This is never easy, but it is possible to have your images or content removed from an offending site. Hot linked images are easiest to handle. For an example of this, I refer you to The Deuce of Clubs.The Switcheroo is worth a few laughs.
For the rest of us who have to deal with offenders, here are a few tips;
- Contact the owner of the site and ask them to remove the content or image. Look for contact details on the offending site and send a polite message asking for the material to be removed. If there are no contact details available, try emailing
webmaster@the domain. - Use a Whois service to find out the website owner’s name and telephone number and contact them directly. Enter the domain name in the search box and the contact information should appear towards the bottom of the page.
- Contact the web hosting company used by the site and inform them of their customer’s abuse. This information is also available through a Whois search. The site may get shut down.
- Send a formal ‘Cease and Desist’ letter notifying the offending party that they must remove the stolen content from their site. Some sample letters are available on the web.
- File a notice of Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) infringement with search engines such as Google and others to have the offending site removed from their search results.This damages their trust and Google blocks them.
- If you need proof of infringement, you can use the Internet Archive to show that the content appeared on your site at an earlier date than it appeared on the offending site.Creating a screen shot of your site and the offending site will help.
Cease and Desist Letter Sample
Dear [name]:
It has come to my attention that you have made an unauthorized use of my copyrighted work entitled [name of work] (the “Work”) in the preparation of a work derived therefrom. I have reserved all rights in the Work, first published in [date], [and have registered copyright therein]. Your work entitled [name of infringing work] is essentially identical to the Work and clearly used the Work as its basis. [Give a few examples and screen shots that show copying.]
As you neither asked for nor received permission to use the Work as the basis for [name of infringing work] nor to make or distribute copies, including electronic copies, of same, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $150,000 as set forth in Section 504(c)(2) therein.
I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of all infringing works derived from the Work, and all copies, including electronic copies, of same, that you deliver to me, if applicable, all unused, undistributed copies of same, or destroy such copies immediately and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future. If I have not received an affirmative response from you by [date give them about 2 weeks] indicating that you have fully complied with these requirements, I shall take further action against you.
Very truly yours,
Your Name
