Copyright infringment?

[bleeding_sarcasm]

What do you do when a friend copies your site? And not just a little..

I dont know if it is a TOS violation to link to her site for a side-by-side comparison.

 

[robin]

i am not sure. send a note to marcia or paul asking about this one. hard to say. i can find out about copyright info on websites in just a jiffy though

 

[bleeding_sarcasm]

well she appears to be changing the layout. the issue i had was that she essentially copy and pasted our terms.

 

[David Loftin]

my boss actually linked me to this site.. "copyright on the web". [Link]

 

[robin]

i do not think there is anything you can do about the terms thing. people go by others a lot of times or take from several sources and change it a bit. most of the TOS out there are very similar. it would be hard to prove. plus figure it this way. that is a testament to how much this other person thought about your terms, protecting both you and the customer. most people will email and ask but not all of them.

 

[bleeding_sarcasm]

Well, I know that terms usually come from everywhere, admittedly, we looked over like 20-30 sites to find things to cover, and have snippets from just about everywhere. But to get your ENTIRE terms section from 1 site, isnt that a bit much?

 

[robin]

when my site was up, i copied kelli's but i asked her

 

[PaulSage]

Publishing ANY material that you are not the creator of, regardless if a copyright notice is posted on the material, is a violation of copyright laws unless it falls subject to the "Fair Use" rule. Very little material is actually covered by the fair use rule, especially when it is taken from a website owned and operated by the original creator of the material. Making slight changes to a text publication, or altering an image or graphic does not protect you from violating copyright laws as you are not creating the original material. Using a picture from someone's website or an image posted on a forum to create a logo is also a violation. Just because something is posted on a forum does not make it "fair game." Copying someone's website templates or code is also an infringement, even if minor changes are made. Permission by the original creator must be obtained before using the material on a website or other publication. To protect yourself, I think it's best to obtain that permission in writing.

I will sometimes allow someone to use an image of mine for creating a logo or posting it on their website, but only if they ask BEFORE they do it. Same goes with written material from my website. You have to keep in mind, especially in the reptile "business", that the creator of such material has put a significant amount of time and funds into being able to create images and text. Why, as a "business", would I allow a theoretical competitor to use material that I have created? I hate having to say 'no' to people sometimes, but with the countless hours of work I have invested, as well as the photography and computer equipment that I had to purchase to create the material in the first place, I'm not very willing to give it away for free to someone else who seeks to profit in some way from it. Maybe that makes me a jerk, but I can handle that.

 

[PaulSage]

I should add that you automatically have copyright protection as soon as you create the picture, text, logo, etc. You do not need register the material for copyright protection, although you would need to register the material before you can sue someone for copyright infringement. Registering a copyright is a pretty simple process, and the fee is quite reasonable. There is a website that has the application in .pdf form on it, but I can't find the link right now. If anyone wants it, just let me know. I know I have it saved somewhere. lol

 

[bleeding_sarcasm]

Thanks for that great info paul! I appreciate it. I talked to her, and she has changed everything dramatically. I am satisfied. Thanks again!

 

[Bert-N-Sheila]

Paul while I do agree with everything you stated... however something as small as this is just about impossible to win. You would spend literally thousands of dollars trying to prove something that most courts would throw out. I do agree it sucks but trying to find an attorney for an instance like this would be pretty hard also.

Your best bet in this sort of instance would be a cease and desist letter sent to their host provider and to them both electronically and US postal. If you need to find thier address a good place to start would be internic.net and as long as they did not pay an extra fee for privacy you can grab a lot of info. Try it out if you are unfamiliar with what info can be obtained.

Tamara, I am not trying to say your issue is small potatoes or anything, I am just trying to say that with the internet as big as it is and as much information that is on it today and you being in the private business sector... you face a HUGE UPHILL battle against any and all copyright infringement cases and the best first approach would be to use a very tried and true scare tactic being the cease and desist letter.

Here is a template for which you can follow:
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-22-5082448.html