Hi,
My name is [NAME] and I am the main writer for the (LARGE PUBLISHER)'s textbooks and the (SMALL PUBLISHER)'s resources.
I know what you are doing provides access to all students to educational resources, but at the same time, you are taking income away from people who work really hard to create this content. I know the companies that publish them are often large entities who are making large profits, but the creators of these resources rely on the royalties to be able to continue their work. I negotiate with my publisher to provide free resources for many disadvantaged students and also provide significant support through (SMALL PUBLISHER). Due to this, I am writing to ask that you take these copyrighted materials down.
The amount of people affected by your website is growing and I believe it is only a matter of time before the law catches up with the loopholes that you use to exploit others.
Yours sincerely,
[NAME]
Hi [NAME],
Thank you for reaching out and communicating in a respectful manner. I've since removed the (SMALL PUBLISHER) files we had available to download. The goal of the site is to reduce educational inequality by making resources easily accessible and the royalties you may lose are an unintended consequence. I want to try and strike a balance between the extent to which we can help students and the harm to authors like yourself.
I've been considering your email and decided to make a compromise that will hopefully be beneficial. From the end of the school year in December to some point in early 2024, I will make all files on the site inaccessible and not upload any new content. I understand that the start of the school year is the prime buying period for textbooks so I don't want to impact your sales during this time.
My intention is that the majority of students who see piracy as a convenience rather than a necessity will have no option but to purchase the books legitimately. This way when the site comes back online the people who will be able to benefit from free textbooks are those who were never going to be able to buy them in the first place. You wouldn't have received royalties from them to begin with and now a kid isn't at a disadvantage to their peers.
I respect you as an author and for going out of your way to negotiate for disadvantaged students. I genuinely only want to help people and don't mean to harm you. Most students just get their parents to purchase their books without any thought. I believe the students who use this site to get their textbooks represent a slim minority for lost revenue.
Let me know If you have any further complaints or suggestions.
Thank you.