Monday Madness: Piracy

I recently went to my account at MediaFire to upload a freebie for your downloading pleasure, only to have a HUGE pop-up tell me that I was in violation of the copyright laws, having pirated a file in my MediaFire account. I went to the file, opened it, and wondered what in the world they were talking about. Everything in the kit was created by me, with the exception of one thing I had permission to use. However, when I contacted the firm claiming piracy, I was told that it was a mistake and that it was obvious to them that the mistake was theirs. I assumed that was that. Just to be on the safe side, I took the kit down from every place I had uploaded it, and waited to be "let off the hook."

It didn't happen. Today, as I check it out, the copyright infringement claim is still in effect, and I cannot reload the file. I filed a counter-claim with MediaFire when I first learned of the mistake, but to date they have done nothing about it.

When I went to the site of the claimant, I discovered it was a p**n site (sorry, I don't want people googling that to find MY blog!). My kits are all family friendly.

So now I am taking different route, and I'll keep you posted on what to do if you are falsely accused of copyright infringement. Now here's a link to an excellent article on the subject, on what to do if someone pirates YOUR work. Take a look and tell me your story. Have you been pirated? (I have.)