They Stole My images

[Shawn Steele]

A competitor of mine has stolen almost all of my images, all of text, almost my entire website. On top of that he sent me an email stating "your nothing, and your karma is coming to an end". Whatever that means. I've checked his whois and yahoo hosts the web site...so what do I do? Please help.

Thanks,
Shawn

[vkaryl]

Write him a formal C&D, quoting particulars (and be SURE you view source on his site to make SURE he scabbed wholesale from your source!) Explain in minute detail that he is not adhering to "fair use" statute (*sigh* that's for "dave"....), and that he is abrogating your copyright.

If he laughs and continues or even just ignores you, hire an attorney. Sometimes a decent civil attorney is worth her weight in gold.... (yup, used the fem gender for a reason: females are REALLY nasty when either roused to anger, or paid to attack in court....)

[jk3210]

Search --> "DMCA"

[digitalv]

Can you prove the content was yours originally? If so, cease all contact and get a lawyer to go after the thief. Don't waste any more of your time with them. If not ... suck it up, there isn't anything you can do.

[blaze]

I think the first thing to do is to establish whether or not the offending party has assets. If they do, then consider getting a lawyer and proving it.

Otherwise, try sending them a cease and desist letter..

[vkaryl]

Whether they have assets or not is NOT the point. The POINT is whether or not you have to defend your ownership in court, or whether you can stop the idiot with a simply C&D.

[blaze]

The ROI of hiring a lawyer to attack some penniless shmoe who has stolen your content simply does not exist.

Perhaps in some ideal world of wrong and right it's a good idea, but in a world of profit and loss, we must bow to practicality..

[vkaryl]

Sheesh. To those of us whose words ARE their business, practicality is getting the bastards by the short hairs. Has NOTHING to do with money or whether joeschmoe has any! It has to do with setting precedent so that WE as creatives, as people who LIVE by their ability to produce published works, have some protection within the law.

Litigious is a word which defines and is defined by those who are otherwise known as "ambulance chasers".

[Edit: ulp. TOTALLY OT. Sorry.]

[blaze]

No need to apologize.

This is a very very important conversation that goes to the heart of the question .. "What do I do?"

The answer, I believe, revolves around one central point - does the offender have attackable assets.

If they do, you are golden. It is very likely that you can find extremely talented copyright lawyers who are willing to work on a contingency basis .. if they have significant, attackable assets.

If they do not, they will work only on per hour basis and if you win, you will only be getting a moral win and not a practical one.

However, it is important to note that the ISP hosting the website often do have attackable assets..

[vkaryl]

Well, and that's true - in actual fact, MOST ISPs have "attackable assets". I tend to lean in favor of my own personal "attack mode" which is that I CAN afford to hire an attorney to do NOTHING but make a point/set precedent - but obviously there is a whole world out there which cannot do same.

I would assume that the only ISPs WITHOUT those "golden assets" are those based in parts of the world which don't "play by the rules". We all know which they are. Otherwise, most legit ISPs HAVE to have a fair amount of flooring.

I guess I'm just not in the "ambulance chaser" mindset....

[Vincent]

Hi
The major search engines, has a copyright infringment
report e-mail adress. You can report the matter there.
If they are convinched you are the original owner of the rights, they will rate the offending web site very low, maybee blacklist it. The thing is, that in many places, if you are promoting something that you know is "illigal", you can be sued, as well as the person committing the illigal act.
Also report to whoever is running add compaigns for the offender.
Without support from the search engines,traffic will die out, rendering a website little usefull.

When you place images on the web, make sure to crop a bit of the outside. The offender can not demonstrate what is outside the image, you can. Else use a "wayback machine" to demo that the work is yours. Best is offcourse a registered copyright. In the US a judge can impose fines, without you have to demonstrate losses if you have a registered copyright of your web. Else you must demonstrate losses.
Best regards Vincent

[blaze]

When you place images on the web, make sure to crop a bit of the outside. The offender can not demonstrate what is outside the image, you can.

Very nice tip, Vincent.

[gethan]

Send the DMCA to Yahoo (or whoever hosts the site). Most hosts will take immediate action.

[kosar]

Does anyone have a template or example of the correct way to write a formal C&D to someone who has stole your images?

[photocartoonist]

Unfortunately these issues are never easy, even when you can clearly prove that the content is yours; even if it is registered with the copyright office. Lawyers always cost a significant amount of money, so it is a business decision as to whether or not to pursue legal action.

Your best defence is proactive. Establish a strong relationship with a good intellectual property attorney. Spend the money, and time, to learn about copyrights and the DMCA. A DMCA complaint filed with the offenders host, ISP, and the registrar are powerful tools.

In my opinion you can't expect to reason with an unreasonable webmaster. Be professional. Talk to a good IP attorney.

[vkaryl]

When you place images on the web, make sure to crop a bit of the outside. The offender can not demonstrate what is outside the image, you can.

Very nice tip, Vincent.

Ditto.... Wow!

Thanks Vincent!

[affiliatetracking]

So shawn your out of luck...

Unless your company/businessname/content/images are patent or trademarked then you do not have true copyright.. even though its a bummer he has take your stuff... i think thats awful, but the truth is he can do it because 80% of sites even though they have at bottom of site

copyright 2004 whatever all rights reserved...

they dont really have true copyright... unless its trademarked or patent

thanks

[tbear]

affiliatetracking>>Unless your company/businessname/content/images are patent or trademarked then you do not have true copyright<<
Errr.... That is just not correct.
Patents and copyrights are two separate issues.
If you 'create' 'original' text, images, etc, the copyright belongs to you automatically (unless you give it away by some means, for example, are employed by someone to create the text, images).
It must of course be proven that the original work is yours (I for instance keep all working images/scans and rough text work), cropping is an excellent idea!
Go ahead and find a lawyer and good luck.

[Labyrinth]

If you 'create' 'original' text, images, etc, the copyright belongs to you automatically

Quite true. But if you want to file a lawsuit, you must also register that copyright.

[jdMorgan]

> But if you want to file a lawsuit, you must also register that copyright.

No. A registered copyright will allow you to collect *additional* damages, but under the DMCA, anything you create and post online is copyrighted by default.

Facts [copyright.gov]

Jim

[affiliatetracking]

for most affiliate, they are using merchants images and wording and those belong to that merchant they are on the ones who hold tru ecopyright.

[Labyrinth]

A registered copyright will allow you to collect *additional* damages, but under the DMCA, anything you create and post online is copyrighted by default.

Copyright existing from the point of creation has nothing to do with the DMCA. I believe "copyright upon creation" entered the books in 1978 (maybe 1976).

And taken from the link you provided: "Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U. S. origin."

Perhaps you were thinking of non-US works.