To get a flavor of what they copied here is one of my posts:

http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/2007/02/dinner_tuxedoes_and.html

Here is the ripoff:

http://politics.boogietrain.nl/1970/01/01/dinner-tuxedos-and-the-eiffel-tower/

I changed the photo they hotlinked to, so you could see it was stolen from me. The idiots don’t even bother looking at the posts they just want ad revenue.

So far no reponse from google.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMCA#Example_of_DMCA_Takedown_Provision

I immediately looked at the archive, to find my blog was older by about three months. Besides, could just be by chance…not like the title is that creative.

I have no grounds for legal action, as titles are not protected. She is not taking any of my stuff and putting it under her own name. And finally, she only posts on rare occasions (three times since she began in June). That being said, it did make me a little pissy.

But, it’s all about branding, right? just like coca.cola and pepsi.cola .. They both can be good. You aren’t the only one that can help bloggers earn money.

I’m with SYNTAGMA .. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it either .. you probably have more subscribers to your feed then they do in total hits for the month. Even so, I think bringing it to the attention of your readers every once in a while is perfectly O.K. There are a lot of comments on this post. Your readers won’t get confused.

One of the things I’ve learned about the internet though…it’s just as ugly as the real world. And sometimes uglier.

I have had people “steal” variations of my domain names, and some have even stolen my content (though almost every single bit of it is free to “steal” with attribution).

I only go after them if they have taken content and haven’t attributed it back to be. I’ve had that happen fairly often, and most of the time it’s easily straightened out though now and then there’s some jerk who ignores me and keeps on doing it.

If someone is stealing lots of my stuff and running Google ads, I would complain to Google, of course.

But lawyers? No, not worth it. Too much trouble for too little gain and if out of the country, little chance of success.

In the end it the best content that brings them back- and also the other guy might not have the stamina you do! If they have no original ideas of their own, they may not last long anyway, before they start stealing your stuff word for word- keep an eye on them.

Frugal for Life

The best way to combat true copycat blogging, i. e. another site that is basically running your exact posts somewhere else is to write some totally original articles that can easily be called out. Original material is necessary to develop a cult following of readers anyway.

They don’t identify themselves and have no original content or thought. I don’t read anonymous blogs, no more than I’d read an anonymous book. Proof, testimonials, etc are reasons to read. Words on a page are not.

Not much chance that they will be any competition.

This happens offline all the time.

You can steal a variation of a name, BUT you cannot steal the spirit of the person behind it. Without your thought process, energy, determination and contacts, they have no shot. Otherwise we’d all be pro’s and making $15 gazillion a day.

Listen to Paul McCartney…” Let it be, let it be…”

Firstly, similar content – that’s the nature of the blogging world – if you have a decent sized newsfeed going you’d more than likely see that many blogs post the same stories – it’s the editorial comment of the blogger that counts and that what makes a geat blog from one that simply links to others without comment. You have a unique editorial component to your blog which is what makes you so popular.

Similar Name – that’s a fine line. If you’re a professional blogger and earn your living from it then you have a right to protect your name to some degree – more so, (and this is important) if a similar type name is being used together with the same kind of layout and colors as yours. To me, that’s basic deception., and you should act on that.

To me these kind of bloggers are pathetic – they have no orginality to do it their own way – and I’m not talking about not doing the same niche .. that’s fine, competition is fierce, but do it in their own way.

The problems with some of the comments before saying that you are the original and people know that, but is that true? As more and more people get into blogging they don’t know you from a bar of soap. They come to a blog looking for quality information – if they don’t know you and visit these other sites, you loose out and they are seen as the expeets – that;s what these sites are playing at.

Going the legal route should be the last choice, but because you are a “professional” blogger and it’s your livelihood at stake it’s a viable way. Possibly shaming them is another way, word of mouth and the blogging community go a long way. That kind of pressure might work. Other than that simply keep a close eye on them and record all suspicious activity.

Maybe you should add/change your tag line to read: “… the original problogger”. And seriously look at trademarking, if that’s even possible now.

