lately i’ve noticed an uptick in the number of sites scraping my content and reposting without permission, primarily by splogs making heavy use of adsense.

so far i’ve issued appropriate DMCA notices of copyright infringement to the service providers of said splogs; i’m now awaiting responses. it’s mostly a pain in the ass for me, but i’ll be damned if i’m going to ignore it.

interestingly, by linking back to my original posts (an attempt to squeeze under fair use?), the splogs make it easy to track down their provider. wordpress automatically includes a whois link in the link notification; after following it, i search the u.s. copyright office service provider agents list for the contact information of the provider’s designated agent to receive notification for claimed infringement. and off goes a modified boilerplate notice of infringement (note: if you’re going to use the boilerplate at the link, proofread it first - it’s chock full of poor grammar and spelling errors).

i’ve also sent a complaint to google, as the splogs violate the adsense TOS.

bah.

update 10/29/07, 2:30 pm: i just got a reply from google, which fascinates me to no end because they provide an online mechanism for complaints regarding sites using unauthorized content with adsense. it seems they only pursue complaints made in writing and delivered via hard copy (snail mail or fax). furthermore, they prefer to contact the complainant via e-mail. nice double-standard, google.

i’m not sure what good it will do to send google a notice - all they do (according to the letter) is forward the notice you send them to the “responsible web site publisher.” (any guesses as to whether they forward such correspondence via e-mail or hard copy?) at any rate, i’ll see if the original notices have any effect before bothering further with google.

the text of their reply to me is below the fold.

Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:00:39 -0000
From: “Google AdSense”
To: [redacted]@gmail.com
Subject: Re: [#210841913] Google AdSense DMCA Complaint
Auto-Submitted: auto-replied

Hello,

Thank you for your note. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the text of which can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office website: http://www.copyright.gov/) and other applicable intellectual property laws. In this case, this means that if we receive proper notice of infringement, we will forward that notice to the responsible web site publisher.

To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by fax or regular mail, not by email) that sets forth the items specified below. Please note that pursuant to that Act, you may be liable to the alleged infringer for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that you own an item when you in fact do not. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether you have the right to request removal from our service, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.

To expedite our ability to process your request, please use the following format (including section numbers):

1. Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you believe has been infringed upon. For example, “The copyrighted work at issue is the text that appears on http://www.legal.com/legal_page.html.”

2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing upon the copyrighted work listed in item #1 above. You must identify each page that allegedly contains infringing material by providing its URL.

3. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit Google to contact you (email address is preferred).

4. Include the following statement: “I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above on the allegedly infringing webpages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.”

5. Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”

6. Sign the paper.

7. Send the written communication to the following address:

Google, Inc.
Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaints
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View CA 94043

OR Fax to:

(650) 618-8507, Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaints

Regards,

The Google AdSense Team

Original Message Follows:
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[redacted]