An anti-piracy web tool launched by the Publishers' Association, UK, in February has reportedly recorded about 800 illegally uploaded texts. The tool has successfully helped to remove almost 90 percent of these from the web.
The Association's Copyright Infringement portal fights online piracy by targeting those websites that offer titles for free download. Publishers register the details of an infringement and the portal and notify the ISP with a request to take it down. The portal also tracks if an appropriate response has been made.
However, association representatives have sought 'proactive and dynamic' work in view of the speed with which new sites appear. Over the next quarter, the portal is looking to tackle 'torrent sites' that offer peer-to-peer sharing of infringing copies via multiple users sharing content.
Meanwhile, publishers worldwide are in continuing discussions with content sites Scribd and Wattpad over illegal downloads. In the US, where Scribd met with the Association of American Publishers last month, an e-mail on online piracy circulated by Hachette Book Group (HGG) said Scribd had committed to various anti-piracy policies. HBG is also looking to persuade Wattpad to bring in more robust procedures.
