# Possible Pirate Site: Bolt.cd



## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

I just got a Google Alert that my novel was being offered for download in a bulletin board called, "Bolt" I went to the site are found the offer of free downloads of my novel and responded with a request to the Administrators to remove the post and also left a note. see below:

http://bolt.cd/board/showthread.php?p=2713332#post2713332


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2011)

Phil, my book was also featured there. That's what the site is for, illegal downloads, and the administrators are the ones who are running it.

Your/everyone's best bet is to follow the link to rapidshare and send an email about the copyright abuse to them.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> Phil, my book was also featured there. That's what the site is for, illegal downloads, and the administrators are the ones who are running it.
> 
> Your/everyone's best bet is to follow the link to rapidshare and send an email about the copyright abuse to them.


Thanks, Good advice. Bolt's Forum Rules specifically prohibit copyright infringement, so I reported the post.


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2011)

Philip Chen said:


> Thanks, Good advice. Bolt's Forum Rules specifically prohibit copyright infringement, so I reported the post.


I'm sure those forum rules were just a form of lip service. When I found them, they'd just moved onto the new .cd domain, which was done on purpose because it locates them in a country where they can't be prosecuted for infringements.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> I'm sure those forum rules were just a form of lip service. When I found them, they'd just moved onto the new .cd domain, which was done on purpose because it locates them in a country where they can't be prosecuted for infringements.


I followed your advice and sent an email to Rapidshare's Legal Counsel, requesting that they remove the download.

Thank you for the heads up.


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## Nathan Lowell (Dec 11, 2010)

My books started showing up on pirated lists about four months ago. 

According to Stephen King, I've now arrived and should seek an agent. 

I downloaded a couple of them and the formatting stinks. It was free and worth what I paid for it. 

I'm pretty sure nobody who steals a copy was going to actually buy it to begin with but maybe if they get frustrated with the formatting and like the book they'll buy one to read. 

Of course, anybody can download the audio version for free from iTunes already, so that's kinda lame.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

I don't know if there is a cause and effect, but after posting the following response to the offer to download pirated copies of my book, I have been getting a sale about every five minutes or so on Amazon.



> I am the author of _Falling Star_ and depend on it for my livelihood. The above download, while flattering, is not authorized for distribution and your downloading it dilutes the value of twenty years of work. I request that you not download it.
> 
> If you are interested in this thriller that has received 35 very nice reviews and the recommendation of a well-respected book critic is it currently available on Amazon Kindle for only 99 cents USD.
> 
> ...


Not the strategy I would have wanted, but I won't turn it down. As a co-worker once said to me,

"_Guilt, the gift that keeps on giving._"


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## Madeline (Jun 5, 2010)

Philip Chen said:


> I followed your advice and sent an email to Rapidshare's Legal Counsel, requesting that they remove the download.
> 
> Thank you for the heads up.


LOL man I wish I was a lawyer and things were that simple


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2011)

I doubt those people have Kindles.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Madeline said:


> LOL man I wish I was a lawyer and things were that simple


For something like this, I'm sure Rapidshare will dump the upload post haste, if they are legitimate. I toyed with telling the Legal Counsel that I am an attorney, but decided against it at this time.

My email to the Counsel:



> Andras Bedoe
> Legal Counsel
> RapidShare AG
> Gewerbestrasse 6
> ...


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## Madeline (Jun 5, 2010)

But how did you find out who their legal counsel was?


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> I doubt those people have Kindles.


The download offered it in a variety of formats, so I suspect it is a Smashwords copy.

Incidentally, I just want everyone to know that the strategy of posting a reply to the offending post is one that I got from KindleBoards. One of our lady authors used this same strategy and reported on it. I apologize for not remembering her name. I can only feign early onset of dementia. So, whoever you are, thank you!


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Madeline said:


> But how did you find out who their legal counsel was?


