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Is having a robot read TMF on a YouTube video legal?

Rauschmi

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I stumbled across this youtube channel the other day.
Can you say "Copyright Infringement"

I was telling a coworker of mine about "The Millionaire Fastlane " and the other @MJ DeMarco books. He said he would get the audiobook. So I was like, "Cool, its a great book. Let me know what you think". Then he pulled out his phone typed some stuff and was like, "I found it".
So long story short, he showed me the youtube version of the audiobook on his phone. Apparently this is how he listens to all his "audiobooks".
I you happen to follow the link above to the youtube channel, TMF is read in a robots voice in 2 videos at 6 hours each. Plus many other books in the same computer robot voice reading the book.

Is this legal in any way?
Youtube does have a copyright takedown request process.
 
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Mathuin

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Lmao these clowns really think they can just put "No copyright infringement intended" and then proceed to upload the whole copyrighted audiobook.

Stuff like this costs MJ potentially 5 figures in sales but it's ok because "no copyright infringement intended"
 

EmotionEngine

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Lmao these clowns really think they can just put "No copyright infringement intended" and then proceed to upload the whole copyrighted audiobook.

Stuff like this costs MJ potentially 5 figures in sales but it's ok because "no copyright infringement intended"

Yeah that reads like, "FU but I'm sorry". Some folks just don't care which is crappy.
 

seomatic

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Lmao these clowns really think they can just put "No copyright infringement intended" and then proceed to upload the whole copyrighted audiobook.

Stuff like this costs MJ potentially 5 figures in sales but it's ok because "no copyright infringement intended"
Isn't it the fault of the viewers? If you rather listen 6 hours to a crappy computer voice than spending a few bucks to buy the original then there is clearly something wrong. Also you can get copyrighted material elsewhere.
 
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doster.zach

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Lmao these clowns really think they can just put "No copyright infringement intended" and then proceed to upload the whole copyrighted audiobook.

Stuff like this costs MJ potentially 5 figures in sales but it's ok because "no copyright infringement intended"

Well considering people here think its okay to steal a book and only pay for it if they end up liking it, I'm not surprised the mental gymnastics people are willing to go through to absolve them of copyright.
 

seomatic

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Not defending copyright infringement, but it could even be beneficial if new audiences find the book this way and decide to buy the book.

I've said this before: MJ is punching below his weight class on youtube in my humble opinion. The new thumbnails on the official channel look super scammy to me. I still like the very old videos of 10 years ago the most.
 

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I see MJ replied on the youtube page telling them to take it down.

Who on earth could sit through 6 hours of that trash? I listened to a few seconds of it to see how it sounded and it was absolutely painful.

The actual audiobook narrated by the author himself is like $15. My head still hurts from that "robot voice"
 
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Rauschmi

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I couldn't imagine listening to that robot voice for 12 hours.

If you search on YouTube for "The Millionaire Fastlane Audiobook", there are more videos that have the full audiobook posted. One with the actual audiobook in a video form. One channel even broke it down to a video per chapter. @MJ DeMarco could probably spend a few hours scouring YouTube to find them all and still not find them all.

I prefer to buy a book or go to the library if need be. If you buy the book and don't like it, try returning it. or resell it.
 

Ing

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I believe, that no autor can make cheaper advertising than leave that running.
Everyone who is interested in a book he listensto, after half an hour will google it and buy the audiobook.
Maybe MJ should mention in the description on Kindle or whatever, that the audiobook is different to the advertising on yt.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Thanks for letting me know, I commented on the video and requested a takedown. If that doesn't happen, I'll submit a claim and YT will remove. They're pretty good about that.
 
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Rauschmi

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Thanks for letting me know, I commented on the video and requested a takedown. If that doesn't happen, I'll submit a claim and YT will remove. They're pretty good about that.
If you follow the channel creator to their website, you can find the pdf's of your books and links to their YouTube videos.
 

Albert KOUADJA

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Merci de me l'avoir fait savoir, j'ai commenté la vidéo et demandé un retrait. Si cela ne se produit pas, je soumettrai une réclamation et YT supprimera. Ils sont plutôt bons à ce sujet.
And about this summary of your third book. Please, did you authorize?
 

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Videos removed. Perhaps getting copyright strikes would convince these "entrepreneurs" that a business model of theft, giving away IP that they don't own, is not a business model.
 

Fox

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Videos removed. Perhaps getting copyright strikes would convince these "entrepreneurs" that a business model of theft, giving away IP that they don't own, is not a business model.

Did both get taken down?

*nevermind - just noticed you said videos

I guess the biz here is just to rack up as many views as possible in a short time and get that ad spend money.

They must know long term this will get their channel taken down.
 

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Tried reporting but none of the options had anything to do with copyright infringement or plagiarizing.
 
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BizyDad

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It's a shame that, because I clicked the link early on, YouTube is now feeding me other similarly pirated books.
 

PapaGang

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Congratulations on writing the most interesting title of any post currently on the front page of the forum.
 

Ing

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Conclusion: the other authors. Ever know about or they don’t care!
 
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Gregory Carson

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Lmao these clowns really think they can just put "No copyright infringement intended" and then proceed to upload the whole copyrighted audiobook.

Stuff like this costs MJ potentially 5 figures in sales but it's ok because "no copyright infringement intended"
As an intellectual property attorney, I am a patent attorney, I would argue the phrase "no copyright infringement intended" is in effect a declaration that copyright infringement is about to happen. In fact, under the law, infringement can even be unintentional. I wrote an article What does infringement mean? - if you want to read more. Saying we don't mean too, certainly implies they know they are. (I did see that it was taken down as requested.)
Worldwide, (Berne Convention) copyright protection generally includes the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, and/or to make derivative works. The audio performance of a registered copyright protected work is a pretty clear infringement, it is an audible performance of the text. That it was done by a reader bot is an intentional act of the programmer or owner of the reader bot who released it with the ability to do what it is doing. Unless they are hosting it themselves, I suspect a notice to the host would get the site taken down.
Protect your works ... take the time to register your work - first in your own country, then internationally. Registering your own work is easy. It is done online - in the U.S. (like most countries) you fill out a simple application, pay a smallish fee, and deposit a copy of the work. On my patent law firm's website have these 3 steps to copyright described with a link to the U.S. Copyright Office Registration Portal.
While mimicking (copying) is perhaps the highest form of flattery and even knock-offs done right can certainly benefit the original creator ... that is not this situation, this seems rather clearly infringing, and the site seems to know they are as they go about saying they don't mean to ...
 

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