Copyright Violation

1. 92

   Alyssa Nicholposted 6 years ago

   Question for seasoned writers: I found an actual instance of someone who copied my hub, word for word. The only thing missing were my pictures. It was posted on a blog. I used the contact form I found to reach out to the blogger and ask that the content be removed. What is a reasonable time frame where I should expect that it be taken down before I move ahead with filing a formal complaint?

   replyreport
   1. 82

      peachpurpleposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Get the link of that fraud, report to DMCA, however, you need to provide some personal details to them in order for them to proceed the right thing.

      replyreport
   2. 77

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I never send  a DMCA directly to the plagiarist because that provides him with my personal information.  That is not safe for me.  Always file it with the web host and do so quickly.  If it isn't removed within a day or so, report the fraud to Google.

      replyreport
2. 96

   Glenn Stokposted 6 years ago

   I wouldn't wait more than 24 hours. For that matter, I never bother writing to the author. I alway file a DMCA takedown notice with the hosting service. By law they have to remove it without question. Most do.
   
   The only problems I have is when it's hosted in a foreign country that does not have a CA similar to ours. In that case I report it to Google and Bing, so it gets removed from the SERPs. If the copy uses AdSense, they lose their income.

   replyreport
   1. 99

      DrMark1961posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Is there a reason you would not wait? (Is there any advantage is not giving the copier time to remove the article?)

      replyreport
      1. 88

         wildernessposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with Glenn (although I will generally give 48 hours rather than 24).  I also agree that it is almost always far more useful to file with the hosting site rather than the thief - I've only found a small handful of "innocent" (or ignorant) people stealing material, and the rest aren't going to remove it until forced.

         replyreport
         1. 77

            lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Yup, and it's very easy to tell if someone stole it without knowing better or if they were just trying to steal. If it was an honest mistake I write to the person. Happened just once so far, among the many DMCAs I filed.

            replyreport
            1. 88

               wildernessposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               I found a group of high school kids setting up a project for school that stole one of my hubs - they had no idea it was illegal and probably didn't realize it is unethical as well (the concept of plagiarizing seems to be fading).  And one small mom and pop company that hired a web designer to build a site for their business - they had no idea where his material was coming from and just assumed he was writing it all himself.  I even found one web designer that a bunch of hubbers went after (he stole dozens or hundreds of hubs) that absolutely insisted anything on the web was free for the taking - it took the site host to disabuse him of the notion.
               
               But those are probably the only three, out of hundreds of DMCAs I've filed, that I felt were honest errors.  The rest of the time it is an out and out thief doing it to profit from the theft.

               replyreport
               1. 77

                  lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  Well, the third guy was not innocent in my opinion. But yeah the other two sound legit.

                  replyreport
                  1. 88

                     wildernessposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                     Innocent of intentional theft - he apparently honestly believed anything on the web was free for the taking.  Even quoted laws that he felt proved his point - there was quite an argument with him before we finally went to the host.
                     
                     Had another small business that stole some with another web designer.  OK to that point, but he got quite irate when I waited my 48 hours and went to the host, which shut down his site.  Shut down for a week or so before he noticed, it hurt his business and he felt that I should have waited until he saw my complaint and responded, no matter how long it took.  Obviously wasn't going to happen, but that's what HE thought I should have done.

                     replyreport
                     1. 77

                        lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                        Haha. I would have said I received a notification saying that my email was opened. Just for the fun of it. Treat dumb with dumb

                        replyreport
                        1. 88

                           wildernessposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                           

                           replyreport
      2. 77

         lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Happens too much, not many people have the time nor patience to follow up to find out if the person did actually take down the article. It happens so much that it's just easier to file a DMCA directly.

         replyreport
3. 77

   lobobrandonposted 6 years ago

   Don't bother waiting, do when Glenn says and file a DMCA. This is the Google DMCA tool: https://support.google.com/legal/answer/3110420
   
   Btw, Glenn can you send me an email or something with a link to your GA guide? I can't find it and can't seem to contact you. I posted a comment trying to ask you for this, but I guess the mods didn't let it go through.

   replyreport
   1. 96

      Glenn Stokposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Brandon, I’m curious to know how you tried to contact me. All methods work, such as “Contact the Author” on any of my articles.
      
      In any case, not sure which one you mean. I have a guide on AdSense tracking, not GA. If that’s the one you mean, the title is “Tracking Articles With AdSense: Step-By-Step Guide for HubPages” — the easiest way to find any of my HubPages tutorials is to click the home icon on my profile for my author index site. Then click the HubPages logo.

      replyreport
      1. 77

         lobobrandonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         I couldn't find the contact the author button on your hubs And the usual way I used to use under fan mail was not there either.
         
         I was so sure you had one on Google Analytics, probably mistaken Wanted to link out to it from the hub I just published.

         replyreport
         1. 96

            Glenn Stokposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Sorry, I forgot I recently shut that off because I was inundated with people trying to get me to respond to silly questions just so they get my email address. I just turned it back on. For now anyway.
            
            I did have sections about using GA in my other tutorials, but I would have to check which one. I recently did a revamp and many of them to bring them up to present standards.
            
            Thanks for wanting to link to me. I noticed you wrote a helpful guide and plan to read it after the weekend. You are always very helpful to people in the forums, and I’m sure your guide has a lot to offer as well. I look forward to reading it myself.

            replyreport
4. 92

   Alyssa Nicholposted 6 years ago

   Thank you Glen!
   And thank you for the link, Brandon!

   replyreport