Copyright infringement

[rosetrees]

I know there have been a few threads lately about people finding their work published elsewhere without their permission.

Some people have said don't worry, life's too short, move on. Which I understand.

Some have said you should do something otherwise copyright thieves will simply believe they can take whatever they like.

A few days ago I found an article of mine, taken from Goarticles, published with the resource box changed. I have tried to contact the owners - their helpdesk claims no link with the site owners. I tried emailing the contact email given on whois.

I have now put in a formal complaint to their webhosts - using the procedure they have emailed me.

I know it's a relatively trivial matter - but the t&c's at goarticles are clear and changing the resource link was a deliberate act, not a mistake.

[Smokey_Joe]

In my opinion, it is not a trivial matter at all. Shamelessly stealing someone's original work and changing the resource box is simply outrageous. Then again, it may interfere with the your article's exposure in search engines due to the duplication, so I think you did the right thing taking measures.

I hope the issue is resolved soon and you don't face any similar infringements.

Keep us posted.

Regards

[edhan]

I am also running a article directory. If anyone email about this, I will take the necessary action when it is proven to be true. That will include emailing the person who upload the article about it and clarify the matter.

I believe in giving the credit to the owner who writes the article. So sorry to hear that you are facing this problem.

You have the right to ask them to add your resource box info or remove the article from their site.

[DavidO]

You've done the right thing. Don't back down. I had someone infringing my product copyright and trademark and I forced them to make changes. I'm still not satisfied and I'm looking for a copyright lawyer to take further action.

We can't let people get away with stuff like this.

[Floyd Fisher]

It depends.

I was reading about a person complaining his emails were being reposted on a blog....with all his links intact (and his name being credited as the author btw).

In that situation, you should celebrate IMHO. They do all the work, and you get free SEO......sweet!

Now, if the person is copying your stuff, and not giving you any kind of credit whatsoever, then you have every right to be hitting the roof. That is highly illegal, and the perp is in desparate need of a clue by four (TM) applied to their crainum post haste. It's what DCMA was designed for.

Note: Clue by four is a registered trademark of Talk Biz News, and is used with permission.

[Raydal]

I had the same problem recently and posted her about it.
Maybe that's the post you were referring to.

Anyhow, I contacted as many people as I could and
also commented on their blogs that the article was
being misused. One article directory removed the
article but I never heard from any blog owners.

It is time consuming and you have to weigh the
results against the effort. Taking a suggestion
given here, I took a screenshot from Google search
results showing where the article was being used
and made a blog post about it.

Hopefully that post may eventually get the attention
of some of those webmasters.

-Ray Edwards

[AbbyJane67]

I agree with all who encourage you to pursue what's right in this situation. Copyright infringement is not just impolite and a nuisance, it's against the law. Many people who plagiarize do so without even realizing this, taking the approach that if it is on the net and free for reading, it must be free for "borrowing" as well.

Coming from a print-published background (okay, so it was years ago, but still), copyright laws are an important issue to me. My hopes are behind you 100% that you are able to follow this through to a satisfactory conclusion.

Best of luck!

[rosetrees]

Apologies for bringing up an old thread - thought I should update though.

The hosts have taken down the offending website, pending a response to my complaint from the owner.

[Rus Sells]

I recently caught several competitors who copied my content from my web site. I followed the DCMA rules to the letter. Most of the sites were completely blocked from the internet that same day I made the complaint. Not just the page with my content, the whole domain was blocked. I've also had Wordpress.com blogs removed as well.

The content was removed so fast it would make your head spin!