Axis of Weasels

"We have received notice from a third party regarding copyright concerns over your book. Please be advised that we do not involve ourselves in third party disputes and therefore have removed the availability of the title through our systems..." That's how the e-mail begins. What it means is that someone made a claim to the self-publishing website that you violated their copyright. They don't even have to prove they have a legitimate claim. They make the claim and, zip Your book is gone This would be fine if you were able to contact the person with the claim and resolve the differences. But when the person who makes the claim is a political enemy with a "no contact order" against you, it's impossible to work out the differences, and your book is dead. This is Bill Schmalfeldt's fifth attempt to publish this book. The first time, a right wing blogger claimed the author used ONE SENTENCE from his blog. The second time, the same right wing blogger claims he purchased the rights to an anonymous blogger's writing, and caused CreateSpace and Amazon to cease publication. The third time, another political enemy didn't like the fact that he was being written about and used a claim on a picture of his infant, originally published in an Arizona newspaper, a picture he did not take or have copyright claim to, an image which the author blurred to hide the baby's face, and demanded its removal. CreateSpace and Amazon folded faster than Superman on laundry day. The fourth time, a woman who is a fan of the right wing extremist blogger, claimed that a photo used in a newspaper story about her failed run for office in 2011 was "her property." Amazon, CreateSpace and Lulu.com didn't even bother to ask. They just took the book down. Something needs to change. People are gaming the system to silence writers who are trying to wake up a sleepy nation about the dangers of right wing extremism. In this book, author Bill Schmalfeldt argues for companies like Amazon and CreateSpace to require proof of a legitimate infringement claim before killing an author's hard work.