Copyright Infringement of my website.

[KarenM]

A person in Indonesia, has completely copied my
website, including articles, advice, pictures
and several other works. This person didn't even
bother changing the text and has copied my content
word for word.

What can I do to notify this person and their webhost provider about copyright infringement? The site is
hosted by a US company. Can I send them a legal form
to stop all operations or to change their content?
Also, I know the laws are different in another
countries about copyrighting, can I take legal
action against this person/organization?

Please help me out.
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[ALawyer]

There is a provision in the Internet Millennium Copyright Act that could require a US hosting company to take it down or risk becoming a contributing infringer.

This is at 17 USC 512 (but cautious -- there were 2 section 512s....)

Elements of notification. -
(A) To be effective under this subsection, a notification of claimed infringement must be a written communication provided to the designated agent of a service provider that includes substantially the following:
(i) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
(ii) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.
(iii) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material.
(iv) Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
(v) A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
(vi) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.


You'll really need a lawyer to assist -- I understand that the FreeAdvice.com website was stolen last year by someone. It recently went out and got a Federal Court injunction against SJT Enterprises, Inc. of the Cleveland area, its owner Tim Smith and a distributor, Mascor Publishing

 

[Xjudge]

If the person that stole your site and the hosting service are not governed by U.S. law, there is absolutely nothing you can do. There are only a few countries that have restrictions internet content and access (China for example) other wise the internet is world wide and free to all. Your other option would be to go to Indonesia and seek judgement there but beware, the political climate of the country is fragile at best and the enforcement of laws and judgements most likely will not happen. You can hide your site behind a firewall and limit access but that defeats the purpose of a wide open internet.

 

[lawrat]

Get a lawyer and have your site tweak some keywords (metatags) and deliver a notice indicating the other site is fake.


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I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.