tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post1130138093010028194..comments2024-02-26T03:37:51.236-05:00Comments on Love, Lust and Rambling: Omegaverse Copyrights, DMCA Abuse, and LawsuitsGoldeniangelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-24249047867403018702020-09-06T12:46:02.519-04:002020-09-06T12:46:02.519-04:00I want to say, I do really appreciate you talking ...I want to say, I do really appreciate you talking to me about this. I think it's important to have these kinds of comments and back and forths after the original post, because I AM biased and I know it, no matter how hard I tried to keep that out of the initial post. It helps paint a clearer picture for anyone reading through this to have what I've written be challenged and me have to answer it. <br /><br />I feel like there's a lot of people shouting into the air at this point instead of talking about it and so it's nice to be able to actually have an interaction where we have different viewpoints on the situation but can have an actual discussion about it. So yeah. Just wanted to say thanks. It redeems some of my faith in humanity.Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-87570754723036637992020-09-06T12:42:49.877-04:002020-09-06T12:42:49.877-04:00As for the perjury claimed by that video (which I ...As for the perjury claimed by that video (which I noticed contains a lot of the wrongs she felt Addison did but nothing about what Zoey did to Addison - my honest opinion of those pieces, they're far more highly biased than my blog and, unlike my blog, they do not admit to their bias), it honestly baffles me. <br /><br />Somehow Addison perjured herself, looooooooooong before her own lawsuit was concluded, and neither opposing counsel nor her own attorney noticed? Considering everything else opposing counsel jumped on during the proceedings, something as egregious as perjury - which would drastically help Ellis' case - somehow never came up?<br /><br />I am not an attorney but here's my take on it -<br /><br />The statement Addison signed is that she did not take the actions against Ellis herself (aka direct action), including the drafting or sending of the DMCAs - that's pulled directly from the video ALAB did so I know they shared that part and that's where she's saying Addison perjured herself, yes? That's my understanding, if there's something else you're referring to, let me know. <br /><br />Here's the thing, it distinctly says she did not take DIRECT action. However, she DID take indirect action by telling Blushing to file them for her. Which is exactly how it SHOULD be. I know ALAB is making a big deal about Addison and Blushing agreeing that Blushing should cover for her, but that's EXACTLY what publishing houses are for. They are supposed to protect their authors. They are supposed to allow the authors to NOT get their hands dirty in cases like this. That's the whole POINT of having a publishing house. It's one of those cases where it kinda sucks to be an indie author because we're ENTIRELY on our own - <br /><br />Something which Zoey knew or she wouldn't have made HER facebook post sound like her publisher made decisions for her even though she was self-published at the time. <br /><br />So, to my best knowledge, that's why Addison didn't commit perjury, but again, I'm not a lawyer. I could be wrong. In which case... why hasn't Addison had perjury charges filed against her? <br /><br />Just because it shows up in someone's opinion in a youtube video doesn't make it true any more than the opinion based stuff I write here makes it true.Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-22775958282033639962020-09-06T12:26:41.948-04:002020-09-06T12:26:41.948-04:00Especially considering that many unredacted court ...Especially considering that many unredacted court documents had already made their way onto the website run by Zoey's lawyer and shared by Zoey on Facebook... all I can say is thank goodness the judge sealed those documents. While I would like to think she would not have shared them on a website which included Addison's real name, it is hard for me not to worry that WOULDN'T have been the case. <br /><br />How Addison chooses to share pictures of her family - how ANY author chooses to do so - where it is completely unconnected to her real name is VERY different from someone else doing so when they had NO reason to, did NOT have her permission, and had already violated her safety by sharing her real name. <br /><br />Kids should be off limits and I can't even believe I have to SAY that. Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-29222881598047043152020-09-06T12:24:06.847-04:002020-09-06T12:24:06.847-04:00As for the photos of Addison's daughter... my ...As for the photos of Addison's daughter... my god, I wish we could agree that children should be OFF LIMITS. <br /><br />I would hope that everyone could agree that while a parent might share pictures of their child, or give someone else permission to share pictures of their child, in specific contexts / arenas, that is it freaking WRONG for others to do so. <br /><br />I cannot imagine ANY context in which pictures of Addison's daughter could or should be part of an IP lawsuit. Neither did the judge - "If people, though, are trying to use the discovery process or litigation in order to disseminate information over the Internet for the purpose of harassing or abusing or, you