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Don Draper

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Back when I first joined the forum Swirt and others had some really nice suggestions for dealing with a local competitor who had taken language from the "Specials" section of our website and copied it verbatim for his own. I used the suggested email to this competitor and the material, while not taken down and not changed sufficient to my liking, did at least get our competitor's attention and let him know that WE knew what he had done. The discussion is here for anyone who is interested in the info.
Last night we were looking at various b&b websites for our area because these few weeks coming up are going to be a bit slower than normal for this time of year, and we wanted to be sure we weren't the only ones who were slower (we aren't by a long shot, which is good and bad I guess). But in looking at a different competitor's site we saw that she had taken our ENTIRE home page language (how we describe our place and our location) and used it VERBATIM on her own.
I can't tell you how angry I was. This was our slogan, which we re-invented when we updated our site in early 2010. I remember vividly sitting with my sister, who works in PR, kicking around different phrases. She came up with this amazing slogan that captured the essence of who we are and what we do, it was just such a cool symbiotic moment for the two of us. And now this miserable LOSER gets to just take it word for word and use it for her place? This is sickening.
I just wanted to share one of the websites we found that helped us formulate a cease and desist email to her and her webhost, and outlined what steps to take next if our letter is ignored. FWIW, we would normally approach this kind of situation by talking to the individual on her own rather than jumping to legal solutions, but we have dealt with this person before and words like "reasonable, normal, logical" just do not apply, it's a waste of breath.
Link is here. We are not going to sit by and watch politely while our hard work is stolen from us. And to think JUST YESTERDAY I referred someone to this person, because they take young kids!
NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED.
 
An easy way to look for this is to take a decent 10-15 word chunk of your website and put it in google with quotes around it. Any scrapers show up.
 
An easy way to look for this is to take a decent 10-15 word chunk of your website and put it in google with quotes around it. Any scrapers show up..
Yes, CopyScape is excellent too, just put your domain name in and it pops up copies.
OH MY! Edited to add: I just entered my competitor's domain into CopyScape and guess what popped up? Multiple links to TA reviews! So in addition to stealing my content she's been writing her own reviews. Classy.
 
For what it's worth, the copier's website is truly hideous and unappealing.
 
For what it's worth, the copier's website is truly hideous and unappealing..
heart.gif
Thank you.
We have realized over time that anyone who is staying at that placed based on the website is probably someone we TRULY do not want here. But I just can't let something that I, hubs and my family sat here and worked diligently on be taken verbatim without a fight.
Here's a funny for you Jeanne...we ran CopyScape on every page of our site (specials, directions, breakfast, etc.). When we ran the breakfast page YOUR site came up as a hit because I loved your word crafting on the "special needs breakfast" bit, but I ASKED AND YOU GAVE ME PERMISSION TO USE IT! I'm proud to be linked to you in this way, and thanks again for letting me use that (you and Mort, I think it was a compilation of you both).
 
For what it's worth, the copier's website is truly hideous and unappealing..
heart.gif
Thank you.
We have realized over time that anyone who is staying at that placed based on the website is probably someone we TRULY do not want here. But I just can't let something that I, hubs and my family sat here and worked diligently on be taken verbatim without a fight.
Here's a funny for you Jeanne...we ran CopyScape on every page of our site (specials, directions, breakfast, etc.). When we ran the breakfast page YOUR site came up as a hit because I loved your word crafting on the "special needs breakfast" bit, but I ASKED AND YOU GAVE ME PERMISSION TO USE IT! I'm proud to be linked to you in this way, and thanks again for letting me use that (you and Mort, I think it was a compilation of you both).
.
Don Draper said:
I'm proud to be linked to you in this way, and thanks again for letting me use that (you and Mort, I think it was a compilation of you both).
I think I stole it from Mort, first. But you are welcome to it.
So, an interesting thing came up looking at copyscape. I didn't run it for your URL but I ran it for mine and I ran it for your competitor. When I run it for your competitor, you don't show up as a copy of them. I'm assuming that they show up when you run it for your URL? So copyscape knows which one came first?
 
