Copyright Infringement - help needed

AmySueN · 05-28-2009, 08:16 AM

There's a site that copied one of my pages completely. I contacted the owner in early April asking that they either take down the page or give me credit for writing the page. Nothing was done so this week I send a letter to the website host. I got this reply:

Hi,

Thank you for your email. Due to company policies, in cases like this, we
can't shut down or suspend our customer without a valid court order.
In order to investigate this case any further, we ask you to provide us with a
valid court order from either EU or the USA.
If we receive a court order from you, we will of course investigate this case
and take action asap.

Is there anything else I can do short of a court order?

**htmlbasictutor** · 05-28-2009, 10:44 AM

Contact the fellow at PlagiarismToday. I'm sure he could help you figure out a way to get the copyright infringement issue resolved.

corneo · 05-28-2009, 12:09 PM

Legally speaking, no there is nothing you or anybody else can do.

Copyright infringement is a civil matter. Which means, no government agency will intervene.

Now you see why millions of copyright infringement happen everyday. If you are not willing to put out the cash to stop them, then nothing will stop them.

*side note* anybody willing to take your material knows you have to take them to court to stop them. Most will stop once they get a cease and desist letter from an attorney. (from an Attorney, not you) The reason why? Because they know the attorney knows how to fill the proper paper work and you don't. Plus if your willing to get an Attorney, your willing to go all the way.

corneo · 05-28-2009, 12:16 PM

Oh yeah, (I'm seeing this more from server owners) Server owners will not remove content from their clients without legal proof. The main reason is: how do they know your not lying?
Also if they dump a site on your word only and their client sues them for doing it, they have no legal proof to support their decision and could lose big money for their action.

Unless it's an obvious "breaking the law" (child pron lets say) server will not do anything without a court order.

**htmlbasictutor** · 05-28-2009, 12:38 PM

I beg to differ.

Read the resources Cricket included in this post http://www.v7n.com/forums/legal-issu...ml#post1099831

Web hosts and domain registrars can be VERY picky about how you word the complaint but if worded correctly it can be done without a lawyer.

corneo · 05-28-2009, 02:00 PM

I didn't say you needed a lawyer. I said a attorney will get quicker action.

Malok · 05-28-2009, 02:27 PM

You can file a Digital Millennium Copyright Act Violation with the host.

Here's a sample/draft one that I use:

To whom it may concern:

My copyscape protection alerted me that you have a website hosted on your server that contains my stolen original content.

The stolen material on their site that is hosted on your server is located here:
http://www.THEIRsite.com/page

The location of our original content is located here:
http://www.MYsite.com/page

In case you are not aware, this content is protected by copyright and by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and cannot be reproduced IN WHOLE OR IN PART.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMCA

Please suspend the account immediately to prevent the distribution of my stolen original content.

I can be contacted at:
<name>
<address>
<city> <state> <zip>
<phone number>

For the record, I am stating that in good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

And the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, I am authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Thank you.

<name>

Thats always been sufficient for my complaints.

Hope that helps.

TeamGlobal · 06-09-2009, 04:32 PM

Hi Amy,

Malok's approach does work. I have personally used it many times and have yet to have a situation where the webhost did not remove the infringing material.

Also, htmlbasiceditor's suggestion of taking a look at the http://www.plagiarismtoday.com website is an excellent idea.

You will have to send your DMCA takedown notice to the right department of the webhost. Typically you can find an email address by looking at the Whois record. You may also want to Google "webhostname.com DMCA" to view the policy page of the webhost if there is one.

Good luck in getting this resolved.

ValueRays · 08-12-2009, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmySueN

There's a site that copied one of my pages completely. I contacted the owner in early April asking that they either take down the page or give me credit for writing the page. Nothing was done so this week I send a letter to the website host. I got this reply:

Hi,

Thank you for your email. Due to company policies, in cases like this, we
can't shut down or suspend our customer without a valid court order.
In order to investigate this case any further, we ask you to provide us with a
valid court order from either EU or the USA.
If we receive a court order from you, we will of course investigate this case
and take action asap.

Is there anything else I can do short of a court order?

A professional letter from an attorney would cost about $200. It might be a good thing for you to do. What did the site owner tell you?

jonstewart · 08-13-2009, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmySueN

There's a site that copied one of my pages completely. I contacted the owner in early April asking that they either take down the page or give me credit for writing the page. Nothing was done so this week I send a letter to the website host. I got this reply:

Hi,

Thank you for your email. Due to company policies, in cases like this, we
can't shut down or suspend our customer without a valid court order.
In order to investigate this case any further, we ask you to provide us with a
valid court order from either EU or the USA.
If we receive a court order from you, we will of course investigate this case
and take action asap.

Is there anything else I can do short of a court order?

You could write another page.

ValueRays · 08-13-2009, 07:18 PM

Show us the page. Yours and the copied page...... it would be interesting to see them. There are lots of things you can do without a court order.

Answers · 09-16-2009, 07:49 AM

I have been told that a copyright is only as secure as your ability to defend it. That wording suggestion from Malok sounds like a worthwhile thing to try.