know, doing things that apparently are frequently done in other contexts, I can tell you that, at least, you know, this Judge will make a very, very big deal of that and that sanctions are within the power of the Court, and the Court will not hesitate to impose them if it concludes that the courts have been manipulated in inappropriate ways.” Case No. 1:19-cv-476-LO-MSN, TRANSCRIPT OF MOTION HEARING PROCEEDINGS, 05/01/20"<br />Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-47771774546574441262020-09-06T12:22:01.731-04:002020-09-06T12:22:01.731-04:00So Ellis' lawyer is tied to the website which ...So Ellis' lawyer is tied to the website which shared the UNREDACTED court documents. Those documents could, and should, have been redacted prior to being put online. Not only that, but the day after the website was created, Zoey made a Facebook post telling everyone about the case AND linking the website, encouraging people to check it out. <br /><br />Later, as I said, that website was changed to put Addison's real name ON the main page of the website (as I show in a screenshot) and not just in the court documents. <br /><br />So yes, I feel that Zoey absolutely doxxed Addison. Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-19330486784187472042020-09-06T12:19:35.557-04:002020-09-06T12:19:35.557-04:00The entire article pushes the agenda that the ONLY...The entire article pushes the agenda that the ONLY thing the books have in common are the tropes - which is something I absolutely disagree with and I talk about why I disagree with that in the blog. Whether or not that's enough to win a court case, I am not sure, but the case against Addison was dismissed WITH prejudice, which means that Ellis can't bring it back. I know you think the fact that she filed for insolvency is significant, but I find the fact that hte judge decided she should NOT be allowed to sue again in the future to be just as, if not more significant. <br /><br />As for the doxxing - while Addison's real name WAS revealed in court documents, people would have had to KNOW there was a court case going on to be able to go look it up until Ellis' lawyer created that website about the case. Up until that point, no one outside of Zoey, Addison, Blushing, and their lawyers even knew everything was going on. Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-42606208749434182782020-09-06T12:13:37.776-04:002020-09-06T12:13:37.776-04:00Hi! Thanks!
So, the NYT article takes liberties ...Hi! Thanks! <br /><br />So, the NYT article takes liberties with Addison's reactions to things for the start. There is no indication that as she "learned about" Crave to Conquer that she became enraged - that is not only pure speculation on the part of the journalist, it's also something we can actually LOOK at and see that <br /><br />1. Addison never spoke about Zoey's or her books on facebook or in her private group prior to the lawsuit<br />2. Addison allowed multiple posts recommending Crave to Conquer in her group<br />3. Addison didn't just "become aware" of another omegaverse book, she was contacted by MULTIPLE readers who said they felt Ellis' book had overstepped the line<br />4. Her own publishing house contacted her about the reports THEY were getting from readers and said that they felt Ellis' book overstepped the line. <br /><br />All of this is provable and documents IN the court documents. Yet the journalist makes it sound as though Addison heard about a "rival" omegaverse author and became enraged. <br /><br />The journalist then describes the many tropes, of which MANY omegaverse books have and acts as though THEY are the trigger for the DMCAs even though (as I've explicity shown in my blog) there are plot progression similarties between Cain and Ellis' books that are just NOT there in toher books using those same tropes.Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-60273313952536342582020-09-06T02:19:23.126-04:002020-09-06T02:19:23.126-04:00Thank you for your lengthy response. I appreciate ...Thank you for your lengthy response. I appreciate that you're willing to address my concerns. But I'm still concerned about the way you're presenting your argument. <br /><br />Though Zoey may have been discouraged from speaking to the NYT, nothing she said appears to have been untrue. If you would like to point out the elements that were "misinformation," I would be happy to reread the article. <br /><br />In regards to the matter of “doxxing,” Addison's real name was revealed in unredacted court documents. I wouldn’t necessarily describe that as “doxing.” It’s common for defendants’ names to be made public in court documents. Is it unfortunate? Sure. Malicious? Not really. And it’s a bit disingenuous to act as though photos of Addison’s daughter aren’t posted to her public pages and GFM. All of the images from these sites could have been submitted in discovery. <br /><br />One last thing: Why do you refuse to acknowledge that Addison committed perjury (as per Rule 36, Requests for Admission)? She misrepresented her involvement in the DMCA fillings to prevent prosecution. Is there a reason you ignored this aspect to the case? <br /><br />At this point, most people familiar with this case have watched the ALAB episode ('There Will Be Knots') and "Into the Omegaverse." Do you have any feelings on these videos? They paint a very different picture than you're paining here. <br />Meaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02722024570708833005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-75844835134792195112020-09-03T13:41:26.444-04:002020-09-03T13:41:26.444-04:00Also - fyi – Ellis’ use of her company (I believe)...Also - fyi – Ellis’ use of her company (I believe) means that her personal financials are safe. I am not worried that she is now homeless and completely without the means to support herself. Especially since my husband had to declare bankruptcy 10 years while we were together because he was unable to pay some of HIS debts and so I have seen up close how that works - it is a way of saving yourself money since they can no longer demand you pay the hefty legal fees I am sure she incurred.