What to do if someone copies your website

[seanh]

Hi Guys

Need some expert advice here. Our website www.enhancedwealth.co.uk has been around for 5 years or so and like all of you I have spend a huge amount of time (& money) building and tweaking it.

I have just discovered that another Company in the same town as us has copied my whole website!! Page after page has been copied and slotted into their design with their tags. they have even copied pages of ours that we haven't finished yet!

So, what do I do to fix this quickly?

Thank you
Sean

[Webnauts]

Did you try to contact their provider?

[seanh]

No, I know who hosts the site etc but need some guidance as to what to do now

[gsecur]

I have dealt with this before, usually I have a lawyer send them a threatening email and letter. To them and the host. Usually they know what they did is wrong and think that they are so small no one will notice. Getting a letter from your lawyer and there host usually has it down quickly

[seanh]

Thanks, will do this next week

[jackpowers]

I would definitely email them before I got a lawyer involved. It is entirely possible that the thieves will back off once they know that you are onto them. Maybe you already did that.

[kevinper]

They have already infringed on your copyright. A lawyer that specializes in internet cases can put a stop to it and if they don't stop, a court ruling will net you thousands and thousands of tax free income from the perps.

Been there, seen it happen. No one should have to put up with this c**p.

[albaby]

onw way to watch for this is http://www.copyscape.com/

[iaccess]

I've had this happen several times. Try the following, in this order, until you get them to stop:

1) Email them and ask them to remove the copied material. Be polite but stern, telling them you will pursue legal means if this is not addressed within 48 hours. In the US, you can cite the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and copyright law violation.

2) If no response, have a lawyer send the same type of message.

3) If no response, contact their ISP and ask that they take action, copying your prior correspondence as backup. In the US, cite DMCA and ask how to proceed.

4) Contact a copyright lawyer and ask for legal advise on possible action. While often difficult to pursue, penalties for copyright violation are severe.

5) If totally stuck, change your content.

Usually the polite email does it. When from a lawyer I've seen VERY fast response on this -- almost obsequious if they realize they can be sued.

[oavs]

Why don't you give us the link so we can also see this other site. Your site design looks very generic design can easily be mistaken as if has been copied. Have you checked the html code ? You should find some evidence in the html if any.

[kevinper]

4) Contact a copyright lawyer and ask for legal advise on possible action. While often difficult to pursue, penalties for copyright violation are severe.

If this other website is in the US then it is very easy for a lawyer to pursue. A good internet lawyer will even take this on a contingency basis because the money for the infringment is quite good.

Also, start taking snapshots of this other website pages daily. The copyright infringments are daily fines.

And yes, I say hang 'em high.

[monarchanurag]

How to find the host provider of the website which copies ones website and what should be done if the country of copier is different.

[Peopleunit]

If it comes down to it, see if their website gets spidered by "the wayback machine" - in which case even though they may do a last minute revision on their site, you'll have a record of their infringement.

Once a suit is filed, you'll need some evidence, preferably from a third party, and The Wayback Machine can provide that evidence.

The Copyscape site noted earlier in this thread seems worthy for detecting future infringement but in your case you've already latched on to the varmints.

I'd create a single cease and desist letter and send it to ALL the parties of interest at once (CC the email to the website admin, their host, your lawyer, their domain registrar, Google, etc.).

Chances are the problem will remedied in short order. If the infringement has been in place for a lengthy period of time (as shown from previous spidered versions of their site on The Wayback Machine), you might be able to file a damages suit in addition to the infringement. I.e., any income they generated from their site can be presented as evidence of damages to you.

For international claims, I believe the registrar's involvement can have the site/domain revoked (shut down), regardless of their home country - I think.

[TrafficProducer]

Here's some links I've put together that may help you, good luck:-

Web Master Law. Legal issues for Web Masters

[perry321]

Send them a short e-mail telling them to drop that design or you will send an e-mail to Google and Yahoo, putting in a request to have them banned, and then to their hosting co. That is, if they already don't have their own.

Don't be polite about it. They know what they did. You don't be polite to crooks.

Done.

[danners02]

5) If totally stuck, change your content.

Disagree - you wrote it you keep it. You stated they reproduced pages you had not finished yet - this means Google will treat your pages as duplicates of theirs once you make your pages live (as they appeared second).