I went on the Rapidshare site as suggested by ForeverJuly http://www.rapidshare.com/#!rapidshare-ag/rapidshare-ag_contact


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## Madeline (Jun 5, 2010)

Philip Chen said:


> I went on the Rapidshare site as suggested by ForeverJuly http://www.rapidshare.com/#!rapidshare-ag/rapidshare-ag_contact


Ah, and here I was thinking you did all this special legal stuff to find it.


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## thejosh86 (Mar 1, 2011)

I would assume that rapidshare/mediafire/etc all get a lot of copyright infringement emails, so I'm not surprised they list their legal council right there on the contact info. I'm a little surprised he's not available for video conferencing 24/7, though.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Hopefully that gets taken down and resolved quickly, Philip. Sounds like you've got it under control!


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Well, the upshot of all this is that the possible "guilt" buying has resulted in



> # Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #3,724 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
> 
> * #78 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
> * #85 in Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

I went to the Bolt site to check whether they had taken any action on my complaint. They had.  They permanently banned me (no reason given).


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## Guest (Mar 8, 2011)

Philip Chen said:


> I went to the Bolt site to check whether they had taken any action on my complaint. They had. They permanently banned me (no reason given).


lol I'm not shocked. That's what that site's about. Facilitating an illegal download of your book wasn't the problem to them, you were.


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## Ben White (Feb 11, 2011)

I got so excited for a minute, reading the title of the thread.  "Pirates!  Yay!"  And then I realised it's the other kind.


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## mathewferguson (Oct 24, 2010)

You should have let it ride Phillip and observed the results.

Will sales go up? Will they go down? Will nothing happen?

My advice to anyone who find their work on a torrent site: celebrate! Distribution, more readers!

I put one of my titles up on a torrent site two days ago and it's already been downloaded 194 times. It has also generated 1950 links and places to find my work. My other pieces up on torrents sites have been downloaded 100,000+ times.


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## Ben White (Feb 11, 2011)

mathewferguson said:


> I put one of my titles up on a torrent site two days ago and it's already been downloaded 194 times. It has also generated 1950 links and places to find my work. My other pieces up on torrents sites have been downloaded 100,000+ times.


Which torrent sites are you using?


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## swcleveland (Jun 6, 2010)

I looked for mine--it wasn't there.

*I am a horrifying abject failure!!!*


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## mathewferguson (Oct 24, 2010)

Ben White said:


> Which torrent sites are you using?


I put my work up on mininova.org

From there it is scraped by other torrent sites within a few hours to a few days and so it spreads out to a variety of places. All downloads run off the same tracker so even if someone gets it from a different site, it still records the download.

One title I put up has about 57,000 individual links spread around the web thanks mostly to torrents.


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## Ben White (Feb 11, 2011)

mathewferguson said:


> I put my work up on mininova.org
> 
> From there it is scraped by other torrent sites within a few hours to a few days and so it spreads out to a variety of places. All downloads run off the same tracker so even if someone gets it from a different site, it still records the download.
> 
> One title I put up has about 57,000 individual links spread around the web thanks mostly to torrents.


Cheers, I hadn't heard of mininova; looks good!


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## BrianKittrell (Jan 8, 2011)

I'd recommend sending an email with a DCMA takedown notice to the hosting provider of the website. You could note in your email that not only your work is displayed here.