<br /><br />But you are right - I have trouble showing concern for someone who made the decision to sue months after her books had already been restored and the entire situation was completely private, and who then not only made it public, but DOXXED another author after filing to ensure her own name would be kept private, who made a number of unsubstantiated claims in her suit that she NEVER proved, and who tried to use publications and interviews to smear her opponent even though they weren't supposed to be talking to ANYONE outside of the courtroom, and included pictures of her opponent's TODDLER in the court documents for NO reason...<br /><br />If I take Addison's claim on good faith that she filed the DCMAs in good faith and Zoey's claim on good faith that she felt she did NOT plagarize Addison's books and that she sued in good faith, and I ONLY examine their bheavior after the lawsuit began then there is still only one author who behaved in a manner that I disapprove of.Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-67561369508122218352020-09-03T13:34:46.808-04:002020-09-03T13:34:46.808-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-16712722239348070812020-09-03T13:34:10.458-04:002020-09-03T13:34:10.458-04:00Here's the thing - I do absolutely have some s...Here's the thing - I do absolutely have some sympathy for Ellis. I think it would suck to pour my heart into something and have an author I loved and admired feel that it was so close to her own work that she sent a DCMA to take it down. <br /><br />I think it would suck to have a month's worth of lost income. <br /><br />I would have ranted and raved and bitched to my friends and might have even said something publicly if I really felt I had been wronged. <br /><br />BUT, if I lost a months worth of income that was less than ten thousand dollars, I would not then turn around and engaged ina lawsuit that was guaranted to cost hundreds of thousands. <br /><br />I would not create a website that doxxed the other author and the post on facebook, encouraging all my readers to go check out that website.<br /><br />And, if for some reason, someone had convinced me that I should definitely sue, I would have cooperated with every request the court made and handed over every document they said they needed. <br /><br />I would have cooperated with my lawyer, so that he never had to say, on the record, how embarrassed he was about this case. <br /><br />I would NOT have submitted pictures of my opponent's daughter and directions on how to find her address to be part of the public court documents, resulting in the judge warning me against using the litigation to harass or abuse my opponent. <br />Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-7316354717750377222020-09-03T13:33:58.983-04:002020-09-03T13:33:58.983-04:00The NYT article you referenced was not only highly...The NYT article you referenced was not only highly biased, it included a lot of misinformation AND Ellis was verbally slapped down fr it in the court documents because it was something she was NOT supposed to do. I'm not sure what other publications you're talking about, because that's the only one I know of. <br /><br />Her former publisher settled AFTER Addison severed her contract with them and they no longer represented her. They are currently embroiled in other legal troubles. That's... all I'm gonna say about that. I'm sure most people can read between the lines and I don't want to say anything that can be used against ME. <br /><br />Ellis case against Addison was dismissed due to lack of prosecution but only after<br />1. The court slapped her down for sharing Addison's personal information<br />2. Her own lawyer asked the court to DEMAND (not request, becuase she had not complied with the requests) information that the court had previously requested, which she had refused to provide<br />3. The court had already dismissed ALL counts against Addison except one, which was the DCMA, which Addison was fighting and which (according to the court documents) Ellis had not been able to prove was an abuse of the DCMA process. <br />Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-33324587878856833482020-09-03T13:33:47.708-04:002020-09-03T13:33:47.708-04:00If you re-read the section on my analysis of the b...If you re-read the section on my analysis of the books, you will see that what I focused on is NOT the similarity in tropes, it is the plot beats. Please, please don't discount that, and not just because of the amount of work I put into reading so many different stories and writing out the plot beats. <br /><br />I maintain that it is NOT that easy, as was claimed by Ellis' lawyers, to accidentally