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Old 21-07-07
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  My website's been ripped v 2.0

No fun reading about Rob's bingo site getting ripped (looks great by the way) and glad it's getting resolved.

Checking for one of my ppc ads appearing yesterday, saw an ad for a box set I'm promoting. Been honoured to have had my designs and content copied on a few occasions now so thought I'd check out the destination link.

First, here's my page

Their page...
Dvd-boxsets.com/lost3/

Some side on side action

I'm as big a fan as the next man of the infinite monkey theory and given that the internet's so vast maybe it is just possible that someone could create the same design as mine by sheer chance.

But alas, they even have "DVD Collections Home Page" in 'their' source code and my css stylesheet and images and buttons and text and... it's probably stretching that idea too far.

Don't like seeing it happen to others and it's just a plain hassle to deal with myself but what really gets me is that with the Creative Commons movement there's now so much great quality free css design templates, cool icons and stuff out there that you don't even need to steal anything these days. In current marketing speak stealing's just so Web 1.0.

Can't we all just move along nicely to the grown up uberhyped user generated dreamworld of web 2.0 with a little peace, love and originality?

Grant
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Old 21-07-07
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

Slightly trickier - I'm assuming that you're using some of those images under a non-transferable licence which makes asserting your rights to use them more complex.

However, assuming that you wrote the text then you can ask for a removal of their page based on that reason.

Before I go on.. just a reminder that I Am Not A Layer (IANAL).

In general you seem to find two different types of content copying:

The first, and most serious, is where an entire website or a substantial portion of it is copied. Sometimes it can be the design, sometimes it can be the text. If someone has carried out this sort of large-scale copying then you can assume that it is a deliberate act of intellectual property theft.

In the case of a large-scale rip then you have several choices. The first and simplest is to send a Cease and Desist notice. You can do this by email, but if the other party is in the UK then you can send it in writing via Special Delivery - this has to be signed for by the other party. If sending a cease and desist then be polite but very firm, and never threaten any kind of legal action that you are not prepared to follow up. Three days notice is usually enough to completely remove the content.

If the offending site is hosted in the US (regardless of the site's ownership) then you can file a DMCA notice with the host to require them to take down the site. DMCA notices have to be precisely worded (there are plenty of examples online) and they may have to be filed by fax or post. However, they are free to file and the US host is legally obliged to act on them. (see FAQ about DMCA Safe Harbor Provisions -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse for more information)

You can also file a DMCA notice with Google (see http://www.google.com/dmca.html). This will effectively remove the site from Google's index which is pretty effective.

The second common type of copying is where an individual page or elements have been copied. While this is still a breach of IP laws, this can often happen because someone mistook your ad copy for a press release or some other reusable sales material. In these cases it is typically more productive to contact the other site and explain the problem precisely.. usually that will resolve the problem quite quickly. Again, set a short but reasonable deadline (I suggest 3 days).

It may seem that a single page isn't worth pursuing - but anyone who understands the phrase "Duplicate Content Penalty" will understand the issue. I have had several occassions when I have lost all traffic to a page because someone else has copied it and mine has been counted as a "duplicate".. so not only have then taken your ad copy, they've taken all your traffic too.

Of course, if they don't take down the material you can pursue it with DMCA notices, C&Ds and even legal action,


I think in this particular case, it's quite possible that the page has been copied assuming that it is some sort of marketing template provided by the series producers. I would firmly but politely state that you expect it to be remove as soon as possible so that the issue can be resolved amicably.
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Old 21-07-07
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

Even using the same meta details. Description and keywords etc.
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Old 21-07-07
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

Thanks for the comprehensive reply Dynamoo.

Agreed that it is slightly tricky when using images that are based on commercial tv/dvd promotional images though I would argue that I’m using the images with fair use to promote their show and product. If I was asked by the copyright owners to remove an image for copyright infringement I’d do so in a second.

I can also understand that someone who’s not a designer just sees a Lost banner and would think no big deal. In reality it took me a few hours to create as it’s made up of several images, quotes, textures and backgrounds and experimenting with different layouts. The dvd image is also adapted with the drop shadow and background. Ok it’s not Michaelangelo’s artwork we’re talking about but when you go to that effort to differentiate your site from a thousand others you want to protect it and not have to compete on adwords with mirrored reflections of your own site.

Quote:
I think in this particular case, it's quite possible that the page has been copied assuming that it is some sort of marketing template provided by the series producers.
I’d like to think it was so innocent but I doubt it. For one the guy has edited the banner in a photo editing program to clone out the ‘DVD Collections’ text, why go to all that bother if it’s just a marketing template?

Secondly the idea that a websites pages and design could be construed as a marketing template that can be freely copied without thinking you’re doing something a bit naughty is a bit much for me to believe.

He might have copied more than a simple page, only found this one so far. No reply on the phone so I’ll send a firm but polite mail as you suggest and hopefully all will be resolved amicably.
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Old 21-07-07
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

Your site looks top notch ! love the design of it, makes me want to buy lost right now
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Old 21-07-07
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

thank you sir, buy two
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Old 21-07-07
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

Quote:
Originally Posted by max99 View Post
Your site looks top notch ! love the design of it, makes me want to buy lost right now
I agree, the site looks very smart. And what an excellent price comparison section too
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Old 21-07-07
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

Thanks Jon, nice to get an impartial review of the price comparison too
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Old 21-07-07
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

Like your page. Noticed a spelling mistake though in the first sentence:

So it's finally here... well not quite but Lost Season 3 is available to pre-oder
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Old 21-07-07
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

Just wanted to throw my hat into the ring to say that I agree that the duplication of the page does go a bit beyond naivity - especially if your image has been edited to remove the URL of your site.

Hopefully that polite email will sort everything out.

Love the look of your site too. Do you mind me asking how do the price comparison stuff? Is it just hard coding or do you use something like a product feed/CMS module?

Thanks again for the help.
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  Re: My website's been ripped v 2.0

Quote:
Originally Posted by savespy View Post
Thanks Jon, nice to get an impartial review of the price comparison too
I'm not sure that the postage charges are always showing correctly though ... sorry to hijack the thread
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