cbscreative
12-16-2008, 01:59 PM
As flattering as it can be to have your web content copied, there are some cases where it is just deplorable. The one I found a while back was in the especially unethical category.
A company in the UK, which provides many of the same services I do, had stolen several pages of content from my site. Most of it was used unedited, and where it was changed, it was either to insert their company name or alter an "analogy" to suit cultural differences. What I found most disturbing was that they were selling "original" design but passing off my content as their own.
I would post links for comparison, and I seriously considered doing that, but the offending material is already gone since the person responsible is aware that I caught them with their hand in the cookie jar. My main point in making this post is to caution business owners about the designers you choose to work with for obtaining services, especially web design and graphics. Another reason for posting this is that you should routinely check for your material that someone may have helped themselves to.
One source to check for stolen content is Copyscape (www.copyscape.com), but I can't vouch for their completeness. In fact, I have found it to be very incomplete, but it can still be helpful.
For the record, I received an apology for the theft, but it still is one of those cases where they thought it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. I was much less concerned about the theft itself. What irritated me much more was the way the offending web site mislead potential clients. The web design industry has its share of scammers, and unfortunately that often reflects on the rest of us. We probably have a bigger concentration of scammers then most because anyone with a few bucks to spend on software can call themselves a web designer.
If this thread helps prevent someone from being taken, or helps you catch a thief, then it has accomplished its purpose.
A company in the UK, which provides many of the same services I do, had stolen several pages of content from my site. Most of it was used unedited, and where it was changed, it was either to insert their company name or alter an "analogy" to suit cultural differences. What I found most disturbing was that they were selling "original" design but passing off my content as their own.
I would post links for comparison, and I seriously considered doing that, but the offending material is already gone since the person responsible is aware that I caught them with their hand in the cookie jar. My main point in making this post is to caution business owners about the designers you choose to work with for obtaining services, especially web design and graphics. Another reason for posting this is that you should routinely check for your material that someone may have helped themselves to.
One source to check for stolen content is Copyscape (www.copyscape.com), but I can't vouch for their completeness. In fact, I have found it to be very incomplete, but it can still be helpful.
For the record, I received an apology for the theft, but it still is one of those cases where they thought it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. I was much less concerned about the theft itself. What irritated me much more was the way the offending web site mislead potential clients. The web design industry has its share of scammers, and unfortunately that often reflects on the rest of us. We probably have a bigger concentration of scammers then most because anyone with a few bucks to spend on software can call themselves a web designer.
If this thread helps prevent someone from being taken, or helps you catch a thief, then it has accomplished its purpose.