Here is the DNS information for bolt.cd


```
% Information related to '84.2.34.64 - 84.2.34.127'

inetnum:	84.2.34.64 - 84.2.34.127
netname:        HOSTPLEX
descr:          DHOST Ltd.
descr:          Budapest, Dataplex
descr:          abuse: [email protected]
country:        HU
admin-c:        TP1087-RIPE
tech-c:         TP1087-RIPE
status:         ASSIGNED PA
remarks:        INFRA-AW
mnt-by:         AS15555-MNT
mnt-by:         AS5483-MNT
changed:        [email protected] 20090901
source:         RIPE

person:         Tamas Pasztor
address:        Netvertising Ltd.
address:        Hungary
phone:          +36 30 6376128
e-mail:         [email protected]
nic-hdl:        TP1087-RIPE
changed:        [email protected] 20090629
changed:        [email protected] 20090811
source:         RIPE

% Information related to '84.0.0.0/14AS5483'

route:          84.0.0.0/14
descr:          T-Com Hungary, T-Online Hungary
descr:          Public Internet Access Provider
descr:          Budapest, Hungary
descr:          HU
origin:         AS5483
notify:         [email protected]
mnt-by:         TCOM-MNT
changed:        [email protected] 20040917
changed:        [email protected] 20060523
changed:        [email protected] 20070129
source:         RIPE
```
It appears to be hosted by Hostplex, the most likely is: http://www.hostplex.net/contact. It appears you can email a DCMA takedown notice directly to [email protected] Not only could you get your work removed, but you could get the entire website shut down. The host appears to be in Budapest, Hungary.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

Not only did Bolt ban me; they removed my offending post ^^^^.  I think that Foreverjuly nailed it with respect to what they are.

@Matt,  

I'd be interested in whether the torrent posting really translated to actual sales, since over 100,000 sales would be a runaway bestseller.  Additionally, there is a BIG difference between voluntarily posting your novel(s) on a legal torrent site, knowing full well that it will be distributed freely and having it ripped off by a pirate site that then bans you when you politely ask that it be taken down.  In the former case, it is a calculated marketing gambit by the copyright holder (you); in the latter case it is thievery plain and simple.

@SW,

Be careful for what you wish.  

@Brian Kitrell,

Thank you for the info, you saved me some work.  Since Bolt referred to a Rapidshare file for the download, the first step is to have Rapidshare remove it  (see my email to Rapidshare's legal counsel).  Bolt's defense will be that they were merely linking into what they believed to a legitimate download.

Phil


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## mathewferguson (Oct 24, 2010)

Philip Chen said:


> @Matt,
> 
> I'd be interested in whether the torrent posting really translated to actual sales, since over 100,000 sales would be a runaway bestseller. Additionally, there is a BIG difference between voluntarily posting your novel(s) on a legal torrent site, knowing full well that it will be distributed freely and having it ripped off by a pirate site that then bans you when you politely ask that it be taken down. In the former case, it is a calculated marketing gambit by the copyright holder (you); in the latter case it is thievery plain and simple.


Okay, so yes clearly there is a difference between my voluntary act and your involuntary act but why be so quick to try to pull it down?

I say let it go and observe the results.

Also, not that you should ever really be afraid of defending your work but you are stirring up sh*t here with a group of people who have already demonstrated they don't care about your copyright. If by some remote chance (which I think is actually near zero) you manage to have your book removed, it can just as easily show up on other sites where you'll have no chance of taking it down. People do upload work to spite those who annoy them.

On the path from start to success, someone pirating your work is an inevitable milestone. It's not something to be fought but embraced.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)

@Matt,

Reasonable men will and can disagree.


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## BrianKittrell (Jan 8, 2011)

Philip Chen said:


> @Brian Kitrell,
> 
> Thank you for the info, you saved me some work. Since Bolt referred to a Rapidshare file for the download, the first step is to have Rapidshare remove it (see my email to Rapidshare's legal counsel). Bolt's defense will be that they were merely linking into what they believed to a legitimate download.
> 
> Phil


Yeah, but even the widespread discussion and obvious promotion of illegal activities can be enough to get a site shut down by the ISP. Web hosts like to keep their noses clean, so they might delete the site without even a warning to their client. It is clear to anyone even glancing at the page that its sole purpose is the promotion of getting copyrighted books (and other stuff) for free illegally.


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## Linda Ash (Jul 13, 2010)

swcleveland said:


> I looked for mine--it wasn't there.
> 
> *I am a horrifying abject failure!!!*


Ha  I'm in the same club!


