Yet again, another website has ripped off my content. The only difference this time is how I feel about it. This new case of copyright infringement brings my total to 4. That’s 4 different VAs and now Bookkeeper who has ripped off my content with no regards to the effect it has on me and my business. That’s 4 people who were either too lazy to write their own content or too lazy to check the work their ‘copywriter’ has ‘produced’ for them.
I twittered about the latest infringement during the week and the lovely @BillHarper found me a website that gives you to low down on what to do if your content has been ripped off by asking his followers for any links to help me.
The truly sad thing here is that there are people out there on the web that think content and images are there for the taking. That just because they’re not breaking into someone’s home, office or car to take something that it doesn’t matter. Newsflash… it does matter. When I first had my content ripped off I was devastated and heartbroken. The second time I was mad as all hell. Third time I just rolled my eyes and this time I’m just annoyed at the fact that I now have to chase the offender to have them take it down, that I have to make all the effort here.
So my next step is to find a legitimate contact for this person as the email form on their website bounced. I’ll keep you all up to date as I reclaim my content.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
OMG me too! First time in 10 years that it’s happened but what got me was that I found out when I tried to have an article I’d written published on an article directory. I was accused of “ripping off content directly attributable to another author”! They sent me the URL – of a Filipino outsource company – who had in fact ripped ME off! They had taken almost verbatim an article I had written five years ago, changed ‘VA’ wherever it appeared to their company name and put it on a Benefits page on their site. When I asked him to remove it his response was “What are you going to do? Beat me with a stick? Prove it’s yours and I’ll take it down”. I couldn’t believe it! I’m still so mad.
Huge hugs. The bouncing email just shows how legitimate they are!!! Pity people don’t realise that the simple act of putting something down in words is making those words copyright protected by the original author!
Good luck in following up this moron.
I am going through the same thing right now. Found two this summer: one has been taken down and still working on the other, and found a third one today. It really is annoying.
Oh no, not again! I hope you get it sorted out. I can’t believe the number of people who still do this.
Turns out this person may be on a few of my forums or yahoo groups because they took down my content even though I hadn’t been able to email them (it kept bouncing). No apology either not that I expected the person to act with morals or with regard to someone’s feelings.
If you think your website content has been ripped off, go to http://www.copyscape.com