Clampdown Guides
29 posts
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Why pirated copies come back (and how to stop the re-upload cycle)
Why a DMCA re-upload happens days after a takedown, the five ways pirated copies return, and a weekly routine that keeps them from sticking.
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Membership & subscription content leaks: 7 ways paid content gets out (and how to stop it)
Seven ways membership site content protection fails, from shared logins to screen recorders, and what you can do about each one.
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Do I need a DMCA agent? What they do and who should hire one
A DMCA agent either receives takedown notices for a website or files them for a creator. Here is which one you need, what it costs, and when to skip it.
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Magazine piracy: why every issue shows up on file hosts (and how to stop it)
Magazine piracy follows your publishing schedule. Learn where pirated issues come from, where they get posted, and how publishers get them removed each month.
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Screener leaks and cam rips: how films get pirated before release
How a screener leak or a cam rip puts your film on torrent sites before release day, what the file names tell you, and how independent filmmakers can stop it.
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Stream ripping: how your music becomes a free MP3 (and how to get it removed)
Stream ripper sites turn your YouTube and Spotify plays into free MP3 downloads. Where the ripped files end up, and which of them you can get removed.
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The 5 types of book pirates (and the takedown strategy for each)
Book piracy types differ in motive, platform, and how they respond to a notice. Here are the five you'll meet and the takedown route that works on each.
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Pre-release leak protection: 6 things music publishers do (authors can steal)
Pre-release leak protection from the music industry: six habits labels use to keep albums from leaking early, and how authors can apply each one to ARCs.
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Nulled plugins and GPL club sites: where your theme leaks (and how to stop it)
Nulled WordPress themes and GPL club resellers undercut your sales. Learn where your plugin or theme leaks, what the GPL allows, and how to get listings removed.
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Do DMCA takedowns actually work? (What makes a notice get honored)
Do DMCA takedowns work? Yes, when the notice is complete and reaches a host with something to lose. Here is what gets a notice honored and what gets it ignored.
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How to get a phishing site taken down (report a fake login page)
How to report a phishing website and get a fake login page removed: who to notify, in what order, and how long each route takes.
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Counterfeit listings on Amazon & Etsy: how to spot fake sellers and file a removal
How to identify a fake seller on Amazon or a counterfeit Etsy shop, gather proof the platform will accept, and file a removal that sticks.
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Remove pirated copies from Google: how search delisting works
How to remove a pirated book from Google search: what a copyright delisting request does, what it can't do, and how it compares to a host takedown.
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Fake artist pages on Spotify, Apple Music & YouTube: how impostor releases steal your plays
Fake artist pages on Spotify and other streaming services route your plays and royalties to someone else. How to spot an impostor release and get it removed.
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Audiobook piracy: 8 leak spots and how authors fight back
Where audiobook piracy happens: eight leak spots, from stripped Audible files to full YouTube uploads, and the removal route that works for each one.
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How Long Does a DMCA Takedown Take? Site-by-Site Response Times (2026)
A realistic DMCA takedown timeline for removal, with typical response times for Google, Amazon, YouTube, file hosts, and dedicated piracy sites.
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What is typosquatting? Real examples and how to check yours
Typosquatting is when someone registers a misspelling of your domain to catch your traffic. How to find the variants of yours and get them taken down.
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Fake accounts impersonating your brand: how to find and report them
How to spot a fake account impersonating your brand, document it, report it on each major platform, and stop the impersonator from coming back.
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10 places pirated copies of your book end up (and how to check them all)
The 10 places pirated copies of your book end up, and the exact checks that answer how to find out if my book is pirated in under an hour.
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Book piracy sites ranked by how easy they are to remove from (2026)
A practical ranking of the book piracy sites authors actually find their titles on, sorted by how likely a DMCA takedown is to work and how fast.
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DMCA takedown notice templates that actually work (Google, Amazon, pirate sites)
Copy-paste DMCA takedown notice template text for hosts, Google Search, Amazon, and file lockers, plus the six elements that get a notice honored instead of ignored.
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Course piracy: 9 sites where your course ends up for free (and how to remove it)
The nine places pirated copies of your online course show up, plus how to remove your course from Course Hero, Studocu, Telegram, and torrent indexes.
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How Piracy Hurts Indie Authors' Revenue (With the Math)
A working model for what book piracy actually costs an indie author, with the royalty math, realistic displacement rates, and the losses a spreadsheet misses.
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Kindle & KDP piracy: how authors fight back
A practical guide to Kindle piracy for KDP authors: where pirated copies of your book end up, how to get them removed, and what keeps them from returning.
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How to protect a PDF from copying
What works and what fails when you protect a PDF from copying: encryption, permissions flags, watermarking, delivery control, and removing leaked copies.
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Anti-piracy service for authors and creators
What an anti piracy service does for authors and course creators, what it costs, and how to tell whether you need one or can handle takedowns yourself.
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Content theft: how to spot it and what to do
How to catch content theft early — the searches that surface stolen copies, the warning signs that show up first, and what to do once you find one.
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eBook DRM: what actually stops your book being copied
What ebook DRM does and doesn't prevent, why the Kindle DRM choice is permanent, and what authors use instead to keep pirated copies of a book down.
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What to Do When Someone Steals Your Content
A step-by-step guide for authors and course creators on what to do when someone steals your content — from proving it's yours to filing a DMCA takedown.