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Copyright Infringement: What to Do When Someone Steals Your Content

Today I received a note from "an alert reader" who found one of my articles posted on another Web site.

It turns out two of my articles, 10 New Questions to Ask Before Setting Up a Web Site and Search Engine Considerations II are currently appearing far from home. Although innocent until proven guilty, the company in question is tpdotcom (no link for them, but feel free to Google ‘em.)

According to a page on their site called "Commitment to you", they want their customers to say,

tpdotcom always seeks our opinion as to what effeciencies [sic] and objectives we need to achieve, when we decide to implement an IT project.

Unfortunately, they didn’t seek my permission to put my articles on their Web site, or give me credit. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, this must be something akin to obsequiousness.

However, since they didn’t ask my permission, didn’t credit me, and didn’t link to our Web site, I sent them the following email:

TP,

It was cool to see that you were using two of my articles on your Web site: Questions to ask before setting up a Website and Search Engines.

What wasn’t so cool is the fact that you didn’t ask my permission and you didn’t give me credit.

If you do wish to keep the articles up on your Web site, please put the original articles up w/o changes, attribute them to me, and create a link back to my Web site.

You can find the two articles in question here:

http://www.flyte.biz/resources/articles/0204.html

http://www.flyte.biz/resources/articles/0201.html

Here’s the HTML I’d like you to use:

<p><a href="http://www.flyte.biz/about/staff.html">Rich Brooks</a><br>
  President, <a href="http://www.flyte.biz">flyte new media<br>
  Web site development and Internet marketing</a></p>

Please make sure these changes are made within 5 business days, or take down the articles on your site.

Thanks for your understanding.

Rich Brooks

This is actually not the first time one of my articles has been stolen. Our own government has appropriated the 10 Questions article and posted it on a Web site. (It’s since been taken down.) I guess this was an attempt to save our tax dollars.

I’m not sure how all this will turn out, but stay tuned…

Rich Brooks
Can I Enlist the RIAA to Help Me?

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  • http://www.agloco.com/r/BBBS6210 RAVINDER KUMAR RAWAT

    Its pity to the system and shame to the person/s who is/are part of this system. One works hard and another just reap the fruits of another's hard work. What a easy way to get credit??

    But the way you have treated that person; you are worthy of praise.

    Thanks Rich
    RAWAT
    NEW DELHI
    INDIA

  • http://www.agloco.com/r/BBBS6210 RAVINDER KUMAR RAWAT

    Its pity to the system and shame to the person/s who is/are part of this system. One works hard and another just reap the fruits of another's hard work. What a easy way to get credit??

    But the way you have treated that person; you are worthy of praise.

    Thanks Rich
    RAWAT
    NEW DELHI
    INDIA

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 1st, 2005 at 6:45 pm and is filed under Business Philosophy, Web Design & Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.