What does a Senior Director of a Jacksonville Florida real estate agency have in common with Ace Concierge? Not a hell of a lot except copyright infringement of an old blog post of mine. I was doing some research to repurpose a post and there it was; with the exact same title and contents. While I have read that copying and/or mimicking are forms of flattery, I personally find that stealing another’s content is very unethical, lazy and unprofessional. There is no moral compass.
In today’s high tech world, it isn’t all that difficult to search and locate those who have violated copyright laws. This certainly isn’t the first time I have found my words stolen and I’m sure it won’t be the last. It is extremely frustrating and quite disheartening that people can’t create their own content or at least ask for permission and give credit. I have even had client testimonials copied word for word. What does it say about their morals?
While there is a bit of gray area and some of the laws are open to interpretation, it still stands that pirating content crosses the boundaries of professional behavior. If the offender can do this without thought or care, what other practices are instituted within their business? It is humorous when they post their values and mission statements about ethics yet they have stolen content or they have copyrighted their own site. What irony.
I have written various cease and desist letters, included the DMCA as well as the TOS from website hosts regarding their policies on copyright infringement and fortunately all of the content has been successfully removed.
The Copyright Act provides two primary remedies: (1) it allows the owner of the copyrighted material to stop the infringement and (2) obtain damages and attorney fees from the infringer. Both types of relief are available even if the copyrighted material has not been registered with the United States Copyright Office before the infringement occurs. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides additional rights. Specifically, it allows the copyright holder to require the Internet service provider (ISP) hosting the infringer’s website to delete the plagiarized contents. If the ISP does not comply, it can be sued for “contributory infringement.” 2. In case the offending webmaster does not take the prospect of the above action seriously then you should also clearly state you intend to file a notice of Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DCMA) infringement with search engines such as Google and Yahoo. This action can potentially ruin a web business as the search engines take a dim view of plagiarism and can remove an offending site from their search results should an infringement claim be justified.
What can you do to locate and reclaim your content from these dishonest offenders?
- Use copyscape to find your plagiarized content
- Locate the website owner on whois
- Send a cease and desist letter. It is advisable to include screenshots of your material
- Trace your content history with Internet Archive Wayback Machine
Under Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(3)(A), the Notification of Claimed Infringement must include ALL of the following:
- Physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or a representative list if multiple works are involved.
- Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing that should be removed or access to disabled and information reasonably sufficient to enable the online service provider to locate the material (usually a URL to the relevant page with description of items on that page claimed to be infringing).
- Information reasonably sufficient to allow the online service provider to contact the complaining party (address, phone number, e-mail address).
- Statement that the complaining party has “a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.”
- Statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
Finding your content on someone’s website is quite unnerving. The gall they have to pirate your hard work and dedication to writing breaks the rules and crosses the confines of professionalism,integrity and character. People do it everyday, without a second thought, leaving their principles to be questioned. It may just represent a blog post but they didn’t write it, nor do they own it. A simple inquiry for permission to repost or repurpose is not a time suck but a professional courtesy. A sign of respect and value.
Plagiarism isn’t going away anytime soon but you do have options to recover your content as your own. Only you can decide if it is worth your time and energy to pursue.
What measures do you take to recover or protect your content?
I feel your pain, I deal with the same thing when it comes to images.. occasionally I do web searches on my images and with all the time, effort and money that goes into putting together an artistic image it hurts to have someone take it without even asking.
I’m sorry Ed. It is so frustrating. It takes just a few simple minutes to ask for permission and give credit. I can’t imagine stealing someone else’s work. It crosses ethical and professional boundaries. It speaks volumes about their character and integrity.
Thanks for sharing this. I had been meaning to find this out to search for my content but never got around to it.
Definitely bookmarking and sharing! Have a fabulous day hun!
Cori
Most welcome Corina. I’m glad you found the post helpful. Definitely do some searches and find out if you content is lurking on the sites of others. I couldn’t believe it when someone actually stole my client testimonials. Really??
Enjoy your day as well.
Suzie
Hi Suzie,
I too have seen my original content used by others, without giving me credit and attaching their name to it. YUCK.
