I recently discovered another site stealing my content and photos and posting them without my permission. When I contacted the site owner, he seemed offended that I would complain and indicated that he was doing me a favor by “linking” to me.

A link is not a hyperlink followed by 2-3 paragraphs of my content and then one of my photos. As on of my friends said, “If you are going to link to another site, just put up a link.” Don’t steal a bunch of content and photos in the process.

I asked him to cease and desist this practice which he begrudgingly did after trying to point out all the flaws in my site that somehow allowed him to steal my content (more on that later). So how do you deal with these idiots who must have grown up during the period of the internet where mp3′s and software were traded for the price of a mouse click?

You can notify Google of the copyright infringer through the process that they have outlined online. If the website belongs to any of Google’s numerous services, they can be banned from those services for violating Google’s Terms of Service. Popular program include Google Adsense. Other companies with affiliate programs may have similar Terms of Service that prohibit the use of copyrighted material without permission.

You can contact the website owner and request that the material be removed.

You can contact the website owner and ask that they pay for or reimburse you in some manner for using your material without your permission.

Of course, how do you find out that someone is violating your copyright? This website article expresses an idea that I had – using Google Alerts to notify you of copyright infringers and scrapers. It also has a great explanation of how scrapers and copyright infringers can hurt your search engine ranking for using your material on their site. It also has a good link explaining how to report copyright violators to their ISP and potentially having their site shut down for good.

Future post: “If a copier’s use supplants demand for the original work, then it will be very difficult for him or her to claim fair use. On the other hand, if the use does not compete with the original, for example because it is a parody, criticism, or news report, it is more likely to be permitted as “fair use.”" – The Fair Use Defense

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