Warning: Do Not Steal Our Content
I spend a considerable amount of time writing original content for this website and other websites I own. None of my original content may be copied or republished without my express prior written consent.
In the last week, I learned that two different websites each copied my original content more than once. I am not a happy camper when that happens. The U.S. copyright law provides that nobody can copy or republish a copyrighted work without the consent of the copyright holder. Last week I asked one of the sites to take down my articles and that site complied immediately. Today I learned of the second site on which I found three articles that were copied entirely. I asked that site to take down those articles. Neither site had the courtesy to link to this site.
I am the copyright holder for all original content on this site, except for articles that are written by other people whose names appear at the beginning of the article. I do register the copyrights for all the original content on this site with the U.S. Copyright office. As the warning says on the right column – do not steal content from a copyright lawyer, which I am. If you steal my content, you risk having me file a lawsuit for copyright infringement in federal court and asking the court to impose statutory damages of $150,000 for each infringement. Take my advice, you don’t want to be a defendant in a copyright infringement lawsuit when the plaintiff holds a registered copyright.
Warning to Infringers: If you think I will not discover that you stole my content, you would be making a mistake that could cost you a lot of money. There are websites that find and monitor copyright infringement on the internet. See for example Copyscape. Infringers should know that KEYTLaw attorney Richard Keyt is a copyright lawyer and his brother, Norman Keyt is the copyright infringement litigation attorney who will represent me in the federal court lawsuit. I could be wrong, but my copyright lawyer will probably cost me a lot less than yours plus your lawyer won’t be getting paid to represent you on a contingency fee basis.
If you want to learn more about U.S. copyright law and the large financial liability incurred by somebody that copies a work that was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, read the following articles on this topic that I wrote in while wearing my copyright lawyer hat:
- Internet Copyright Law: A Rat Pilfered My Web Site Cheese – What Do I Do? Remedies for Web Site Copyright Infringement
- Top 10 Urban Copyright Myths
- Benefits of Web Site Copyright Registration