have almost the exact same plot structure, EVEN WHEN the tropes are similar. And the tropes were NOT the reason for the DMCAs, the non-literal copying was the reason for it. Whether or not the court would agree it was non literal copying, I cannot say, but to me, I find it hard to believe that Ellis' book did not use Cain's plot structure as a basis at all (Which is what Ellis claimed). <br /><br />That's WHY I color coded all the scenes in Cain's books and then put the corresponding color codings in everyone else's stories, so we could see how they lined up. It paints a very strong visual representation which makes it clear that even when similar scenes are used, having SO many similiar scenes in that EXACT sequence is just NOT commonplace. Which is why I find it to be far more than the "common structure in the fandom" that you say it is. I don't insist that everyone agree on me with this, although I find it hard to believe that people can look at the plot structures with the color codings of the scenes, especially when placed against similar works by other authors and NOT see how unlikely it is they would be so alike, but like I said, everyone's entitled to their opinion. <br /><br />Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-24295154458953562212020-09-03T13:33:34.091-04:002020-09-03T13:33:34.091-04:00Hi! Thanks for your concerns (this response is goi...Hi! Thanks for your concerns (this response is going to be in parts because of blogger) - and I do appreciate hearing your point of view. A few things to address: the reason I did the blog is NOT because I'm friends with Addison but because I was (and remain) very concerned about the precedent set for suing someone over DMCAs takedowns. DMCAs are an EXTREMELY important tool for authors and while the allegation of DMCA abuse is very pertinent, the fact that Ellis sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars when (according to the court documents) her loss of income was a couple hundred dollars at most AND she was unable to substantiate the amount, is EXTREMELY concerning. <br /><br />Authors need to be able to use DMCAs in good faith without having to worry about being sued as a retaliatory measure. <br /><br />While I did make claims about the omegaverse lore, I think I also substantiated all of those claims based on the materials I researched before writing this blog post and the fact that I HAD read Omegaverse before Addison, it was just MM-mpreg Omegaverse. <br />Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-74160481095951012402020-09-02T23:14:19.493-04:002020-09-02T23:14:19.493-04:00Hey Love! Thank you for the effort you’ve put into...Hey Love! Thank you for the effort you’ve put into this post. Given your relationship with Addison, I can appreciate why this is so important to you. Unfortunately, for the same reason, I don’t feel this is a fair representation of the ‘Omegagate’ controversy. <br /><br />Though you acknowledge your close personal friendship with Addison, I feel you should provide a disclaimer at the top of the post. There are instances where you overlook evidence – presented in discovery – that paint Addison in a questionable light. <br /><br />In some ways, this post reads like an exercise in confirmation bias. You started pursuing this topic to vindicate your friend and – after much research – you vindicated your friend. Though you acknowledge that you’re not familiar with the fandom or it’s lore, you make a number of claims regarding what structures are commonplace. Meanwhile, people familiar with the fandom stress the lack of originality in both Addison’s and Zoey’s works. <br /><br />You also fail to provide any context for the discussion. A number of people and publications have weighed in on this debate. The majority of them have reached the conclusion that Addison is at fault. She urged her publisher to file DMCA takedown notices, which could not be substantiated upon further review. (As per the NYT, "[Addison] was asked to cite specific examples, she said she couldn't recall any, adding she hadn't done a close comparison because it was too upsetting.") And then she publicly accused the same author of plagiarism, without any care for how it would affect her standing in the industry. This, along with financial damages, is why Ellis sued Addison. <br /><br />As a fan of both authors, I’ve read the entirety of their published works. Though there were passing similarities in structure, the stories were completely different. [Points of difference: World-building, lore, backstories, approach, tone, relationship development, etc.]. Claiming a common structure in the fandom is like trying to utilize DMCA takedowns for “boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back.”<br /><br />Thus far, the litigation has not exonerated Addison. Her former publisher settled because they could not prove infringement or plagiarism. A fact that everyone has acknowledged. And Ellis’s case against Addison was dismissed due to lack of prosecution. Essentially, while trying to defend herself in court, Ellis went bankrupt and was no longer able to pay her lawyer. This isn’t a resounding victory for Addison; it’s a cautionary tale against litigation. <br /><br />As an author, I’m surprised you show so little concern for her situation. Then again, all of Addison’s friends have been beating the same drum. <br />Meaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02722024570708833005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-61209416841877514732019-04-23T20:48:35.230-04:002019-04-23T20:48:35.230-04:00Yikes, I'm going to blame new mommy brain on m...Yikes, I'm going to blame new mommy brain on my terrible memory LOL. In my defense, it's been over a year since I read both of those books. <br /><br />Yes, the elements are similar, no I don't believe the plot beats are but that would definitely be an interesting exercise to pursue and a good point to make. I'll def re-read and if they're close enough to be worth plotting out the beats, add a new graphic to the blog. Thanks!Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-73530079659817427092019-04-23T12:30:56.813-04:002019-04-23T12:30:56.813-04:00Addison Cain wrote Absolute Power and Stolen. Bri...Addison Cain wrote Absolute Power and Stolen. Brianna is the main characterle35https://www.blogger.com/profile/03897932629532339487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-29233657240535278312019-04-23T09:38:16.064-04:002019-04-23T09:38:16.064-04:00Oh, and for my Stronghold books, I am absolutely c...Oh, and for my Stronghold books, I am absolutely confident that my scene beats are my own lol. I read a LOT of BDSM romance and I'm absolutely influenced by what I read, but I would have to sit down and write out someone's plot beats to be able to follow them so closely. Not only that, but my books are super character driven and my characters rarely follow the outline I give them, so even if I tried to copy someone else's beats, there's no guarantee the characters would cooperate. <br /><br />If you want to look for an example of something close to this in my work though, Birching His Bride's first scene is HEAVILY influenced by the first scene in The Guardian's Secret by Anne Randolph. It was written when I was just starting out and didn't understand all the nuances of plagiarism and copyright that I do today. Today, I would NEVER write a scene so heavily influenced by another author's work. However, two things were done differently here. <br /><br />1. It is literally only one similar scene. The rest of the book does not come anywhere near The Guardian's Secret. <br /><br />2. I was never contacted by Anne Randolph or Blushing Books, even though a reader accused me of plagiarism and told me they were contacting the author. <br /><br />I was horrified by the accusation and definitely didn't feel like I'd plagiarized, but I agonized over whether or not to change the scene anyway. eventually I decided to defend that scene in my author's notes, but if the author or publisher had contacted me I would have IMMEDIATELY changed it. Even at this late date, even though it's been out and available for years, I would do that. Because I know damn well that I was influenced by that scene and that I loved it so much that I re-imagined it because I wanted it to go in a different direction. <br /><br />So I totally understand where Ellis is coming from in loving a work and wanting to reimagine it. I even understand that she probably didn't intend to infringe on anyone's copyright and that she thought rewriting the story in her own words would be enough. I even understand fighting the DMCAs and getting her books back up. <br /><br />What I don't understand is this hot mess of a lawsuit which does a lot to smear Addison Cain even though it was her publisher to filed the DMCAs and NEVER said that Addison invented the Omegaverse. I don't understand claiming that she was not influenced by / inspired by Addison's work. I don't understand doxxing Addison. I don't understand filing the lawsuit, PERIOD, when it looks like this could have all been over a YEAR ago, and when Addison had said NOTHING publicly about her or what was going on. <br /><br />At this point, Ellis is working against herself in so many ways and I can't help but feel a little sorry for her. She must be drowning in legal fees. Or maybe she's independently wealthy or something. But stirring up this drama, posting about it on Facebook, filing the lawsuit in an area with no jurisdiction, filing the lawsuit period, and then being linked to a website that doxxes Addison... all of it makes her look terrible, and she's doing it to herself. Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-19762720666494934312019-04-23T09:21:55.806-04:002019-04-23T09:21:55.806-04:00Thank you for reposting it!
Can you give me link...Thank you for reposting it! <br /><br />Can you give me links or the full author name for Absolute Power and Stolen? I looked up "Absolute Power by Brianna" on Amazon but it didn't come up with anything. <br /><br />and yes, the plots can be very similar (see the analysis between Carolyn Faulkner's two omegaverse books and Addison Cain's and Zoey Ellis', it was the last one I did) but the BEATS are still different. Faulkner had the most similarities because her plot was the most similar, and yet she still didn't follow it beat for beat for beat, scene after scene after scene. <br /><br />What you've described about Harlequin romances is actually a good example - that's the basic outline, the same way 'alpha meets omega, omega's heat suppressants fail, alpha claims omega, omega fights back, alpha continues to claim omega, omega escapes' could be used to describe SO many of the books above. What isn't replicated are the exact scenes. I color coded Addison's scenes so that it would be easy to see which scenes showed up where in other people's books. Zoey Ellis was the ONLY one to follow it nearly beat for beat, even though every other author used the same storyline / tropes / elements. Which is why I don't think the claim of DMCA abuse is something that would hold up in court, because it's provable that other books didn't do this. That's just my opinion, but I can understand why Blushing chose to send the DMCAs and why they felt like they had a case for copyright infringmenet. Again, whether or not they could have WON a court case if they'd decided to sue Ellis, I have no idea. But that kind of scene progression similarity isn't something that happens by accident. the fact that Zoey claims she wasn't at all influenced by / inspired by Addison's book makes the whole situation even more absurd. Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-54596216792559195522019-04-23T04:50:18.988-04:002019-04-23T04:50:18.988-04:00I guess my other one I posted as myself earlier to...I guess my other one I posted as myself earlier today did not go. I asked if you did an analysis on Addison Cain’s own books. It seems like Brianna’s story has the same elements in the same order one right after the other to me. It is possible to infringe your own copyright. I felt like I was reading BTBB all over again when I read Absolute Power and Stolen literally was Absolute Power in the entirety with one more chapter. I honestly don’t know how she is able to keep both of those books up at the same time. <br /><br />The world building in Zoey Ellis’ books are completely different, but even the world building in Brianna’s story seemed the same. So I wanted to know if you ever did an analysis like that, side by side of your stronghold series or if Addison Cain’s own books like this to BTBB. I was tempted to do Absolute Power and Wren’s song the same way you did this because I think you would find they match up. <br /><br />Two books in your stronghold series seemed to me to be very similar plot lines as well, but I don’t remember which ones they are because I haven’t read them as recently. <br /><br />My best friend used to ask me why I read the books I do. She called them paper-doll books. They all have the same story, you just put on different clothes. I told her that it’s because I like watching the fashion show. For me, it’s all about the clothes even if the story lines are the same. I have also read several hundred harlequin romances. It seems to me that many of the ones about a girl getting pregnant have the same plot lines side by side beat for beat. First the heroine is a virgin and super good. Then, she meets the hero who is a rake. The virgin hero sees her and wants her right now. The girl sees him and is attracted but knows he’s Bad News. The girl says no to sleeping with him for nothing. The hero blackmails her or finds a way to make her sleep with him. She falls pregnant and now she’s stuck marrying him. She marries him. He starts learning to treat her better. And the end is happily ever after. It is all the same pretty much chapter for chapter except for how the things go down. It seems to me that Cain’s own books do that more than Ellis’ do for her own stories.<br /><br />That was my previous comment that didn’t go through yesterday.le35https://www.blogger.com/profile/03897932629532339487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-17028562409618046732019-04-22T10:07:48.506-04:002019-04-22T10:07:48.506-04:00I'm not sure which was your previous comment, ...I'm not sure which was your previous comment, because you must have made one of the anonymous ones (this one is not, in case you want to delete and repost) but I have to disagree. <br /><br />Again, the DMCA was NOT about the tropes and elements. Please refer to the graphics comparing the stories that I worked very hard on. The story beats were the problem, and Ellis' story beats are SO CLOSE to Addison Cain's that they are nearly the exact same plot line, beat for beat for beat. <br /><br />While "boy meets girl, boy uses heat to fuck girl, girl resists," etc. is pretty common in these stories, if you look at my plot beat structures, you can see how other authors who used the EXACT same tropes and elements still had very different plot beats. <br /><br />The tropes and elements are NOT what's copy written. <br /><br />Please, please, please, people, look at the hard work I did on showing the comparison between beats. it makes me so sad that there are multiple comments that obviously ignored those, which are the main point of the post. <br /><br />And I'm not even saying "yes, this would hold up in court and Addison Cain would win a copyright case" (I don't have the legal expertise to know that) - my point is that there are a LOT of similarities, enough that Addison's publisher felt they had a case for substantial similarity and so sent the DMCA notices. <br /><br />The lawsuit is NOT about defending the copyright, it's about Ellis alleging DMCA abuse and claiming that the tropes / elements were the ONLY similarities. That is something I feel my plot beat comparison disproves, because every other story / book compared used the same tropes / element but had entirely different beats, EVEN when they had similar plots overall. Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-17389286324885407552019-04-22T06:55:43.074-04:002019-04-22T06:55:43.074-04:00Also, to tack on to my previous comment, I find th...Also, to tack on to my previous comment, I find this completely crazy because Cain developed her entire series out of fan fiction taken from the Dark Knight Batman stories. So she worked to get rid of those elements and created her own stories, but she did it out of someone else’s work. I truly feel that Zoey Ellis did the same thing. If Ellis broke copyright, so did Cain.le35https://www.blogger.com/profile/03897932629532339487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-73508513218026882712019-04-10T16:10:13.788-04:002019-04-10T16:10:13.788-04:00I'm going to be honest - Addison is probably t...I'm going to be honest - Addison is probably the best person to go make friends with (and she's SUPER easy to make friends with, seriously, one of the nicest, most supportive people I've ever had the pleasure to meet). Even after people told her that Zoey had plagiarized her, once Nora reassured her that it was just tropes, she still featured Zoey in the Omegaverse group that she runs for months until Nora again asked her to go read Zoey's books. <br /><br />Addison has also been influential in helping a lot of MF Omegaverse authors promote their works. She's got a big and avid following. I actually got some statements from some of the other omegaverse authors, because I wanted to point out that the stuff in the lawsuit about her trying to 'smother the competition' was complete bs (she's never done anything but encourage people to write omegaverse and is constantly promoting other people's works in omegaverse), but ultimately decided not to include it in the blog because I didn't want to drag anyone else into this mess in case there was any blowback over the blog. <br /><br />There's two good Omegaverse groups on Facebook that I know of, one is called "Omegaverse Writing Prompts and Story Shares" and the other is called "Omegaverse Readers Unite" and both of them are good resources. the first one is more focused on people who want to write Omegaverse, the second one is obv for the readers, but there's a lot of good info (and people you'll wnat to connect with!) in both. <br /><br />If you want to practice writing somewhere before putting together a book, archiveofourown.org has a TON of omegaverse, both to read for pleasure / research and to put out a few stories of your own to get immediate feedback and if you're interested in that. Fanfiction.net also has a fair amount.<br /><br />Despite all the drama around this case, it has (so far) been contained to Addison, Zoey, and Blushing Books, and, other than Zoey's Facebook post and the website that either she or her lawyer created, until Addison was dismissed from the case and then finally wrote her blog post after she was being called back for deposition on the suit that's (still? new? I'm not sure which) against Blushing, there actually hasn't been much drama around the Omegaverse. Most people didn't even know what was going on, unless they were following Zoey's facebook post and then the website about it, because Addison kept it so quiet. <br /><br />Sadly, book drama is just going to happen, but NONE of the other omegaverse authors have been affected by any of this as far as I know. If you want to write Omegaverse, do it! As long as you're writing your own stuff, there's really no worry to be had. Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-43863291166134624252019-04-10T14:05:45.067-04:002019-04-10T14:05:45.067-04:00Any advice for people looking to get into writing ...Any advice for people looking to get into writing new omegaverse books without getting into the drama, while still being able to make new friends? I love the genre, and I want to start writing, but I don't know if this is the best time to enter this field (even though, all the tropes are so badass to me).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6217074073557732596.post-52027616678440788702019-04-09T14:09:10.888-04:002019-04-09T14:09:10.888-04:00Hi! I'm so glad that it helped =) And yeah - D...Hi! I'm so glad that it helped =) And yeah - DMCAs can be truly awful, but it appears her books were back up about a month later. I don't want to brush that off lightly, a month can be a LOT in sales, but on the other hand, lawsuits are SO much more expensive than a month - or even a couple months - worth of sales. I don't know Zoey so I don't know where she's getting her advice from, but I find it pretty shocking that she decided to sue - although, even more shocking to do all the doxxing and everything else afterwards. It really stinks all around because all of this could already be over, but instead Zoey just looks vindictive and - with the doxxing - kind of horrible imho, and both of them must be being drained of money at this point. Unless Zoey's lawyers aren't being paid until the case is officially over with, which I think is something that sometimes happens? Since she's asking for the defendants to pay her fees, that might be the case. Huh. I wonder if that's why it's still going on, because she doesn't have the money to pay her lawyer unless she wins... anyway, that's just complete conjecture on my part, but I suppose it's possible. <br /><br />Seriously though, the only people getting anything right now out of this are the lawyers. I don't really know why Zoey won't drop it, none of it makes any sense to me at this point.Goldeniangelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929993797333679857noreply@blogger.com