Asking piracy sites to remove your app?

Its illegal to start with. They are already breaking the law. Its not like anything you say is going to change their minds.

 

Actually there was a file sharing site that had a friends game on it and we reported it as copywriten material and it was removed. See if the site in question has a contact and give it a try.

 

I've asked many file hosting sites in the past to remove my games. A simple email that said "I'm the copyright holder, please remove this file from your site" usually works. Some responded within a day and some never responded. There was one site that said it was hosted in some country and don't even bother sending these emails. I gave up after a while because as soon as 1 went down, 5 more popped up.

 

Many illegal download sites (same with videos and music) actually try and hide behind a blanket of ignorance. They'll have a disclaimer telling people not to upload copyrighted material, and if they get into any legal trouble they'll point at the disclaimer and blame it on their users. I've had experience with websites like this in the past, and a lot of them will actually take down your copyrighted material if you send a well-written email. Not always, but I say it's worth a try.

At the end of the day though, while it might stop a few people getting a hold of your game easily, those who really want it will still be able to get it from P2P and torrents.

 

good luck. i've found that most of our "removed games" from the app store are available as a cracked version - since we cannot sell the games anyhow; its free marketing for us. its an issue when you have a game currently for sale and it has an impact on sales.. one could argue forever the intensions of pirates; with no end decision.

i've seen a lot of stuff on various sites etc - which are used pretty much exclusively for pirate software. they typically have a DMCA link on them - so you could try contacting them to ask for the applications to be removed. i doubt they'll listen to any form of legal threats...

 

Invalid File. This error has been forwarded to xxxxxx's development team.

AHHH it works. wont prevent it from being uploaded again, but maybe you can break some of the links on some of the warez sites by requesting the removal of the downloads.

 

To paraphrase a sitcom from the 90's I can't remember— trying to take something off the internet is like trying to take pee out of a pool.

Once it is out there it is out there.

You're also going to run into this.

 

sure; its a cat and mouse game - but at least some of the file hosting sites will remove the files and place md5 checks on the zip files to prevent them from being uploaded again.. if a warez site links to a bad file url - its going to lose it's reputation - but i am sure others will simply re-upload the file to another location (meaning, we'll have to keep contacting the file sharing sites)

 

Sometimes if you tell them that you are an indie dev making little to nothing, they'll sympathize and remove the files. Not PB, but file hosting sites. Anyway, I've given up on sending emails. I think the next thing I'm going to do is a delayed crack detection trigger to show ads. Maybe 1-2 day delay since no warez group is going to miss out on a 0-day release.

 

To continue your analogy. If you cover a mouse hole you don't get rid of the mouse. The mouse will just come out somewhere else. You can keep covering the holes but you'll only succeed in stopping it from coming out of the places you can find.

And in the process, instead of producing something you've only managed to (at best) temporarily slow piracy. Seems like a lot of effort with no payoff.

 

Google the name of the site and 'DMCA'
The address you need to send notices to will be there if the servers are in the USA. Most blog sites are.

Or do a Whois query and find the nameservers and then google that and DMCA or abuse or aup, that sort of thing.
Create a notice where will you need to do is complete the address of the file itself.
And send - the DMCA they have to read and act. It's not an option.

If you create a template file (and the RIAA use those too) then you just need to drop the relevant info in. Takes seconds.

Of course if it's outside the USA it is different but most webhosts will have an address for abuse.

 

very little effort - as someone else pointed out.

you are never going to stop the hard core guys - they have their own private sharing networks.. i'm more concerned about stopping the average joe - so that when they go to some simple website; it doesn't work anymore and then maybe they'll resort to buying it instead..

application piracy on iPhone / iPod Touch is so simple; even my mother could do it. that's the problem - not the piracy in itself. if someone can get it for free - of course they'll avoid paying for it.. it its harder to get, problem solved.

 

I still have a hard time understanding why pirates bother with cracking games that cost $.99 or even $4.99. Seems silly to me.

Q

 

You're only counting the time it takes to send a notice. But unless someone else is notifying you of the sites you're also spending time looking for sharing sites. And the more you find the deeper it'll get. You aren't fighting grandmothers, you're fighting tech savy kids mostly. At best most of them will stop for a few weeks until they discover how to get access to the sites you can't touch.

A lot of it might be related to credits cards, or rather the lack of.

 

since Mobile 1UP started (1 year ago) - we've been ignoring piracy; and we'll continue to do so. its a part of the business, however - it didn't hurt me to go to some of the popular sites (which, i'm well aware of) and send a few emails.. sure; i could have done it earlier - but, i've done it now - and, will probably do some simple followup but, i'm not going to dedicate a lot of time to it.

pretty much all our games are pirated; i'm honoured. removing a bunch of the public filesharing site links is enough for me for now - which, i've received quite a bit of positive response from my email requests. i'm actually more focused on new developments than this issue.

i think this is probably the single most important reason.

getting money from kids is a different process - maybe apple could partner with mobile carriers and provide the ability to purchase software or itunes credits using reverse SMS billing (meaning; its added to the phone bill).. i think alternative payment arrangements could possibly decrease the need to jailbreak.

 

ask piracy sites to remove themselves.

i hate them with all my heart because none of my friends with games get them legally. it sucks being the nerdy goody goody sometimes.. oh well

 

I don't think so… I very rarely hear that excuse, because a credit card isn't needed to purchase iTunes gift cards.

 

Is this easy to do?

I wonder how easy it is to get a pirated game onto your phone? I know the 130 or so apps I've spent over $300 on have all been VERY easy to get into my phone - you just have to go to the app store directly from the device. I simply don't understand why someone would pirate something that is .99 or even 9.99 to begin with, especially when Apple has made it sooo easy for us to get your apps (legally) already.

 

There are countries (a lot actually), where iDevices are sold, but the iTunes Store was recently introduced (apps only) and things don't run as smoothly as they do in the US, UK, etc., in terms of payment methods.
In these cases, AFAIK, gift cards are also not supported, and/or not selling (no Apple Stores, on or off-line).
These locations also have a long-standing history in piracy, so adding culture to the difficulty in actually purchasing (if you had the money) the content, proves the point, IMO.
So dropping a buck, might not always be so easy for everyone. Not defending anyone, but this is a fact.