Comments on: Protected by Copyscape – So What?

By: mark johnson

mark johnson — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:17:13 +0000

All I can say is that the simple Copy Scape protection is way to expensive !!SEriously, why would you pay 5 dollars a month ! (more than hosting) for a simple php website to look out in the web if someone copied it. I would only pay this service if the 5 dollars included them trying to solve the problem..

Anyhow, to control the entire internet is impossible because the world is not ruled by the laws of a single country.

my .02 cents

By: rayaan

rayaan — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:45:35 +0000

Thanks Jenn! I’ve always always wondered about that “Protected by Copyscape” line on some sites, and what good it could possible be! I was actually wondering if I needed something similar on my blog, just to sound more official!

Thanks for saving me time!

By: Rich Pearson

Rich Pearson — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:17:10 +0000

That makes a ton of sense – a common reaction we get is ‘what do I do about the site that is hosted in China’. The answer may indeed be that you can’t get them to respond but you can certainly remove them from the search engine index and stop them from making money off your work.

btw, a great resource, if you haven’t already found it is plagiarismtoday. I have had several conversations with Jonathan who runs the blog and he is extremely knowledgeable about the practical steps to protect your content.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:58:57 +0000

Thanks for the disclaimer Rich. Being in PR, I do appreciate the transparency.

I’ve actually found that having stolen content removed from search engines is often easier than having a Web host pull it offline. I’ve also caused several content thieves to lose advertising accounts (usually Google Adsense). I find that the ad networks are the most responsive about dealing with a problem site (or page). I’ve actually now started making it a point to contact those two groups first, before dealing with a host if a c&d was ignored. It’s generally a good idea anyway, b/c they can’t act if they can’t see the live content if the host happened to move quickly.

By: Rich Pearson

Rich Pearson — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:53:29 +0000

Hi Jennifer,

Good points – having visibility of who is copying your work is just the first step, albeit an important one.

To protect, and I would argue, get full value for your work, you need accountability. For some articles, this may mean adding a link back to your original so you get the all-important search rank . . . or you may find that the site copying your content is a future customer. And for some of your work, you need a way to get the content removed not only from the site but also from search engines and ad networks.

Disclaimer in that I work for Attributor – a company that is providing the above for media companies like AP, Reuters and others. We’re testing a service for individuals that would seem to make sense for your audience.

Rich