For what it's worth, the copier's website is truly hideous and unappealing..
heart.gif
Thank you.
We have realized over time that anyone who is staying at that placed based on the website is probably someone we TRULY do not want here. But I just can't let something that I, hubs and my family sat here and worked diligently on be taken verbatim without a fight.
Here's a funny for you Jeanne...we ran CopyScape on every page of our site (specials, directions, breakfast, etc.). When we ran the breakfast page YOUR site came up as a hit because I loved your word crafting on the "special needs breakfast" bit, but I ASKED AND YOU GAVE ME PERMISSION TO USE IT! I'm proud to be linked to you in this way, and thanks again for letting me use that (you and Mort, I think it was a compilation of you both).
.
Don Draper said:
I'm proud to be linked to you in this way, and thanks again for letting me use that (you and Mort, I think it was a compilation of you both).
I think I stole it from Mort, first. But you are welcome to it.
So, an interesting thing came up looking at copyscape. I didn't run it for your URL but I ran it for mine and I ran it for your competitor. When I run it for your competitor, you don't show up as a copy of them. I'm assuming that they show up when you run it for your URL? So copyscape knows which one came first?
.
muirford said:
Don Draper said:
I'm proud to be linked to you in this way, and thanks again for letting me use that (you and Mort, I think it was a compilation of you both).
I think I stole it from Mort, first. But you are welcome to it.
So, an interesting thing came up looking at copyscape. I didn't run it for your URL but I ran it for mine and I ran it for your competitor. When I run it for your competitor, you don't show up as a copy of them. I'm assuming that they show up when you run it for your URL? So copyscape knows which one came first?
I would guess they do have dates they look at, that is a great site, thanks for sharing it with us.
And I found a Bedandbreakfast.com.it (Italy) Our page was in Italian on there, that was pretty neat to see!
 
An easy way to look for this is to take a decent 10-15 word chunk of your website and put it in google with quotes around it. Any scrapers show up..
Yes, CopyScape is excellent too, just put your domain name in and it pops up copies.
OH MY! Edited to add: I just entered my competitor's domain into CopyScape and guess what popped up? Multiple links to TA reviews! So in addition to stealing my content she's been writing her own reviews. Classy.
.
grazie_mille_italian_thank_you_card-p137145922990302215q6k5_400.jpg

A wonderful useful link! Thank you, thank you, thank you...
Don Draper said:
Yes, CopyScape is excellent too, just put your domain name in and it pops up copies.
OH MY! Edited to add: I just entered my competitor's domain into CopyScape and guess what popped up? Multiple links to TA reviews! So in addition to stealing my content she's been writing her own reviews. Classy.
 
For what it's worth, the copier's website is truly hideous and unappealing..
heart.gif
Thank you.
We have realized over time that anyone who is staying at that placed based on the website is probably someone we TRULY do not want here. But I just can't let something that I, hubs and my family sat here and worked diligently on be taken verbatim without a fight.
Here's a funny for you Jeanne...we ran CopyScape on every page of our site (specials, directions, breakfast, etc.). When we ran the breakfast page YOUR site came up as a hit because I loved your word crafting on the "special needs breakfast" bit, but I ASKED AND YOU GAVE ME PERMISSION TO USE IT! I'm proud to be linked to you in this way, and thanks again for letting me use that (you and Mort, I think it was a compilation of you both).
.
Don Draper said:
I'm proud to be linked to you in this way, and thanks again for letting me use that (you and Mort, I think it was a compilation of you both).
I think I stole it from Mort, first. But you are welcome to it.
So, an interesting thing came up looking at copyscape. I didn't run it for your URL but I ran it for mine and I ran it for your competitor. When I run it for your competitor, you don't show up as a copy of them. I'm assuming that they show up when you run it for your URL? So copyscape knows which one came first?
.
I think that is correct, it can tell whose content was up first. So can Google, which is why you have proof if you file a DMCA with them. That is the last step, if the content doesn't get taken down.
 
