By Melodee K. Currier
It isn’t as easy for artists and photographers to detect plagiarism on the Internet, however, one way you can search is by using Google Image. Here’s how: go to Google, click on Images at the top of the page and type in the image file name. There is also another free tool that detects images, Tineye . You can upload the image or type in the URL of the image and it will search for the image.
On eBay, if you want to have a listing removed due to an infringement, you will need to register with their Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program. Their program was created for intellectual property owners so they can report listings that infringe their rights. As part of their regulations, the VeRO member claiming copyright infringement is not required to state why the item is infringing, only that they believe it is infringing. They have a specific form you e-mail them each time you believe your rights have been violated. If they agree, they will close the offending auction. I have used this program over one hundred times, on behalf of a corporation, and eBay removed the offending auctions 100% of the time for us. It may seem complex at first, but once you sign up and start doing this, it will become second nature.
To ask YouTube to remove an infringement, first you will need a YouTube account. Then you can fill in their Copyright Complaint Webform. If you have multiple infringements, YouTube has a Content Verification Program which will remove the infringements from their site. They also have a Copyright Verification Tool to help search for the infringements. Their website is very user friendly and has all the information you need.
You will want to do a variety of searches, rather than just one or two. Besides the different ways to check for plagiarism that I’ve listed here, there are many others to choose from including wholinkstome.com, articlechecker.com and plagiarismchecker.com . A simple Google search will turn up more.
If you send a cease and desist letter to someone and they don’t respond, you can send a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notice to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) hosting the infringer’s site. You can find their ISP by doing a “who is” search on websites such as www.domaintools.com or www.godaddy.com
After the ISP receives your takedown notice, they are required to remove the infringing material. They are also required to give you the offender’s name and address so you can send them a notice, if you haven’t done so already.
If a website publishes stolen material and is using an advertising network on their website, such as Google Adsense, you can contact the advertiser. If you can prove to them the material on the website is yours, they will close the infringer’s account.
If all else fails, you may need to hire an intellectual property attorney to take the infringer to court to make sure your work gets removed or that you get paid and given due credit for it. In the case of website infringement, you will need to prove that your website is original and that you’ve owned it longer than the offending website. One way to verify the timing is to visit http://www.archive.org and type in your website address. You will be able to see the progression of your website since its inception. This will prove how long you’ve owned it.
Since being plagiarized twice, I learned a valuable lesson — to copyright my articles as soon as they are written. I hadn’t registered them previously since literary work created in the United States after April 1, 1989 is protected whether it has been registered or not. However, if you ever need to sue, you will have a better chance of prevailing if your copyright is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. The cost is just $35 to electronically register a copyright. What a small price to pay for your protection!
In this article, Melodee K. Currier shows you many simple ways to empower yourself so you won’t become a victim of plagiarism. Stay tuned for Part Two of this article
