"Fake" books on Amazon UK

[dadioflex]

Not sure, but this doesn't seem to be a problem on the dot com version of Amazon.

Take a look here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_at...rce%3A%20Wikia

Basically this is a list of "books" which use popular games and franchises in the title and package together information which seems to have been scraped off the internet.

Is there any point approaching Amazon.co.uk about this?

EDIT: needless to say don't buy anything from that link.

[HarryT]

Approach them on what grounds? If the information comes from Wikipedia, they aren't doing anything illegal as long as they properly attribute the source.

[dadioflex]

I hear what you're saying, and you're right, though it would be nice if thisWAS made clear in the descption. Which it isn't. In fact the descriptions are nonsense. Here's what really bothers me - these titles come up quite frequently in searches. When a hundred other firms are doing this, polluting the search results, what do we do?

As I said, it doesn't appear to be a problem on amazon.com - so I was wondering if it was worth approaching the .co.uk to see if they could do whatever the .com has done, and bury them in the results down where they belong.

EDIT: Hmm, maybe there's a better way.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter...0434624&sr=1-2

Let Rowling's lawyers see what they think.

EDIT2: Nope. Apparently, after some background reading, they're wise to this. I still think amazon.co.uk could do more to bury the results, but I'll drop it. Delete the topic if you detest clutter the way I do.

[HomeInMyShoes]

What's sad is how much they are charging for wiki-dumps. Seriously. The prices are like $30 for something I could whip together in a day. I'm probably jealous that they might actually be making some money off this, but I'm pretty disgusted by it as well. Illegal or not, it's just sleezy to me.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

What's sad is how much they are charging for wiki-dumps. Seriously. The prices are like $30 for something I could whip together in a day. I'm probably jealous that they might actually be making some money off this, but I'm pretty disgusted by it as well. Illegal or not, it's just sleezy to me.

They're paperbacks, so some of the cost will be for the printing, etc. They'll be designed for people who don't want to read online, but $30 to save a day's work doesn't sound like much to me.

[frostschutz]

Some of the people who make this crap even come here and ask for conversion help with Calibre...

Then again anyone who buys this is an idiot and I'm not sure if making money off idiots is illegal... it's actually likely that most business models are based on it...

[Giggleton]

Just a symptom of the copyright disease. How so you may ask? These materials aren't copyrighted?? That's a good question, without copyright no one would be able to sell anything and these ebook hooligans would no longer exist. At least that's the theory. They might still attempt to upload their garbage in the hopes that someone actually does find the info useful and click on the payment button inside the book but it's doubtful. I'm not sure if approaching Amazon about lobbying congress to end copyright would work but it's worth a shot I suppose.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Approach them on what grounds? If the information comes from Wikipedia, they aren't doing anything illegal as long as they properly attribute the source.

I could make a pretty good case for fraud, I think. It's not a copyright violation, at least if they attribute the source in the book, but it's trying to get people to pay for something that's essentially worthless. Now excuse me, I have a few more bridges to sell to tourists.

[Redcard]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

I could make a pretty good case for fraud, I think. It's not a copyright violation, at least if they attribute the source in the book, but it's trying to get people to pay for something that's essentially worthless. Now excuse me, I have a few more bridges to sell to tourists.

There's a difference, though.

This information is likely licensed to be used as people see fit under the GFDL. You are more than welcome to sell things you are licensed to sell. I'd , however, make a comment in the review section if it bothers you, linking to the location of the texts.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by Redcard

This information is likely licensed to be used as people see fit under the GFDL.

Yes, that covers the "no-copyright violation" part and is not a problem. It's the fact that they don't communicate with sufficient clarity that they are basically selling Wikipedia printouts turned into "books" on the cheap. This is not a problem with copyright as such.

[Belfaborac]

I had a quick look at some of the product descriptions and they all stated: "This book consists of articles from Wikia" or "This book consists of articles from Wikia or other free sources online". Sounds pretty clear to me.

[anamardoll]

Maybe a print copy has value for someone who will be away from an internet connection for awhile? Seems highly specialized, though.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^I've done that with some stuff. I just format it in word, use Caliber to convert it and presto, instant short stories and stuff to take with me.

While it's saving people some work, they still seem ridiculously expensive for something someone could print off the web for pennies an article. As P.T. Barnum said "...born every minute."

[CWatkinsNash]

Wikipedia provides the functionality to create these. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Books
It's a pretty neat way to package info. I've done it to have a few topics on my ereader, though I never considered selling them.

[Belfaborac]

Thanks for pointing that out, I wasn't aware of that service/function at all!