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