For years now, publishers and authors alike have suffered from the sale of counterfeit copies of their book on Amazon, in addition to numerous workbooks, summaries, and other material that is either outright fraudulent or dances in the gray area of copyright infringement.
Now, self-publishing author David Goggins—who has sold millions of copies of his books—has filed a lawsuit against Amazon to recoup damages. It reads, “Each of these bootleg sales unjustly stole revenue from Goggins. Amazon, however, received revenue from each sale, just as if Goggins’ authentic products had been sold.”
Goggins’s anger and frustration at this problem has been palpable for a while now. This lengthy Instagram video last year shows him discussing counterfeit copies and how people can avoid buying one. The lawsuit notes that within days of his Instagram post, Amazon called his representatives and shut down sales of counterfeit books: “Amazon could have prevented the listing, sale, and distribution of bootlegs at any time. Only after Goggins’s post exposed Amazon to public scrutiny did it decide to.” It would be fantastic to see this suit go to trial rather than be settled out of court, although that seems unlikely.
Related: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie recently published a book that sold out not long after release, resulting in an active counterfeit market on Amazon and renewed media coverage of the problem. Learn more.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
