packaging )

Regarding a refund, ebay have advised me that I need to wait the ten days which is standard practice to give the guy the time to refund fully. He is currently refusing to do so until I return the cd to him. I am refusing to return the cd, although I have told ebay that I am more than happy to send it to them for destruction. They in turn have told me I do not need to send it anywhere, just destroy it myself.

To be honest we are talking a really really small amount of money here, approximately £4 including shipping, and I am not that concerned about the refund. I was more bothered that Mike Lynch, having spent so long creating these videos to help novice players totally free of charge, was having his generosity abused in this way.

I have never been more impressed with ebay than I am about how they have dealt with this. I spoke with them three times on the phone, they took me through a process so that everything was fully recorded for legal purposes, including repeating the item number and other details slowly and clearly so that an audio recording had all of the details necessary. They also informed me of their next steps.

I hope this doesn't put Mike off doing future video lessons, they are so useful.
 
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Copyright control is like trying to herd jello. Since the internet is very hard to control at all, if even possible. As a buyer, all that can be done is as you have done. Some small pressure is applied but, on the whole of it, it's a lost game.
 
You bought the CD 0.45 pence. Supprisingly you didn't mention here that it was ststed in that listing that everything contained on the advertised CD is distributed freely globally, that you are only paying for the time to find and test the program, plus the cost of the CD and associated listing cost. It was also stated that there are no license fees charged. What's your problem?
 
It seems that the seller of the cd has joined the forum. Bargain2010 - no one else here would know the cost of the cd, nor what is contained in the product description. I obviously still have the listing and am happy to review it and show post it.

My problem is that someone, ie Mike Lynch has spent hours putting together lessons to give freely to ukulele players and someone, bjsoftwares, has chosen to take Mikes work and sell it for profit. That is my problem.
 
LICENSE

This item is not a copy, it’s our product and may be installed on as many computers as you wish. However, you are only paying for our time to find, test, approve, compile, design and produce this package bundle. The software content in this advertised package is released under GNU/ GPL License, there are no license fees charged.

Note to eBay: This item does not infringe any trademark, copyright, or other rights nor does it infringe eBay's listing or spam policies.
Everything contained on the advertised CD is distributed freely and globally under the terms of the GNU Public License or the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)

We have full and legal right to re-distribute this product.


May I ask who gave you the right to re-distribute this product ? Mike Lynch certainly didn't.


**** I have been reading up on these and it appears that they are both used for SOFTWARE and the program must contain the source code. I have now looked up GNU Public and GNULGPL as well as the Open Source Initiative - each of them state the same. Their use is for SOFTWARE redistribution on the basis that this also gives a licence to redistribute, the source code and other information as laid down by them. I don't understand all this - but I know a man that can. If you google any of those terms you will come across a site or sites which go into them fully. Looking at it, it seems that the other products offered may possibly fall into this category - however I can't see how youtube ukulele lessons can be categorised as software.
 
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Mike has some method of recourse here. E-bay is very good about pulling down pirated material if the copyright owner complains . They have an extensive system in place. Unfortunatley it's a biit of a paperwork hassle, but once it's all filed e-bay uses the ban hammer.

It's been many years since I did it, but there were pirated versions of some of my (former) companies models on e-bay - I filed a ton of paperwork, e-bay went after them, pulled the listings and banned the users.

I would suggest to anyone who makes these that they embed titles DURING the content (that could not be removed or edited easily) directing people to your own website. That way, even if pirates sell it, you get the foot traffic.
 
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Already, this seller has fallen foul of EBay and PayPal. I wonder what YouTube thinks of people redistributing content posted on their site for payment. The hot water may quickly deepen.

I have no sympathy -- I will point and laugh as he (why is it always a he?) boils like a lobster.
 
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