[Harp-L] Copyright violation and JP Allen's harmonica.com

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

About a year ago I noticed a link called "Harmonica For Dummies" on the Amazon.com page for my book Harmonica For Dummies. When I clicked on it, it went to harmonica.com, which has no connection with Harmonica For Dummies. Instead, it's a teaching site owned by JP Allen, who advertises easy harmonica learning. I found the same unauthorized use on Google. I reported it to my publisher.

Yesterday, posts started popping up on several Facebook harmonica pages, advertising the same easy learning experience, by a woman named Monica Espinosa, from Cebu City in the Philippines. The posts used a photo of jazz chromatic harmonica player Gregoire Maret. who was unaware that his photo was being used to sell this product (I asked him). Again, the link leads to harmonica.com.

I'm sorry to see hard-working professionals in the harmonica world being disrespected and abused to sell the product of someone else in the harmonica world.


Winslow Yerxa
President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica
Producer, the Harmonica Collective
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool Community Music School