Content theft

[mslemon]

I have been learning and reading here (webmasterworld) for a while. Thanks so much for all the good info.

Here is my dilemma:

I run a huge long-standing site of content submitted by individuals. I just found a site that has taken dozens of our submissions and is using them on their site only arranging them so they appear to be their original content by showing several articles on a page rather than one page per article as on our site. This site also occasionally doctors the title of the content - however the entire rest of the article is word for word. When I google the first line, our link comes up first.

Tomorrow I am sending them a 'remove our content or pay us big bucks email.'

The offending site has been around since '99, but only accepting articles since mid 2001. Many of the lifted articles are from 2003 and 2004 submissions to our site.

What if they don't remove it?
What if they contest it?
Any other helpful suggestions?

Thanks so much.

[LifeinAsia]

Search Google (or Webmaster WOrld) for DMCA.

[Beagle]

It can get a bit complicated with user-contributed content, because the person who wrote the piece is the copyright holder to that individual submission. I'm not sure if the DMCA allows people other than the copyright holder to file complaints - maybe someone else here does.

A couple of options: Although you don't hold the copyright to the individual submissions, you could possibly ["I'm not a lawyer disclaimer here] be recognized as the copyright holder for the compilation (like someone who publishes a book of short stories written by other people). So if the other site is taking content en masse, you may be able to file on your own behalf. If you have a lot of active contributors, an even better idea might be to post a notice on your site about what the other site is doing - with instructions of how to file a DMCA notice, perhaps? - and let them have at it. Hearing from each copyright holder in a situation like this could be overwhelming. (Or, heck, do both: See if you can file as copyright holder to the compilation and sic your contributors on them as well!) The DMCA process isn't set up to get you big bucks - but it could shut down their site. If they run AdSense, Google should also be informed and, if there's enough evidence that the material isn't theirs, they'll get kicked out of the program.

[edited by: Beagle at 2:52 pm (utc) on Mar. 1, 2007]

[BigDave]

It sounds like you *do not* have grounds to file as the compilation copyright holder, if they copied the individual articles and reordered them on their own site.

If you file the DMCA, and you do not own the copyrights, you would be liable to the infringers for some obscene amounts of money. You would also be liable to the actual copyright holders.

You also do not want to try charging them for the work, unless that is a right that the contributors have granted to you (which I doubt they have) as that will also open you up to significant liability.

Get in touch with your contributors and ask them to file DMCA takedown notices.

[mslemon]

Thanks to all. I sent an email to the copier and the content was removed. The person thought our content was "free for the taking" although we have the standard copyright notices on each page. We have always maintained the authors have the final say, but then some of the content is submitted anonymously. We do believe in protecting our authors. After all, they trusted us and submitted to us.

Anyway, thanks for the replies. The issue was resolved satisfactorily.