Suggestion: Make it harder to copy text and images

1. 76

   Anti-Valentineposted 11 years ago

   I know I've seen this elsewhere online, where you can't actually copy text or images. You can view pictures but not download them or even embed them. Would it be possible to do this at all? At least it would cut down on manual scraping attempts - although content could still be harvested via RSS feeds. Hubbers could still copy and paste text in edit mode.

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   1. 74

      MickiSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for the suggestion, and I do appreciate where your concern over content being stolen and used elsewhere. However, this is the nature of the web, and anything that we do to make it harder to steal content only makes it impossible for real readers to consume your content and for search engines to find and index your content.
      
      We do provide tools that find your content elsewhere and help you to file DMCA complaints to address your copyright infringement. Personally, I have had 3 Hubs stolen, but by contacting the site owners with a DMCA complaint, my stolen content was taken down from the infringing site.

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      1. 71

         Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I didn't think HubPages was in the habit of making it easier to steal content? Then again, I only say that because of the above statement which I'm pretty sure will change once revealed.

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         1. 74

            MickiSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Whoops! Meant to say "anything we do to make it HARDER to steal content. Oy. It's only Monday. Thanks for the catch, Cagsil.

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               Cagsilposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Yes it is Monday. And, you're welcome.

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            MickiSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Edited and fixed. Thanks, Cagsil.

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      2. 76

         Anti-Valentineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Sending a warning or a DMCA complaint to a website's owner is one thing. They might just take the content down - I have done this successfully.
         
         Sending a DMCA complaint to a webhost or going through other channels - I'm put off by it, actually. Too many legal repercussions if you mess up, by the look of it. And although the tools to do it all are made available, when I've contacted some sources in order to clarify things on my mind, there's no response.
         
         Anyway, I just though I would put my suggestion out there.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Not as far as I'm aware.  What kind of "legal repercussions" were you thinking of?
            
            The best thing to do with plagiarized content is report the site straight to Adsense, if they have Adsense ads.  That works most of the time.  Reporting to a host can be slightly harder, but only because some make it difficult for you to find the right form to fill out, or the right email to contact. But it does work.

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            1. 76

               Anti-Valentineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               On the DMCA form in Webmastertools, it warns you that incorrectly filled out forms or incorrect information supplied can lead to legal repercussions. There's text at the top of the form. That's just how I interpret it though, perhaps.

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               1. 86

                  Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  If you're posting a genuine report, you have nothing to fear from that.
                  
                  They're just trying to scare people who might post malicious reports (for instance, someone might steal your article, then post a DMCA claiming that YOU stole it from THEM). 
                  
                  If you file a genuine report, it is possible that the thief will file a counter-claim, claiming just that (that you stole the article from them, not vice versa).  However, Google still won't take any legal action - they'll just tell you both to take it to court.  Which of course, neither of you will do.

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      3. 54

         janderson99posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         => I still think its worthwhile to block copying and right clicks using javascript.
         There are simple ways of doing this - while it can be bypassed -it would stop some.
         => Also adding copyright notices to the top of the article and inserted radomly through the text would help. THERE IS NO COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THE MOMENT.
         => There are more technical solutions using js files to deliver the content to the page that would make it much harder
         =>Some sites use weird font replacements which are very effective.
         
         Is anyone looking at this or have HP given up!

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         1. 76

            Anti-Valentineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            This is what I'm talking about. Thanks for chipping in.

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            1. 74

               MickiSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               HubPages doesn't own the copyright to the content. You, as authors, hold the copyright, and only copyright owners can enforce a copyright license. If you want to add a license to your content, you add a creative commons license here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
               
               We do provide automated tools that search the internet and inform you when we think your content has been copied, My Account > Copied Hubs. As part of that tool, we provide the DMCA form letter that you can send to the site owner who has copied your content.
               
               Fundamentally, there is no technical solution that we can implement that is both search friendly and prevent copying of content. Not to mention that using javascript to prevent copy and paste is trivial to circumvent.

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               1. 54

                  janderson99posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I trust HP will not trigger violations for authors who put copyright notices on their pages.
                  Doing something to stop some of the copying, would help, but clearly HP is not interested in doing anything at all.

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                  1. 79

                     Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Each page has a copyright notice
                     
                     Copyright © 2012 HubPages Inc. and respective owners. All rights reserved.

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                        janderson99posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        Yeah BUT
                        
                        Its right down at the bottom of the page in the Gray area.
                        It doesn't attribute the copyright to the author.
                        What I do is put a copyright notice in the Sub Title section of the first capsule
                        
                        © janderson99-HubPages
                        
                        and add extra ones at the end and through the article.
                        I also add links to my other pages.
                        This immediately raises a warning flag to copiers and means a lot of work to find and remove the notices. The links also create issues
                        
                        Worthwhile in my opinion  I'll probably get banned!!!

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                        1. 79

                           Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           It doesn't stop anyone from copying. I saw a copied hub that had written right on top "do not steal this hub" and a copyright notice.

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                           1. 54

                              janderson99posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              It stops some - perhaps many
                              It labels the source
                              It identifies the material as copied
                              It shows where it was copied from
                              Its a form of self-incrimination and reputation muddying
                              It identifies who own the copyright - I can post a great example if you like
                              
                              If I were a copy cheat, I would copy other hubs that don't have this notice.
                              It would not be worth my while removing it.
                              
                              Lots of things only work some of the time - I love my car!

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2. 54

   janderson99posted 11 years ago

   What about adding "rel=canonical" tag to each page?

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