Dutch page stealing content, what to do?

[danniee]

Hi guys! I was notified today about the fact that a dutch site is stealing my content copying it word by word and the images as well. Obviously I cannot allow this to go on. What is the first step I should take legally if they dont stop this theft after my initial email?

Thanks

 

[danniee]

I started by making his affiliate programs aware of this fact, Casino Luck and Wixstars being two of them. I would guess no reputable brand would want to work with content thiefs. Next step would be to file a DMCA complaint from what I understand.

 

[Biti]

I would be surprised if those AG white labels care about it.

If it's Dutch, hit it where it hurts, hence Kroon (Betsson), Oranje (Betsson), Eskimo, that kind of brands.

I would also ask a lawyer to have a look at it and try to claim some money from them.

 

[danniee]

I would be surprised if those AG white labels care about it.

If it's Dutch, hit it where it hurts, hence Kroon (Betsson), Oranje (Betsson), Eskimo, that kind of brands.

I would also ask a lawyer to have a look at it and try to claim some money from them.

Thank you for your input.

Those are exactly the brands they are promoting. Will definitely take legal action if they dont cease with the theft. They've likely already made profit using my work.

When it comes to legal help, does anyone know or have any recommendations where I should turn?

 

[TheGooner]

If you try to get legal with it and engage a lawyer then you will spend thousands of pounds / dollars / euros quickly without any tangible results.

What are you going to do? Sue them for loss of income? Sue for damages?
How are you going to factually demonstrate ANY lose at all accruing to their copies?
It's very difficult - and will almost certainly never get anywhere near any court.

Let's say you've lost 1 signup so far - how much is that worth - compared to 1,2, 5 hours of lawyers time.


Far better to attack their profit motive by :
- contacting the site directly and asking them to stop - because copying is theft. And you will notify their programs.
- contacting the AM at the program and pointing out the copying.
- contacting their host and submiting a DMCA (digital copyright claim) and asking for the pages to be removed or shutdown.

That will take you 2-3 hours and while some efforts will fail - I'd expect one or two should get some tangible results.
Most sites I've contacted directly do react quickly.


(and probably just copy someone else - I didn't say it was a perfect solution)

 

[danniee]

If you try to get legal with it and engage a lawyer then you will spend thousands of pounds / dollars / euros quickly without any tangible results.

What are you going to do? Sue them for loss of income? Sue for damages?
How are you going to factually demonstrate ANY lose at all accruing to their copies?
It's very difficult - and will almost certainly never get anywhere near any court.

Let's say you've lost 1 signup so far - how much is that worth - compared to 1,2, 5 hours of lawyers time.


Far better to attack their profit motive by :
- contacting the site directly and asking them to stop - because copying is theft. And you will notify their programs.
- contacting the AM at the program and pointing out the copying.
- contacting their host and submiting a DMCA (digital copyright claim) and asking for the pages to be removed or shutdown.

That will take you 2-3 hours and while some efforts will fail - I'd expect one or two should get some tangible results.
Most sites I've contacted directly do react quickly.


(and probably just copy someone else - I didn't say it was a perfect solution)

That sounds like resonable advice. Thank you sir. I'll start there and see what happens.

When filing a Google DMCA complaint, what sort of action does Google take? Only removing the reported content or blacklisting the site in question?

This has been done systematically so only to remove the content I personally donr feel is a sufficient action. Having their affiliate accounts closed wouldin that case be more effective imo.

 

[Biti]

Thank you for your input.

Those are exactly the brands they are promoting. Will definitely take legal action if they dont cease with the theft. They've likely already made profit using my work.

When it comes to legal help, does anyone know or have any recommendations where I should turn?

You're welcome. These are the most active brands. I think that's the best way to go. I would look for a Dutch lawyer specialized in copyright. However, first, perhaps it's a good idea to find out where they are exactly based. If that's the Netherlands that's another thing than when they're operating from Costa Rica or something.

If you try to get legal with it and engage a lawyer then you will spend thousands of pounds / dollars / euros quickly without any tangible results.

What are you going to do? Sue them for loss of income? Sue for damages?
How are you going to factually demonstrate ANY lose at all accruing to their copies?
It's very difficult - and will almost certainly never get anywhere near any court.

Let's say you've lost 1 signup so far - how much is that worth - compared to 1,2, 5 hours of lawyers time.


Far better to attack their profit motive by :
- contacting the site directly and asking them to stop - because copying is theft. And you will notify their programs.
- contacting the AM at the program and pointing out the copying.
- contacting their host and submiting a DMCA (digital copyright claim) and asking for the pages to be removed or shutdown.

That will take you 2-3 hours and while some efforts will fail - I'd expect one or two should get some tangible results.
Most sites I've contacted directly do react quickly.


(and probably just copy someone else - I didn't say it was a perfect solution)

In court, there are kind of standard prices per word in case of copyright infringements. There is no need to prove that you lost sign-ups or that it's affecting your rankings.

The fact that content is stolen without a license is damage.

The price is around 0,25 € / word (eventually + 25%) and of course, they have to remove the content. A 1.000 words page with stolen content than suddenly costs over € 300 a page and has to be removed. The person or company that lost in court will have to pay the costs. Of course, a lawyer will first try to fix it outside of court, hence they will have to pay a part of the damage and remove it.