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## Ksenija (Jul 1, 2011)

Maybe this info will be useful for all the authors that are added to bolt.cd.

A few days I also got this message from Google alerts: "Ksenya Yoder Batic The Curse of the Leroys is available on a new fast direct download service with over 2210000 Files to choose from Download anything with..." with a link to the site bolt.cd.

I FW the received email to my husband who works with computers asking him if he knows what is this all about. And this is what he told me:  "Some scam website (I guess they're Russian, but not sure) found about your book, and created a phony link to lure people into registering with them, and then download a book which is actually NOT a book, but a spambot or trojan or virus."

Now the only thing to worry about is actually whether it is a good or a bad thing that they spelled my name wrong.


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## nooneyouknow1977 (Dec 17, 2012)

Hmm I confess I disagree radicly..

As a nerd who had a 2600 atari when they were cool,, I can x modem with the best,,, (I know modem stands for Modulate De-modulate,,,)Mo-Dem,

I know the joys of Disk Operating System,,(DOS)

I was modding my a 8086,,,(IBM PC) I believe IBM PC compatible means it is almost a IBM but less then,,,

I was in college at 15 years of age,, my greatest here is Linus Torvald,,, 

I am at this age a Welder,,a Robotics programmer,,, (Motoman, ABB, IGM,,,)

I worked for IBM, also at AOL,,,

Now are my nerd credentials in order? I had the priviledge of meeting steve jobbs when he was a misfit at ,,Barstow Community College circa 198,,1981 or 83 abouts,,,

this said,,, 

The man who invented the Television passed away ,,his dying words ,,I wish I never invented the damn thing,, ( died in canada if I recall),,

I know many good authors,, and few are paid what they are worth,,,

Televisions were intended to bring education to all,,, show us how to do things,,, not so we could live vicariously,,, but so we could better live and help others,,,

The internet,, from its inception was similar,, though yes military funded,, arpanet,,,

The idea was communicate ,, ideas ,, plans,, in emergency,, and science,,, (from UCLA to Stanford,, )

The internet was not intended to be a sale and marketing tool,, so when some author gets pissy about how his or her book is copied or some movie mogul ,, well haha guess what?

I am believe knowledge should be shared,,, yes even works of fiction,, society is best when info,,data,, is free,,,

we inovate fastest with no red tape,,, 

imagine henry ford trying to patent out the gas engine,,oh waite,, cummins before him (his diesels were best known but he did gasoline as well),,, imagine patenting the wire,, or electricity,,?? you may be rich but society would suffer...

Greed ,,,I think artists should be paid,,,yes

Copying is not theft sorry,,, a copy is a backup a duplicate,.

when bibles were rare, and precious it was a honor,,, to own one,,, and scriptoriums were filled with people to copy all day long,, if one wanted a bible or book you might have to write it out,,,long hand,,,

History will show people who patent and trademark books and try to sue as greedy,,,

Authors should receive credit, yes,,, and get paid,, but after a reasonable amount of time all patents should roll into the public domain,,,, 

Greed is a sin, and I would not brag about hey I have a bootleg of music,,(try to impress a date with that?)

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, 

the web has been stolen,,, made into a pornado of marketing ,,,are people stealing and abusing that?


If people want to use digital trade,,, they must know,, the World Wide Web was intended to spread data quickly,,, so if a person wants to hoard their book, or is concerned about copyright,, ,,,do not allow out any digital copy,,,


But please ,,,treat the web with some respect,,it is not a marketing toilet to make people money,,,, (those who do this will eventually be ashamed,,, some day maybe put on the spot,,,)

I am no writer,, and maybe not a hood programmer, just one nerds opinions,,,  (I relish in my crappy syntax,,and enjoy it)


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## nooneyouknow1977 (Dec 17, 2012)

Maybe a system error here today?


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