When you find your work has been infringed, there are many things you can do. Many of those things, however, are not good ideas to do. For example, sending an invoice for three times the amount of the license fee is something you hear about from many sources, but there is no legal reason for that amount (or form) of a demand. Calling and threatening the infringer is another bad idea. Rolling over and ignoring it is also not a good plan.
Recently, an author found that his works were (allegedly) infringed by Amazon. Sadly, he’s going to serve as another example of what not to do. After apparently hiring and then firing a lawyer (if what he says in his complaint is at all accurate), he took matters in his own hands and filed suit on his own. This is usually not a good idea because copyright law is complex and it’s important to get the details right. This man, regardless of the legitimacy of his actual claims, will likely have his suit dismissed at the first level simply for all the errors in his complaint.
Oh, and the fact he’s demanding over $50 million in damages won’t help either. You can read his complaint for yourself here.
So what should you do if you think your work has been infringed? If you see it online, take screen shots immediately to record the use. Then, call a lawyer who understands copyright and discuss your case in confidence so that you get the best advice for your own particular situation.
(HT to @ericgoldman via Twitter for the heads-up on this story)