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Someone copied my site - what can I do?

by 6figure101
29 replies
I found out that someone copied one of my sites... and they are a direct competitor in the same niche and everything... what ballz! Even kept the exact same text on every page and everything. I'm so pissed!

Before I contact them and start threatening... does anyone have any good advice ?
#copied #site
  • Profile picture of the author BlogDesign
    I would report them to their hosting company with proof that the content and the information is yours. If it is a reputable hosting company they will shut them down till it gets resolved. That is just one of the options available without having to deal with them directly.
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  • Profile picture of the author rvrabel2002
    Wouldnt they eventually get penalized for duplicate content? Im not sure, I would just think if they copied your site word for word, and your site is already indexed that SE's would recognize this and discard?

    Robert
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  • Profile picture of the author tuanng
    contact them to remove the content immediately, and say that you already contacted their host.

    to find out who is hosting their site, Discover Who Hosts Any Website | Who Is Hosting This
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  • Profile picture of the author bigbyte
    I was in the same situation once. Contacted the host and they took him down immediately. Just be polite and act professional.
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    • Profile picture of the author ArtiGal
      Originally Posted by bigbyte View Post

      I was in the same situation once. Contacted the host and they took him down immediately. Just be polite and act professional.
      This is good advice from Bigbyte...try not to lose your cool over it. I've had articles reprinted word for word my bio box hacked off...no link back...tends to frost your cupcakes, for sure. But sadly enough, that's what some people do out there.

      Since you were the first to post the content up online, it is your content and my understanding is the content is technically copyrighted by date stamp as belonging to you...(that's not exactly legal advice...just opinion).

      What I would do is send them a firm but polite email and warn them that if they don't take the site down voluntarily right away, you will contact their host and file a formal complaint. I'd be surprised if that didn't do the trick.

      Bummer that with everything else we have to do...we still have to stay on top of this monkey business, eh?

      Let us know how you make out...and good luck!

      Elise
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  • Profile picture of the author 6figure101
    Thank you all for your advice...

    After doing a little more digging, here is what I have found.

    There seems to be several copies of my site out there, in a couple of colors... and they all have the same text. They all date back to the month of April this year. My best guess is someone created these sites and started selling them... most likely on Ebay.

    Lastly, I checked on Archive.org for an archive of my site but for some reason, there is none... my site has been around for several years but how can I prove that now?
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    • Profile picture of the author dimatrix
      Banned
      Still send a report to their web host with every proof you've got. With a little bit of luck, the judgement could come out in your favor.
      I feel your pain.
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  • Profile picture of the author Christian Fox
    Wow that's messed up.
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  • Profile picture of the author activetrader
    Originally Posted by 6figure101 View Post


    Before I contact them and start threatening... does anyone have any good advice ?
    No one is going to give legal advice on a public forum. Probably the best thing someone can do for you is to refer you to sources such as US CODE: Title 17,512. Limitations on liability relating to material online

    See also: US CODE: Title 17,TITLE 17—COPYRIGHTS

    Also: treatise - http://www.lexisnexis.com/store/cata...s&prodId=10441 - this treatise is available at law libraries. It's 10 volumes
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    Me

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  • Profile picture of the author Slin
    In all honesty, have you seen a change in profits or anything?

    I can see branding reasons, so i guess it is important to take down.

    But just saying, these people most likely aren't really making any money. I bet if you wait a bit they may just shut down.
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  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    Try contacting their payment processor i.e Clickbank. Also you could use a whois to prove your site has been around longer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Karan Goel
    I would say just 4 words here:

    D M C A
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    File a DMCA with their host. I've got a sample one on domainingdiva.com about 4th post down and explanation of how to do it.
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  • Profile picture of the author css
    What are you going to charge them with plagiarism? HTML is in the public domain, you cant do anything.
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    • Profile picture of the author eibhlin
      Originally Posted by css View Post

      What are you going to charge them with plagiarism? HTML is in the public domain, you cant do anything.
      HTML code may be free to use, but what's written in it isn't. From U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright in General (FAQ) -
      When is my work protected?
      Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

      In other words, websites are as protected as anything else you create under copyright law.

      I've had good results contacting the site's webmaster, directly. Quite often, the person truly didn't understand that it's illegal to use someone else's material to build a website, without permission.

      When that doesn't work, hosting services are often very good about taking down a website that's violating copyright laws.

