alika - 3:32 pm on May 24, 2004 (gmt 0)

We develop quality content for our niche, and our content has been syndicated to top tier websites. However, we found -- through a person who sent an email in our Contact Us form -- that there is a seller on ebay selling our articles.

We set up a buyer ID and bought an article from the seller. True enough, it is our article written by one of our writers that this seller is offering for auction. Word for word, without attribution to us or to the writer. And boy, we never imagined it was a hot item: I bought the article with 47 (out of 50) left and the following day I checked again only 4 were left available for sale. It took only 3 days for the seller to sell off the 50 items he offered.

We contacted ebay through their VERO program (Verified Rights Owner program). Basically, you need to provide proof that you are indeed the owner of the content/product. You fill out their Notice of Copyright Infringement form and fax it to them. After 2 days of emailing back and forth, we were accepted into the program. Seller had only 1 item left by then, but ebay removed his listing and sent a warning that the copyright owner has complained that the item for sale infringes on the copyright. We were quite happy with how ebay responded to our claim, and the swiftness of their actions.

Those who write content, I strongly suggest that you periodically check ebay to see if any of your publications are being offered for sale there. It's very frustrating to find your work up for sale by someone else who even has the temerity to place their own copyright notice on your work.