March 2006

To those of you who wrote to express your concerns about the stolen ebook situation, thank you.

Here is the update: Mr. Cohen refused to reveal himself. Thus, attorneys got involved. Happily, both sites mentioned are currently down. We all recognize that these sites could reappear elsewhere. That is the nature of the internet. As always, we are vigilant to seek out those who might try to steal the intellectual property.

I heard from another website in the process that noted their webcopy had been stolen. So many innocent people have to spend time and energy to work against the dishonest.

Late last week, I discovered that my ebook was once again stolen (third time), and being sold on another website. As with the first two, we are rapidly pursuing legal intervention. Differently than the first two times, this website owner refuses to cooperate. He even refuses to reveal his address or phone number! (You will notice that mine is on my home page.)

Brian Cohen is the owner of www.INeedMarriageHelp.com. If you were to read his letter, you would think that he created the ebook. This is not the case. The document was stolen by someone who claimed to have freelanced it. That person has sold the piece as an original work at least three times.

I believe that Brian Cohen bought the ebook, thinking it was an original piece. To that point, he is innocent. Unfortunately, even when faced with evidence to the contrary, Mr. Cohen refuses to remove his copyright infringement.

There are two ironies to this. First, Mr. Cohen is selling his ebook at twice the price of mine! I have attempted to keep my ebook reasonably priced, while others are charging 2, 3, even 4 times as much.

The second irony is that Mr. Cohen is finding people through a website that purports to rate online products, www.toponlineproducts.com. What is most interesting about this is that the website is a paid inclusion site. They do not review the products. Instead, they charge the sites “reviewed” for each person that goes to that site. You can tell the difference between those paying and those being used as “straw men,” because those sites that don’t pay (and therefore get poor reviews) say “review pending.”

Those that created this site know that someone visiting will not wait for a review to appear. They trust the site, and get taken. The irony for me is that www.INeedMarriageHelp.com gets a number 1 review. Glowing review, it says. My site has a poor review. And here is what reveals the falseness of this site: the same book is supposedly reviewed, since that site is actually selling mine!

Some people will say that I am only airing dirty laundry. Unfortunately, Mr. Cohen has opted to cease discussions with me. My attorney will now be involved. I am using the same vehicle that hides Mr. Cohen to reveal him (the internet).

Number 6 on my top list of what NOT to do when a spouse or partner says he or she is done with the relationship is. . . Don’t Waste Time.

Often, when something traumatic happens, we have a tendency to become paralyzed into inactivity. In fact, I have had some people who did nothing until the divorce papers were delivered a year or more after the initial “I’m not happy” discussion.

DON’T DO THAT!!! It is something like deciding not to go to the doctor when you first cut yourself, but instead waiting until it is so infected that amputation is the only option.

Time is of the essence. That doesn’t mean “go into panic mode” (my #1 Don’t Do). It means you activate yourself. Find the resources that will help you. Take action to change the situation. Relationships can be turned around at any time.

So, by now, you may be wondering where #’s 1-5 are. You can get that article FOR FREE, by going to the Save The Marriage website, and entering your first name and email address into the drop-down that comes into view when the page loads (don’t worry, you can’t miss it). It will be emailed to you instantly.

There it is, your first action. Go get the article and get started saving your relationship!