The existence of piracy has a long history. It's not just online piracy that keeps emerging, even physical books are affected. Back in the heyday of martial arts novels, piracy dominated the market. The printing quality was poor, filled with typos, yet still very popular—because the number of readers consuming pirated novels far outnumbered those reading legitimate copies. Especially with web novels, who doesn't love free content?
The ones running piracy sites gain traffic and make money, while those reading pirated copies get to enjoy the novels they want without spending a penny.
No matter how furious original authors get, no matter how they curse at readers of pirated books, the phenomenon remains difficult to resolve.
Piracy sites always have the technical means to steal legitimate content without delay.
An author just releases a new chapter, and within seconds, it's pirated. No anti-theft measures seem to work.
