Constant Content

Hi all,

I know I am not the only one here having content stolen on a regular basis. I have about 250 unsold articles and I simply don't have the time to Google each and every one of them to see if they have been stolen. However, I did a random search for some of my articles and noticed that at least several more have been stolen. Many of my travel articles have appeared here:

http://baywatchbb.com/

I don't think I will be writing for CC any more other than for the very rare private request or writer's pool job that appears. In my experience, it is very, very rare for articles to sell for usage rights as well. A complete waste of hundreds of hours' work, and I'm not going to waste any more time filing DMCAs and chasing down content thieves.

EDIT: I notice that most articles with an unusually high number of hits are the ones which have been stolen.

HI,

It is frustrating to have content stolen. I expect it, so I try not to let it get to me anymore. It's going to happen no matter what anyone does about it. I've had content stolen from me on other websites, so it isn't just CC. In fact, teenage girls stole a bunch of my content, claiming ignorance. Not everyone thinks about what they do. When I taught, students would copy tons of stuff and think nothing of it. It's not right, but I don't see a viable option to stop it completely right now.

I hope you reconsider, and stay as you have been as asset to the site.

Have a better day,
WG

Thanks for your support. Yes, it is indeed very frustrating and uninspiring when this happens and combined with the steadily decreasing rate of sales I've had on CC since earlier in the year, it is hard to get motivated. I wonder if I should just stick to putting 1/3 of the article in the preview. I guess this would make it less likely to sale, but if it makes it much less likely that the content will be stolen, it might be worth it.

Hi,

I usually post the entire article, but for some topics or pricey content, I have started to post less. When I do, I put a note at the bottom asking interested customers to contact me for a look at the full content. Then, if they ask, I will post the entire article for them to see. I still think this cuts back on sales, so I limit how many I do like this, and honestly, it's not many.

WG

Thanks for posting the link UKWriter101. I too am frustrated with having to deal with article theft. I went to this site just now and found at least one of mu articles there. It looks like most of the text is identical, but a few words here and there have been changed. Strangely, I couldn't get any Google results when I searched for sentences that are identical. Have you considered using Copyscape to send you an alert when this happens? I just may do it, but I've heard from someone that even that is not foolproof. I set up Google alerts every time I submit an article, but so far, it has alerted me to just 1 theft out of 3.

I am still trying to get the content removed from the said site, but the ******* is hiding behind a proxy server, "Domains by Proxy." I have contacted the company which provides the proxy, but they are not being very helpful. I've already presented proof that the content has been stolen, yet they are still bombarding me with legalese.

Hi,
Those domain proxies won't be of much help to you. They make their living by protecting peoples privacy, so they're very tight. They'll do what they're required to legally, but otherwise, they protect their customers. After all, it's what they do!

However, the domain name isn't what's necessarily important here, it's the web host. I ran a couple of checks and the consensus seems to be that based on IP addresses, that site is being hosted by a company called SoftLayer Inc.

http://www.whoishostingthis.com/baywatchbb.com
http://whois.arin.net/rest/net/NET-50-22-0-0-1/pft

If you get in contact with SoftLayer, they should be able to take care of the DMCA for you no problem.

Cheers,
Ryan

Many thanks to your Ryan! I am not very familiar with these things and how they work, so I have been pretty confused on how to deal with it. Anyway, I will contact the hosting company right away and get the stolen content removed. Thanks again!

Like many Web writers, I've had lots of articles stolen, and I know how disheartening it can be. Unlike some writers on this site, I do not believe we should ever just accept this as part of the business of writing. Pursuing these matters aggressively is the only way to curb the problem, long term.

I posted these instructions on an earlier thread. I've found that this usually gets the job done:

Do fill out Google's DMCA form, but don't wait for them to deal with it. They can take 2-3 weeks to respond and, even then, they'll only remove ads off the site, not the article. If it's a spammy, useless site, the manager/owner may not even care, since he/she operates so many of these around the web.

1. Go onto dawhois.com.
2. Type in the site url.
3. Locate the ISP. (also check to see if you can find an alternative e-mail address for the thief)
4. Google ISP and log onto their site. Find the customer service number and make a call. They will put you through to the legal department or other help desk.
5. This personalized contact gets your case across quickly. They will advise how to fill out their DMCA claim and they, generally, take this very seriously.
6. They will contact the site manager and give him/her 24-48 hours to respond. If no response is received, they will shut down the site.
7. Make sure to Google the site a few more times, to make sure that the site does not re-post your article again (unlikely but can happen.)
8. Speed is extremely important because the longer your article stays online, the less likely you are to sell it.

Good Luck
Linda