Dear fellow ACAs: I regret to inform you that ACA has been subjected to a coordinated and sophisticated global launch of counterfeit BRBs in both hardcover and softcover versions. Someone has gone to great lengths to infringe upon ACA’s copyright of this foundational book.
The counterfeit books were discovered about two weeks ago. Your World Service Office has been filing numerous IP protection notices while being in touch with our Intellectual Property (IP) attorneys. We have served notices on the primary distributor as well as various online marketplaces. Our attorneys have sent cease and desist letters in the strongest terms to numerous secondary sellers as well.
This incident has caused significant damage to ACA financially due to thousands of dollars of pirated sales, as well as harm to the reputation of our branded intellectual property because the quality of these pirated books is substandard. You can quickly identify these books by checking the back cover for about a paragraph of text printed on the backs of these books. ACA WSO does not print any text on the backs of its BRBs. If you have inadvertently purchased one of these books, please try to return it if possible.
Also please let me know how you got the book by sending the details to WSO at [email protected] In addition, please keep a lookout for these pirated versions and let us know if you spot any of them for sale.
ACA WSO experienced significant financial losses in May and June due to this incident that took time to identify. Our estimated revenue losses this period are currently at least $20,000 and possibly more once June’s sales numbers are fully recorded. This estimate does not include staff time lost finding and dealing with the infringers or the attorney’s fees that are still being accrued.
The board has authorized, me, as the General Manager, to file a lawsuit against the infringers. That is currently being discussed with litigation attorneys. This is the very reason WSO so vigorously defends our copyrights whenever we are made aware they are being violated. If we did not have a record of stopping infringements, we could be susceptible to losing the copyrights and not being able to prevent this type of illegal activity from occurring.
We ask for your financial, emotional, and spiritual support as we combat this monumental piracy. We cannot answer any questions regarding the lawsuit issue until we have heard from the attorneys.
You can download this document as a PDF to share with others at your meetings.
Included below are some screenshots of the fraudulent books. Thank you for your support that is vital to the ACA WSO.
Fraudulent BRBs – Hard Cover (L) and Soft Cover (R):
Fraudulent Hard Cover BRB reverse:
Fraudulent ISBN label: 978-91-92874-22-4
Fraudulent Soft Cover BRB reverse:
Fraudulent ISBN label: 978-89-404-7364-1
