I guess this was bound to happen at some point… I was surfing around on some blogs today when, much to my dismay, I discovered that someone had ripped off my "You Comment I Follow" Picture.
Now I have a gripe with this on two levels. The first is that this image was taken from my blog, without my consent and used elsewhere out of my control. The second (and the much more significant reason) is that this image was purchased from iStockPhoto which means that it is only licensed for use on my websites.
So I am really not happy on both counts, however I am not one to name and shame people without speaking to them first. Therefore I have sent a polite email to the blogger in question requesting that they remove the content from their website ASAP.
So I guess there is a couple of things I wanted to say/ask here. Firstly, to all my readers please be aware that the vast majority of images I use are from iStockPhoto and are licensed not public domain (just for future reference). The second is I am curious to hear your thoughts, have you ever had content ripped off your site (be it images, or text or the like), if so how did you go about approaching the person(s) in question and how did you prevent this from happening in future?
Stuart 
14 Comments
send email to them. Wait their response and dont forget to drop your comment to ask about your concern.
Hi Prast,
Thanks for the advice, we will see what response the blogger comes back with.
Stuart
I had a similar problem , although it was my posts that were stolen.Most content thieves take your content directly from a RSS feed so its better to add a notification to your RSS feeds. Another step you can do is contact their hosting services
Heya Nishadha,
I will keep that in mind, I believe that Feedburner has some features to help combat this so I might have to have a play with that.
Also at this stage the offending image has still not been taken down. As you mentioned another step is their hosting services.
If the image is not removed by tomorrow I will send a cease and desist letter and then pending that I will contact their host. It is just that I do not want to be a grouch about it, however it should not have been taken in the first place.
Stuart
Very frustrating, indeed! Especially when it’s copyrighted material.
Heya Cynthia,
and I don’t really want to have to take this to the next level but I have to due to the copyright.
That it is, I have still not heard back from the blogger in question
Will see how we go.
Stuart
This just isn’t right! I hope you get it straightened out soon. And if you have to take it to the next level…then do it. They did something wrong. Not you.
Kims last blog post..Hot, Humid and Sticky
I am having every post on my cat blog stolen through Feedburner, along with another cat blogger. I have contacted feedburner, but it seems the only thing is to sue in a court of law! They do link back to my blog, but it’s all done without permission. They also ignore emails! If you know of a way to stop this I would be interested to find out how.
Hi Kim, thanks for those kind words. I wrote a Cease and Desist letter and CCd his web host in on it. In 48 hours if I have not heard back I will contact the webhost directly.
And Babs, one thing I can recommend is have a read of http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/04/10/what-do-you-do-when-someone-steals-your-content/ Lorelle has some really good ideas on there (even though it was written in 2006.
Stuart
Heya all,
Looks like the offending image has now been removed. It still exists on their webserver however I am going to give them till the 48 hours to remove it.
Will see if they actually do this.
I will keep you all posted.
Oh and out of curiosity, do you all want to know which site is was?
Stuart
I know the comment. From stolen images to stolen texts.
That’s why I don’t use my photos on a blog anymore.
I’m part of the country graphics community and we have strict rules, meaning we use the common laws strictly.
A friendly message to the bad user, explaining copyright, a notice to take the graphic down within 72 hours.
If not, another notice stating the copyright laws again, giving 24 hours to take the graphic down otherwise the host is involved.
Most hosts deal efficiently with copyright issues, because most of them have them in their TOS.
Result: site is closed, no refunds.
Next step, report to the authorities.
Most times this works.
Good luck!
Laanes last blog post..Manic Monday #127
Hi Laane,
Thanks for that, I thought I was on the right track (and you have confirmed this). The image still exists on their server so I think my next step is the host.
Will see how we go, thanks for your guidance.
Stuart
aww that’s bad stealing someones content. I always ask permission before I post images on my blog. well unless the image is widely distributed(emails,other tons of sites) then there’s no point because you don’t know who the real owner is(except the author said it).
and I host it on my server not hotlink..
Daves last blog post..Biggest snake
Hi Dave,
I am the same, and when I use a widely distributed image, I usually put a clause somewhere in the post saying “If this is your original work please get into contact with me… so that I can provide credit where it is due”.
I mean for example, I want to use the Entrecard Logo in posts when I talk about Entrecard, however I am waiting for a response back from them before I do because I do not want to just rip it off.
Guess that is just me.
As for hotlinking, *luckily* I have not had to turn on hotlink protection on my blogs as of yet, makes my life easier if it is off (one less thing to manage) but I do keep an eye on it in case someone decides that they want to use up some bandwidth.
Stuart