The Wording on my Website has Been Copied Verbatim

[Norma_S]

The wording on my HoustonBoudoir.com site has been copied verbatim in many areas and nearly so in others to another boudoir site that's operating up on the north side of Houston. My husband is pi$$ed off because we spent hours getting the phrases down the was we want them and some beeatch comes along and steals it.

Take a look at the wording on my "What is Boudoir Photography" and compare it to the Style page wording here. There's even some overlap on my "Prices" and her "Investment" page but not nearly as much as the straight copy/paste on that first page.

I wouldn't care as much if this person was not in the same market as me but she is.

What do I do? My website says my stuff is copyrighted.

[Jenny Z]

Ugh!! She could have at least asked "Hey, could I borrow your wording with credit?" or something... just taking it sucks.

I dunno if that would fall under copyright though. I'm sure someone knows better than I :)

[CobyPhoto]

Call me Norma, I will give you a suggestion on how to handle this.

Coby

[dlanter]

I'm sure not an expert on the subject, but the way I understand it anything you write is protected by copyright and her stealing it would be plagiarism. If it was me I think I would first send her a message telling her to cease & desist and that if she doesn't remove it from her website you will proceed with legal actions. I bet just the threat would be enough.
Here is a website I just found that might be of some assistance:

http://www.plagiarism.org

Good luck

[pbyd]

Norma,
If yours or the other web site had been online for awhile, you could have found who came up first at the following web site. If you put in a web site you can see all of the past pages from the first time the site went online. Go to http://www.archive.org/web/web.php
I put in both yours and the other site and nothing came up. I just was trying to help.
I do understand how upsetting this would be, I have had it happen, but I just took it as someone else needed help, but it would have been better if they would ask.
Good luck
Wayne

[Norma_S]

This other photographer has a flash site so their page contents doesn't show up in a web search. I found out through a Google Alert regarding a new blog post that used the key words in my alert.

I know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but what about plagiarism and copyright infringement when its not just imitated but COPIED?!

Norma

[Norma_S]

Originally Posted by pbyd

Norma,
If yours or the other web site had been online for awhile, you could have found who came up first at the following web site. If you put in a web site you can see all of the past pages from the first time the site went online. Go to http://www.archive.org/web/web.php
I put in both yours and the other site and nothing came up. I just was trying to help.
I do understand how upsetting this would be, I have had it happen, but I just took it as someone else needed help, but it would have been better if they would ask.
Good luck
Wayne

They are both flash sites so I'm not sure if it will see the content. However, I do have HTML copies of each of my pages as links on my splash page, mostly for the benefit of search engines.

My site's been up since April and has gone through several rewrites as we hone the verbiage. She claims on her blog she's been up since June.

Norma

[Shelby Lane]

I have had this happen before, more than once. I always send an email and say "I'm not sure if you realize this, but using someone's wording is plaigarism. It's not only unprofessional, it's also illegal." I don't threaten, I just give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know better and ask them to remove it immediately. Don't expect an email back. And if they don't take it down, I'd call PPA.

It is very frustrating, in a business where we claim to be creative people and are worried about clients infringing on our copyrights, that there are still people who think this is okay.

[Corrie]

I was just looking at your site yesterday thinking how awesome your work is btw.

That is lame. It's not that difficult to form your own thoughts and put them down...although my friend did my text lol.

[HotHolly]

What Shelby said usually works. Give them time to receive the email and remove it. I had a legal issue with the same type of thing a few years ago and the type of lawyer that takes on cases like this are VERY costly. If the email doesnt do it, you can try a certified letter stating that your lawyer will be contacting them shortly if they fail to remove your text from their site.

[my3peas]

I've had the same thing happen to me (and from a fellow forum member :( ). I'm sure Coby has some good ideas on how to handle this.

I would agree with Shelby about contacting the PPA.

[ramblinray]

Not to be a naysayer or anything, but I think if it isn't registered with the copyright office, it isn't really copyrighted. It may be easy for you to prove you are the originator of the verbiage if there is a dispute, if she tries to copyright the text before you do. Just some food for thought. It seems there is always more paperwork to be done before the job is complete. I'd check with an intellectual property rights attorney or the copyright office website to be sure of the actions you need to take to correct this situation.

[brad]

Originally Posted by Norma_S

This other photographer has a flash site so their page contents doesn't show up in a web search. I found out through a Google Alert regarding a new blog post that used the key words in my alert.

Ok.. I'm curious.. Google Alert?



Speaking from the other side of this... I did this once, purely accidentally... What I had done was when I was setting up a website, I looked at photographers I admired.. read how they said it.. and copied a couple paragraphs here and there into my working copy. I then went back and started saying what I wanted to say in my own words.. and deleting those copied paragraphs.

You see where this is going, right? I forgot to delete one of the paragraphs.

However.. I got a very nice note (blew my mind that he saw it so fast) from the photographer I had gotten the paragraph from.. that basically said "you've used words from my website on yours, please change it immediately." I wrote him a note apologizing and telling him what had happened and he was cool - just wanted me to change it. I did, of course... 'doh.. didn't mean to in the first place.

Anyway, a nice, but firm "cease and desist" note may get you a lot farther than any sort of angry or legal response. It may be completely unintentional like mine was -- or it may be that she had someone else design it for her and is unaware of the copied content.

Either way.. a nice (but firm) first approach almost always gets results before you have to spend money or blow fuses.

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by ramblinray

I'd check with an intellectual property rights attorney or the copyright office website to be sure of the actions you need to take to correct this situation.

I never want to pay an ipr attorney again. It wasnt worth it, b/c the same thing just keeps happening.

When you are someone worth being copied - people copy you. Its flattering and infuriating. And it'll keep happening, b/c you are very good at what you do, Norma. Double-edged sword.

[CobyPhoto]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

I never want to pay an ipr attorney again. It wasnt worth it, b/c the same thing just keeps happening.

When you are someone worth being copied - people copy you. Its flattering and infuriating. And it'll keep happening, b/c you are very good at what you do, Norma. Double-edged sword.

Double edged sword indeed...it makes it just that much more important to protect, when you do something that no one else can. In this line of business, protection of your intellectual property is a given. If you choose to use a lawyer or not, failure to take steps to prevent these violation erodes the footing on which you base your entire business.

I won't say what I would do on here, as the individual might be a member and I don't want to show Norma's hand if she chooses to do what I suggested. I have no sympathy for the individual that stole the wording from Norma's web site. There are services that charge for this type of work, why should she be able to steal if and not pay? Norma went to alot of trouble and time getting her site exactly like she wanted. Bottom line, the individual that stole the wording has NO excuse.

CJ