This is despicable.
It is also a good reason for people who have free Blogger/Blogspot sites to leave and find another more ‘ethical’ free set up…like WordPress.com for example.
As most know..GOOGLE owns Blogger.
I am assuming because of their size, they just don’t really give a crap….
What am I blathering on about?
My site has recently been scraped for content by two sites hosted on Blogger.
When this happens with other non-blogger hosted sites, it is fairly simple to contact the hosts and owners of the site and ask them to kindly knock it off. I usually send a copy of what was taken and why this was wrong.
Mostly..this non legal way works fine. This is the first step before you have cease and desist letters drawn up.
It is the simple way for people trying to make cheap monetized sites back off.
Not so for Google/Blogger.
THIS is the nice NON friendly way that Google wants you to handle such ‘accusations.’
“Hello,
It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply
with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the text of which can be found
at the U.S. Copyright Office website: http://lcWeb.loc.gov/copyright/ )
and other applicable intellectual property laws, which may include
removing or disabling access to material claimed to be the subject of
infringing activity.
To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written
communication (by fax or regular mail, not by email) that sets forth the
items specified below. Please note that pursuant to that Act, you may be
liable to the alleged infringer for damages (including costs and
attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that you own an item when
you in fact do not. Indeed, in a recent case (please see
http://www.onlinepolicy.org/action/legpolicy/opg_v_diebold/ for more
information), a company that sent an infringement notification seeking
removal of online materials that were protected by the fair use doctrine
was ordered to pay such costs and attorneys fees. The company agreed to
pay over $100,000. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether material
available online infringes your copyright, we suggest that you first
contact an attorney.
To expedite our ability to process your request, please use the following
format (including section numbers):
1. Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you believe has
been infringed upon. This must include identification of specific posts,
as opposed to entire sites. Posts must be referenced by either the dates
in which they appear or the permalink of the post. For example,
http://example.blogspot.com/archives/2003_01_21_example_archive.html#2104575.
2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing upon the copyrighted
work listed in item #1 above.
YOU MUST IDENTIFY EACH POST BY PERMALINK OR DATE THAT ALLEGEDLY CONTAINS
INFRINGING MATERIAL. The permalink for a post is usually found by clicking
on the timestamp of the post.
3. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit Blogger to contact
you (email address is preferred).
4. Include the following statement: “I have a good faith belief that use
of the copyrighted materials described above on the allegedly infringing
web pages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the
law.”
5. Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury,
that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the
copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an
exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”
6. Sign the paper.
7. Send the written communication to the following address:
Google, Inc.
Attn: Blogger Legal Support, DMCA complaints
1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy
Mountain View, CA 94043
OR Fax to:
(650) 618-2680, Attn: Blogger Legal Support, DMCA complaints
Sincerely,
The Blogger Team”
Basically this says, that ‘we don’t care enough to check the site and your site to see if you are correct or not.’
This says ‘we will make it such a hassle that you will back off and continue to allow your site and copyrighted material to be stolen with no complaint.’
This says ‘we don’t care if the content is illegal when they are monetizing their sites with our very own Google Ads.’
This is another reason to steer clear of Google Ads also… I will be getting rid of the rest of mine ASAP. I can’t say I will miss the WHOPPING $20 odd dollars I have earned over two years.
I can see that as more scrapers and ‘make money online fast’ idiots get wind of how easy it is to set up on Blogger, that the scraping will just get worse.
And yes, I have copyright plugins for my posts. It did not stop this loser.
I know have to figure the same out for my photos.
It would be great if the legitimate Blogger users out there could kick up a fuss about this practice.
It affects everyone.
The affects are widespread. They affect the legitimacy of your site, your content and really…if you are trying to make some money from your site, it affects the quality of ads (especially with Google Ads) that will continue to be drawn to this form of cheap advertising.
And our page rank should not be used as a hostage either over things like this.
Google and Blogger need to be responsible to the LEGITIMATE bloggers out there.
How hard would it be to take a minute to check my content and the ‘accused’ and clearly see the theft.
Really.
Heather says
I was already thinking about moving off of Blogger, and this might be the final push I need. Just terrible.
How did you find out about the scrapers? I’m paranoid about my pictures…but also pretty lazy and not excited about taking the extra step to put a watermark on them.
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thordora says
No shit. I’ve been nailed by some asshat, and Blogger is irritating the hell out of me. I shouldn’t have to waste my time when I can prove its my content. Anything to make a buck for Google methinks.
I wonder if there’s anyway to make this an embaressing outcry for Google-if we could find enough people….I’m annoyed, but I don’t have the time to follow that ridiculous process. So glad I moved to wordpress awhile ago.
thordoras last blog post..Pere
Barbara Doduk says
Basically, once you put ANYTHING online you have to sadly accept it will be taken without your permission. You are after all putting it on a world wide free for all service. No matter what you think your rights may be, once you put it out there in the global community, you are basically saying come take this. It sucks, but it is just the way it is.
If you put your site out there in an available RSS type format, that allows “readers” to suck up the posts you make, and publish them on their “reader” site. It also makes it easier for other non-reader sites to suck up your feed too, and republish content from your blog on theirs. I have all too many times found my blog posts being reposted on a site that say for instance is sucking up all posts tagged with the word “love” or some other catch phase.
I understand the policy that Google has taken. Unless you can truly provide them with just cause to investigate – it is a waste of their resources. You aren’t actually financially losing any money because of these sucker sites “borrowing” your content are you? If you were, if the stolen content were of monetary value, you would be willing to find a lawyer and go to the lengths it takes to secure your investment, and your material.
I am not saying it isn’t annoying. It is, but you just have to accept it or stop blogging. I know that isn’t the answer most people want to hear, but again once you put anything online, on any web site, it is now out there for the world to take, to use, and there is only so much you can seriously do about it.
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San Diego Momma says
I absolutely do not agree that this is something you have to accept. You wrote the content and it is on your copyrighted website. Anybody who takes it is stealing.
Yes, the web is a public forum, which explains the stealing, but doesn’t excuse it. Books are published and distributed to the world. Does this mean that anyone who reads the book has the right to take the content and publish it as their own?
I say you publish the scraper’s sites here and let your readers give them a piece of our minds. I’m all for vigilante justice in these cases.
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Padme says
Ridiculous! Thanks for posting this…I’ll be looking into switching from blogger for sure.
Padmes last blog post..Back to Inanna
gunky says
huh? scraper? i’m lost. and obviously i’m not interesting enough to get scraped! sounds like it hurts!
gunkys last blog post..bigguns
Barbara Doduk says
for Gunky:
Wiki: Blog Scraping
Blog scraping is the process of scanning through a large number of blogs, usually daily, searching for and copying content. This process is conducted through automated software. The software and the individuals who run the software are sometimes referred to as blog scrapers.
Scraping is copying a blog that is not owned by the individual initiating the scraping process. If the material is copyrighted it is considered copyright infringement, unless there is a license relaxing the copyright. The scraped content is often used on spam blogs or splogs.
This isn’t a new problem. It has existed since RSS started.
You should read: RSS Feed Scraping Splogs and How to Fight Them
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