Plagiarized Work

jak · Post by **jak** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:16 am

I've just found an exact copy of one of my CC articles on AC but it's not under my name and has a different title. I only found it because I searched on some words that appear within it. There could be many more for many of us. How do we check everything?

Annetta Holmes · Post by **Annetta Holmes** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:32 am

Oh no...this is really so much worse. If articles are being swiped then put under someone else's name you'll have to constantly Google to find if your work has been taken.

There was a thread a while ago whereby an author clued up on IT suggested a way that prevented a copy and paste from the summary. I know quite a few websites use this method. It's very effective.

Currently one can easily copy and paste from the summary on CC so it's very easy to lift work.

I think CC will be working on the problem because it's only going to get worse. It's best if authors regularly check if their work is being lifted. How to stop it though...only if they can't copy and paste from the summary.

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:12 am

In the meantime, can Constant put a CopyScape banner prominently on the pages? Could help thwart some of the bad guys...

http://www.copyscape.com/banners.php

I'm thinking of signing up for the premium CopyScape and checking all of my remaining articles.

Post by **constant-content** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:15 am

Stopping copy and paste does nothing unfortunately there are a billions ways around that. We are looking into new ideas, like displaying a image of the written content. But even then someone can easily rewrite the content. Every website that deals with content has to deal with this Associated Content has yet to figure this out, when we did two years ago.

We are in contact with Associated Content, but I really don't think the discussion will go any where. The bottom line is they need to improve the editing/approval process over there.

We are not the only ones:
http://mashable.com/2007/12/01/associat ... plagarism/

Associated Content like Helium are just to big to understand the issue here, they would rather get sued and pay off a couple people they fix the issue. Really it hurts the site, they are known for having inaccurate info, plagiarized content, and stolen content.

Post by **constant-content** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:17 am

Celeste, thats not a bad idea checking your own articles, we are just to big to check everyones.

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:27 am

I did just now sign up for copyscape and already found an imposter at AC (using Annetta's name)! I'm going to search all and then contact Chris.

Annetta Holmes · Post by **Annetta Holmes** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:32 am

Thanks for the update Constant. I agree the editing/approval process is key. Hopefully talks with AC will bear fruit.

However in the meantime we'll just have to remain vigilant. As the thieves are only stealing what's on the summary the solution may be there. Only upload a third of, or a little more, to the summary. That should be enough for a customer to get an indication of the author's skill.

Whew! It's a real vexing problem this.

Annetta Holmes · Post by **Annetta Holmes** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:36 am

It's a real pain this. I'm sure it's wide spread.

Ed · Post by Ed » Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:49 am

Don't forget that larger portions of articles in long summaries increase sales - this is proven at CC. Don't hurt yourself by placing less in the long summary. Customers want to know what they're getting.

Ed

Annetta Holmes · Post by **Annetta Holmes** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:02 am

Thanks Ed. It's just worrying to think if someone nicks a large portion off the summary, puts it on AC, then a CC customer buys full rights following that he finds it on AC - won't that hurt us more? Will he know it wasn't us or will he just assume we're not being ethical and above board? It's really tough to make a decision on this.

We want to show case our work, obviously, but this AC thing. Maybe as was pointed out earlier, if AC is known for plagarized work etc., it won't be a big thing for our buyers and they'll just accept that part of their article may be on an AC site.

I don't know...just thinking out allowed. I agree, more in the summary is better for the customer but then more at risk to upset our client after a full rights sale.

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:06 am

I agree with Ed. I'm a firm believer in the long summary even though I have been burned too. Out of all of my articles posted (roughly 100), only 3 were detected as plagierized by CopyScape. I just ran all of them right now. I do post my entire article in the long summary.

I think that I'm going to subscribe to CopySentry for now and mark my articles with a note that they are protected and being monitored by CopyScape's CopySentry. I think customers will appreciate it and it will protect my interests in the meantime.

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:07 pm

For those who are interested, I signed up for Copyscape Premium five cents per search - you can buy 100 searches at a time. You can use copyscape for free but you only get 10 searches per month. This may be fine if you only have a few articles to check. I ran 100 articles and 3 were stolen through the recent AC treachery.

I also signed up for CopySentry $4.95 per month to protect ten pages. .25 for each additional page. They will monitor my articles each week and report any plagiarism to me automatically. I have put a warning on some of my articles that says:

********* This page is protected and monitored by CopySentry from CopyScape for added protection against plagiarism. This article is available for purchase. DO NOT COPY. *********

For me, it's worth the few extra bucks a month until a better solution comes up.

jak · Post by **jak** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:39 pm

I just tried to do a free copyscape search and got the message:

"The maximum of 10 searches per month has been reached for this site.

For more searches, please sign up for a Premium account."

So the 10 searches relate to the site not to our individual pages. None of us will be able to use it unless we fork out.

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:46 pm

That's a bummer.

You can still copy and paste your articles into Google....

Word Gypsy · Post by **Word Gypsy** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:53 pm

Celeste,
That is really good advice. I think I am going to sign up as well. I have been toying with the idea for months, but keep putting it off. I have had problems with people stealing my articles from one of my regular "outside" customers, but it's usually for blogs, myspace, or something similar, so it's been easy to take care of. Right now, I have someone claiming they wrote some of my articles that I sold on cc. What a drag! Anyway, thanks for the advice and here's hoping to a quick solution.
Gypsy