      Remaining calm and reasonable is key. I know how shocking it is to see your work copied, but -- in most cases -- the people didn't have a clue that they were doing anything wrong.

      Your own server may have old (backup) copies of your website, if it comes to that.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by css View Post

      What are you going to charge them with plagiarism? HTML is in the public domain, you cant do anything.
      You really should not post unless you know what you are talking about. Copying someone's site or articles or graphics is copyright infringement and believe me ... the DMCA works and works fast. The host will give you 48 hrs to remove it and if you don't, they will suspend your account and remove everything on your account.
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      • Profile picture of the author css
        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        You really should not post unless you know what you are talking about. Copying someone's site or articles or graphics is copyright infringement and believe me ... the DMCA works and works fast. The host will give you 48 hrs to remove it and if you don't, they will suspend your account and remove everything on your account.
        Gee, thanks. I don't think that was my point, but thanks for correcting me and informing me on what I should and should not do in the future regarding posting a message. Does this please you master? The first half of my post was a question? The second part was a fact. Over all, I value your input as should you mine.
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        • Profile picture of the author markbyrne
          Originally Posted by css View Post

          Gee, thanks. I don't think that was my point, but thanks for correcting me and informing me on what I should and should not do in the future regarding posting a message. Does this please you master? The first half of my post was a question? The second part was a fact. Over all, I value your input as should you mine.
          The first and second part of the post in my opinion was pointless, when you are actually looking for genuine advice, and the OP truly is.

          The first part of your first post was actually rhetorical, and the second part was not factual, it was presupposition, needlessly supporting a rhetorical question. HTML is in the public domain but can be governed by those who provide it to the public.

          If you had valued the OP's input, you wouldn't have answered that way.

          Anyway, back on topic... (this is something I will refer to in the future guys, thanks)
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  • Profile picture of the author tiainter
    I was in the same situation once. Contacted the host and they took him down immediately
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  • Profile picture of the author Philarmon
    Usually the hosts don't want to be stressed with DMCA complaints so most of the times if you just contact the host they will take em down. If they don't you can send an DMCA complaint to the host (you don't have to be a lawayer for that - just google it and you will find some templates for that).

    If they have Adsense running, then they are owned - file a DMCA complaint at Google and they will lock their account immediately. 100% success rate. The account will be only unlocked if they can prove that they had permission to post the content or have copyrights for it etc.

    But it is always good to try to contact the site owners first - sometimes people do not realize that they are violating copyrights - well, i am sure some of them just say so but some rreally don't - "i got it from my writer", "a designer have made that for me" etc. But in like 30% of the cases people take the content down.
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  • Profile picture of the author Phil Ayres
    I would send them an e-mail, directly. Look for contact information on their site or go to Whois.net.

    Give them a day...

    And, then, call their hosting company.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    Most forums and websites unfortunately have to deal with this and beyond messing around with their hosts there is not much you can do.

    It is not so bad when a website quotes another and adds a link directing people to the original, but it is bloody annoying when someone directly copies something or rips it off and you cannot find the original source.

    It is one of those things that really piss me off and it should be made illegal, however, the internet being what it is no one seems to have the authority to enforce it.
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  • Profile picture of the author sarah_may
    Originally Posted by 6figure101 View Post

    I found out that someone copied one of my sites... and they are a direct competitor in the same niche and everything... what ballz! Even kept the exact same text on every page and everything. I'm so pissed!

    Before I contact them and start threatening... does anyone have any good advice ?
    You can submit complain regarding this it by visiting-
    Digital Millennium Copyright Act

    hope it will helpful to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jesus Perez
    Step 1: Contact the owner. I resolve 90% of my disputes this way...very amicably and easily. Make it clear...in a nice way...that you need the content removed within X amount of days. After X amount of days, you'll issue legal notices.

    Step 2: If that doesn't work, issue a DMCA/Copyright removal notice to their web host. Done.

    Step 3: File a DMCA/Copyright notice with Google. This will get them removed from the search engine results.

    These are the steps I always take.
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  • Profile picture of the author ocon9316
    If all else fails...check and see if they are hotlinking your images. You can have some real fun with that
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  • Profile picture of the author dreamer111
    behave professionally and try to resolve it.
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  • Profile picture of the author BlogDesign
    Did you check Google Cache? Possibly you could snap some screen shots of before they started putting up their content. Depending on when they registered their domain name.. etc..
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