Hark, I've Been Infringed. What To Do? - Page 3

I was infringed once, or at least my Web site was stolen in its entirety. While doing a search to see who was linking to my site, I discovered that one gentleman had lifted the entire thing and placed it on his site.

After consulting with my legal staff — two Shar-pei dogs who can barely see because of their wrinkles — I e-mailed the infringer and told him that he had two hours to remove the material. Should he fail to do so, I wrote, my legal staff would be contacting him and that its bite was much worse than its bark. I copied the e-mail to the infringer's Internet service provider.

The gentleman e-mailed me back, saying that he had only taken the site because he liked it so well and meant it as a form of flattery.

Until then, I did not know Shar-peis could even grin, not to mention roll across the floor in hysterical laughter. They still can't slap their back knees without falling on their chins, but even that has some entertainment value. I e-mailed the guy back and told him he had one hour and 45 minutes left, again copying the e-mail to his ISP.

Former President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1998 the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that addressed several areas of the Internet. One area limited ISPs from copyright liability for merely transmitting information over the Internet, unless they are aware that it is stolen property, but it does require them to remove it when it is made known and proven to them.

That is probably why, at that point, his ISP stepped in and took the site down immediately, apologizing profusely. I called off the legal dogs, so to speak.

Dealing directly with the perpetrator and the ISP is perhaps the easiest way to settle such ownership disputes, but copyright law does afford owners the right to seek civil damages up to $125,000. Stealing such material is a crime. If you can document the theft, you may have a basis for pursuit of legal solutions in Federal District Court (see Necessary Disclaimer above), starting by contacting local law enforcement authorities.

Summary

Original material is copyrighted the second it hits your hard drive. It just takes a few seconds to put a copyright notice on a Web site, thereby eliminating one excuse people can use to delay settlement, so there is no reason for anyone who has original content on their site to not have it labeled.

If the content is truly valuable, then by all means spend the $30 it takes to get the copyright registered. Whether it is one page or several, it still costs just $30, and that will give you legal recourse if it becomes necessary.

If you wish to use other people's materials, you need to get permission, pay royalties, or whatever else is necessary to obtain the right to use it. Without that permission, using the material is little more than theft.

It is easy to look around and see all of the Kournikova pictures, the results of hackers, pirated software on the Internet, and think if they can get away with it, why can't I? The problem is that if you are the one caught, you may soon be wrestling around on the floor with the legal establishment. Now, who do you think will win?

What Is Not Covered - Page 2
Internet and Copyright Law