Tools: Tracking down copyright violations (Take II)

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Kelly Smith wondered: <<Several years ago I wrote an essay and  
published it to the web. Some time later someone let me know that it  
had been translated into German and reposted without my knowledge or  
consent.>>

Sympathies. It's always flattering when someone asks for permission  
to translate our work (after all, the goal is to be read, no?), but  
the key word there is "asks". Also, it's important to distinguish  
between plagiarism (pretending it's their work) and publishing your  
work with full acknowledgment; the latter is still annoying and  
probably illegal (depending on copyright), but far less offensive.

<<I suppose this tool will only find copies that are in the original  
language? (Since I don't have a German version to test it with.)>>

My assumption is that it effectively Googles text from your article,  
so I can't imagine how you could detect translations.

<<Also, once you discover the stolen property, how does one go about  
having it removed or receiving compensation for it? Especially if the  
thief is in another country?>>

A few thoughts: http://www.copyscape.com/respond.php? 
PHPSESSID=a8aa59b165d64ff05529907f0111d00f (or go to the root URL and  
click the link for "plagiarism".

Most violations are innocent -- that is, there's a broad and  
incorrect perception that anything found on the Web is not  
copyrighted. (Don't forget that most people, unlike us, are not  
professional creators of intellectual property.) Some people do it  
because they figure no harm is done, and will stop as soon as you  
complain. Others do it with malice aforethought (i.e., desiring to  
profit somehow from your work), but I suspect that when strongly  
confronted, most such people in countries that are signatory to the  
Berne convention on copyright will back down in a hurry. That's  
particularly true if you parrot back the appropriate intimidating  
legal jargon, making you seem far smarter than they are (and more  
likely to be a lawyer <g>).

I'm not sure whether the U.S. ever formally signed the treaty, but in  
practice, my understanding is that U.S. courts will enforce  
comparable protections on your rights.


----------------------------------------------------
-- Geoff Hart
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
www.geoff-hart.com
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