An easy way to look for this is to take a decent 10-15 word chunk of your website and put it in google with quotes around it. Any scrapers show up..
Yes, CopyScape is excellent too, just put your domain name in and it pops up copies.
OH MY! Edited to add: I just entered my competitor's domain into CopyScape and guess what popped up? Multiple links to TA reviews! So in addition to stealing my content she's been writing her own reviews. Classy.
.
Does she have snippets of the reviews quoted on her site? That would account for it.
 
An easy way to look for this is to take a decent 10-15 word chunk of your website and put it in google with quotes around it. Any scrapers show up..
Yes, CopyScape is excellent too, just put your domain name in and it pops up copies.
OH MY! Edited to add: I just entered my competitor's domain into CopyScape and guess what popped up? Multiple links to TA reviews! So in addition to stealing my content she's been writing her own reviews. Classy.
.
grazie_mille_italian_thank_you_card-p137145922990302215q6k5_400.jpg

A wonderful useful link! Thank you, thank you, thank you...
Don Draper said:
Yes, CopyScape is excellent too, just put your domain name in and it pops up copies.
OH MY! Edited to add: I just entered my competitor's domain into CopyScape and guess what popped up? Multiple links to TA reviews! So in addition to stealing my content she's been writing her own reviews. Classy.
.
teeth_smile.gif
Glad it was helpful. Ain't technology grand?
 
One thing that may or may not have happened, that I have run into a few designers who simply steal content from a local site then put it on a site then collect payment for "building a website". It is possible that the inn owner knows nothing about it. I have dealt with this a few times in the past. Of course it is also possible the inn owner just really did a stupid and despicable thing.
 
One thing that may or may not have happened, that I have run into a few designers who simply steal content from a local site then put it on a site then collect payment for "building a website". It is possible that the inn owner knows nothing about it. I have dealt with this a few times in the past. Of course it is also possible the inn owner just really did a stupid and despicable thing..
swirt said:
One thing that may or may not have happened, is that I have run into a few designers who simply stealk content from a local site then put it on a site then collect payment for "building a website". It is possible that the inn owner knows nothing about it. I have dealt with this a few times in the past. Of course it is also possible the inn owner just really did a stupid and despicable thing.
I so wish this were the case, if I thought there were the least chance of that I definitely would have taken the diplomatic approach as I did with my other competitor.
We have unfortunately had to deal with this person before, and she is her own webmaster, she changes the content constantly and this is not the first time she's taken something verbatim from us. Last time (a few years back) it was a listing of area holiday events which I had written up for our Specials page. I had written a small description for each event along with links to more info. She took the whole block of text and simply copy/pasted onto her site. At the time I let it go because it was holiday stuff and was almost over. Now I wish I had reported her as it seems reputable web hosts will actually cease to host sites for repeat "infringers" as they call them.
 
One thing that may or may not have happened, that I have run into a few designers who simply steal content from a local site then put it on a site then collect payment for "building a website". It is possible that the inn owner knows nothing about it. I have dealt with this a few times in the past. Of course it is also possible the inn owner just really did a stupid and despicable thing..
swirt said:
One thing that may or may not have happened, is that I have run into a few designers who simply stealk content from a local site then put it on a site then collect payment for "building a website". It is possible that the inn owner knows nothing about it. I have dealt with this a few times in the past. Of course it is also possible the inn owner just really did a stupid and despicable thing.
I so wish this were the case, if I thought there were the least chance of that I definitely would have taken the diplomatic approach as I did with my other competitor.
We have unfortunately had to deal with this person before, and she is her own webmaster, she changes the content constantly and this is not the first time she's taken something verbatim from us. Last time (a few years back) it was a listing of area holiday events which I had written up for our Specials page. I had written a small description for each event along with links to more info. She took the whole block of text and simply copy/pasted onto her site. At the time I let it go because it was holiday stuff and was almost over. Now I wish I had reported her as it seems reputable web hosts will actually cease to host sites for repeat "infringers" as they call them.
.
Document it and make your case. You might be able to get the site taken down.
 
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