Thanks for sharing the tips for handling this.
Regards,
Kelly McCormick
Hi Kelly,
I’m sorry to hear that. It can be a quick and simple process. There is absolutely no need to pirate someone else’s content. Be professional: ask and give credit. It can be a hassle to locate and correspond with the offenders, but I have found that most, if not all, are pretty willing to comply, especially after you share some of the legal documentation and potential outcomes.
Happy Wednesday and thanks for posting a comment.
Suzie
It’s truly sad when bloggers have to steal from others to proceed content. Makes me sick, especially to those of us who take pride in our work and a lot of time to create and perfect it. Thank you for sharing this. I too am bookmarking it for future reference.
Thanks!
Thank you for your comment Brenda.
It really is. I think some or most don’t take the time to think about what goes in to writing our content. As you mentioned, we take great pride in our work, never mind the time and energy to research, write and edit. It is a passion, a way to communicate, connect and share information. How can any person or business owner simply steal it without a second thought. What I find amusing is that they actually copyright protect their site/content and write about their ethics and professionalism. Where is the integrity?
All the best to you.
Suzie
That sucks that someone copied your content without a care in the world. But I guess a lot of bloggers haven’t learned anything from elementary school have they?
But at least you found a way to find out who’s been copying your content. This information you provided will help us bloggers in the long run definitely!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Sherman.
It wasn’t the first time and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Unfortunately, some simply have no ethics or a thought in the world about pirating content but I am sure if the tables were turned, they would feel quite differently.
I have heard some nightmare stories lately after sharing this post and it is such a disappointment in morality and “humanness.” The fight goes on. Stay aware and do what you can to retain ownership of your hard work.
All the best to you.
Hi Suzie,
I just, for the life of me, can’t understand why someone would do this? I mean, I guess laziness, or just plain dishonesty, or greedy, lazy folks want to ride on the coattails of your success, but karma will get them in the end. Really crazy, and something I wouldn’t even dream of doing, because I’d feel disgusted with myself if I even thought of it.
Stealing is wrong. Stealing intellectual property, content, posts, anything, is wrong, and even if someone appears to get away with it they will be have something stolen from them, or will go through some unpleasant situation, according to karma.
This has happened to me a few times. I just send a pleasant but firm cease and desist letter and let it go. It’s tough to keep track of the copiers but if I find it going on, I’m handling it in direct fashion.
I even found a Facebook Friend once, who really envied me, copying and pasting my posts without giving me credit. In his case I almost think it was pure ignorance, but in either way, I sent out the cease and desist letter and our relationship ended there.
Thanks for sharing Suzie, this one will help educate those who are wondering what to do when this unfortunate thing happens.
Have a great weekend.
Tweeting through Triberr.
Ryan
Hello Ryan,
Thanks so much for stopping in and taking the time to comment. I appreciate it.
I don’t understand it either and never will. It speaks volumes about their character or lack thereof. We can only do our best to protect our content, hoping that it safe but at the same time be vigilant. Play in your own yard and respect the property of others. It’s simple.
All the best to you Ryan. Stay safe and you keep sharing your fabulous work.
Suzie
Thanks so much for providing those links. I’m a mixed media trying-to-be artists and many of my social media friends are extremely successful artists. Several have had their work stolen and republished without their permission. There are some companies that are huge repeat offenders. When you deal with out-of-USA companies it gets even more complicated because our copyright laws don’t extend outside borders and the copyright laws of any given country many be more lax than the USA
Hi Pat,
You’re most welcome. I do hope the links are of a little more help to you. There should be umbrella laws to protect everyone and their content.
This has happened to me so often I could write a book. I usually call people out publicly first, then send emails. The next step is to file a complaint with Google. It usually works like a charm.
While I don’t take stealing other people’s work as flattery, I also believe in karma. No bad deed goes unpunished.
😉
Cendrine,
Thank you for your comment. I would think that people want to be ethical and professional. They have an online reputation to build and maintain. Stealing does NOT create a trustworthy brand image.
Karma will come back and take a bite…. in one way or another.