Essential is if you can prove who's the owner and if the owner is in a "workable" jurisdiction. It makes no sense to go after someone based in and working from Costa Rica. But if it's the Netherlands, why not.

Also, it doesn't make sense to contact a lawyer if it's about one page of 175 words of course. For a few hundred € I think you'll be able to get an advice of a lawyer if it makes any sense.

 

[danniee]

This is the response of the content thief, just...wow. Some people have no shame.

"Hi there,

Thanks for the mail. We are sorry that you think we are copying your texts. We would like to announce that we only gather information through your articles and rewrite them completely, which is also visible in the texts.

XX probably sees that the same information is on our websites. In addition, rewriting texts and gathering information is the most normal thing in the world. We think XX is a bad competitor and wants to set us up against each other. When the texts are next to each other, the differences will be visible.

In addition, we would like to report that our information comes not only from your site but also from other sites.

We write an average of 4 hours about a text which makes it impossible for the texts to be copied identically

I hope to have informed you sufficiently"

No mention of the stolen pictures either. The stupidity is beyond belief.

 

[Biti]

"Rewriting", "everybody does it/the most normal thing"... I've got bingo on my content thief crappy excuses bingo card.

 

[danniee]

The affiliate in question has agreed to "rewrite" the articles that he initially denied having copied. A while later I receive another mail where he says that he will keep the pictures because they "are found elsewhere" and not only on my site. So...

A: he admits to stealing content, thinking its ok because its supposedly found elsewhere.

B: its most likely a lie since I have unique access and if anything, the exact balance in the screenshots and position of the symbols obviously shows that they're my pictures that I have generated, something the provider would likely be able to verify.

This guy seems like a proper moron and disgrace to our proffession and I see no point in discussing the matter further.

I guess what I will have to do is file a DMCA complaint and have a word with the affiliate programs. I'll let you know their response in this thread.

 

[DaftDog]

If the person is hot linking your images then replace the images for those image url's with something rude.

 

[AidanLCFC]

follow this advice here http://oldwelshguy.co.uk/web-marketing/beating-the-content-thieves-stolen-website-content done it many times in the past. Do the DMCA with the sites hosts first, then google to make sure their copy doesn't out rank yours

 

[danniee]

follow this advice here http://oldwelshguy.co.uk/web-marketing/beating-the-content-thieves-stolen-website-content done it many times in the past. Do the DMCA with the sites hosts first, then google to make sure their copy doesn't out rank yours

Hi! Much appreciated. Will have a look at the site!

So far I have filed a Google DMCA complaint but seems like I have to do this for every stolen picture and article. I was hoping Google would have a general look and just warn or blacklist a site that is so blatantly, systematically and obviously stealing other peoples content. Just having content removed will probably not worry a scammer enough?

Can I file a DMCA complaint towards the host of the website as well? That would be more effective maybe?

Many thanks guys.

 

[Biti]

Yes, sure you can. If they consider your request legit and valid, they'll remove the infringing content.

 

[danniee]

Yes, sure you can. If they consider your request legit and valid, they'll remove the infringing content.

Thank you Biti. The host has responded that they will await the outcome of the DMCA complaint. If valid, they will take the site down. Fair enough.

 

[danniee]

An update. I have noticed that the affiliate in question has started to swap out some of the stolen pictures but a lot of content still left as well as the translated articles.

Currently I'm talking to affiliate managers representing Betsson, Wixstars and Affiliatesrebels, making them aware of the situation.

 

[petjah]

Let me guess: the website is nogp ?

 

[danniee]

Let me guess: the website is nogp ?

I rather not give the content thief any kind of publicity, neither good or bad as they dont deserve it but please feel free to send me a pm and we'll talk.

I got a reply from the aff manager of Bet Rebels. They have had a word with the content thief who apologized (not to me directly) and promised to remove the content.

I believe it when I see it.

 

[danniee]

Another update. The affiliate in questions seems to have finally realized he wont get away with it and has agreed to fully comply which Im thankful for as I'd rather put my energy on working on my sites.

Thank you for all the great input my fellow affiliates. If there is anything I can do to support Affiliate Guarddog, please let me know. This site is of great importance to all of us.

 

[danniee]

Just have to say this, Betssons reply when I notified them was extremely disappointing, claiming its "out of their control" and not even trying. In fact, Betsson was the only affiliate program that failed to take action. This is what they wrote:

"While we understand your frustration with this matter, we are not able to prove such actions given our capacity as the Affiliate Program provider. Unfortunately, considering that we have no control over what our affiliates post, especially if the reviews are not focused directly on our operations, we are not able to intervene in such instances.

Consequently, this matter is out of our jurisdiction and is something that needs to be taken up between you, the owner of that site and the relevant authorities.

We hope you understand our positon and we wish you the best of luck.

Support Team
Betsson Group Affiliates"

Did they care to even ask for proof? No. Did they bother or care at all, no.

Upset with the lame answer I told them I will now put them on my personal list of rouge programs since they seem to have no shame in making money through affiliates stealing my content.