If it was my blog that was essentially being copied – I don’t really know why anyone would bother -;) I’d act fast and decisive. Maybe you’re just too much of a nice guy Darren … maybe it’s time to get tough ;-)

Off late, I have been reading your problogger.net. I read every bit of information you provide here. It seems you are really concerned about the websites/blogs mushrooming on the same topic or with similar name. First of all, my view is that Nobody, I repeat, Nobody can beat the ORIGINAL. So if you are original, there is no need to worry. Consider the Net a broad platform, so everybody has the right to express his thoughts/expression the way he or she wants. So mostly all people pick up the idea from here or there at one time or the other, think about it and then express it in their own words, which gives an impression of Copying. So in my opinion, this is not a copy.

Regarding URL, nobody can use your unique website/blog name. You are using problogger.net, so anybody is free to register Look-alike URLs like problogger.ca, problogger.us, problogger.org, problogger…..blah blah blah. It is also not a copy.

Finally, it seems to me that you are not comfortable or perhaps ready for the competition (forgive me for this). In my opinion, once you start facing the reality then you will go and explore and diversify to write on other topics. would like to have you opinion here.

I think full preventive, pre-emptive unilateral aggression is the way to go. :P

Firstly – I would say that blatant plagiarism is infuriating and I think in this hypothetical case it would be well and truly overstepping the mark.
Secondly – plagiaristic activity is quite different from properly referenced and accredited material appearing on other sites. Afterall what is the blogosphere if you can’t create and exchange knowledge.
Thirdly – overlapping of content and competition on sites is inevitable. It is the distinction between properly accredited material and plagiarized material that matters.

RE lawyers. A web CEO friend of mine who encountered a similar problem, new that his product and service were vastly superior and simply traded the plagiarizer into the ground very quickly. I think in your hypothetical problem you would have no problem in doing the same.

So many people want to make a quick buck, but don’t actually want to put any effort into it. Hence, the sudden appearance of all the sites that are ’scraping’ content and the sudden influx of ‘automatic content generation’ tools.

I firmly believe in finding something that works and modelling (copying) it and hopefully, improving upon it. The owner of those other sites clearly fails to do that and cannot even be bothered to design his own theme.

If you want to stand out from the crowd, then some kind of design element is essential, because content just isn’t enough these days. Unless you were the first of course, and have already got an established reader base.

It is quite clear that this is one of the more informative and useful sites for bloggers and is a daily read for me, because of the excellent writing and the distinct design.

I am new to blogging and PHP, but I actually took the time to modify the WordPress templates and do my own graphics for the header (they are not great, but I tried).

I also added an ‘About Me’ page with a photo for all to see. It is embarrassing, because I hate having my photo taken and talking about myself, but I think it is essential for establishing online credibility.

The Net is becoming less anonymous these days, due to the widespread use of broadband and digital cameras. So I do get a little curious if there isn’t a picture of the author on their site. Maybe it is because they don’t have access to a camera, are camera-shy, or are just plain ugly and doing us all a favour (yes, I know that I am no oil painting!), but a photo imlpies that you are not afraid for people to know who you are.

I personally wouldn’t be too bothered about his choice of domain names, because most people wouldn’t think to use those domain extensions anyway and would soon move on, because of the distinct lack of interesting content.

With regards to the copying though, have you considered the possibility of turning your site name and/or tag line into a trademark? I am not to up on this, but it is something worth considering.

At least then you would have the law on your side.

2 months ago I started a little f**k around on the net called “The Burning Question”, at a blogger address. I lifted the idea from a radio show over here in the UK where people wrote in with their questions and “Elvis Presley” answered them in a humorus way. I thought “hmm, cool idea for a blog- fresh content every day and not the usual news etc”.
After a week, this little mess around suddenly started getting quite popular, so I had to take it seriously. I bought the domain burnquest.com and designed it as you see it now. Everything is going great and I even stuck a forum on the back of it…. And that’s the problem…..

A week or so ago, a new thread was started by a new member who is (still) totally convinced my site is the latest incarnation of TBQ Forums aka the-burning-question.com. This site is currently on indefinite hiatus (despite announcing various relaunch dates) and has been since (it turns out) around the same time as my site went live. If that wasn’t funny enough, their site is run by a guy called Damian, and my name is Damien. I can see why this guy thinks we’re one and the same.

So far, I have had no contact from the owner, though I have reason to believe he is now aware of my site. I hope it stays that way. I’m doing my own thing, and so is he (or not as the case may be).

Of course, I was worried that all this could turn ugly (lawyers etc) as I have little evidence to prove that I didn’t “steal” the TBQ forum concept, or whatever was on that site before it was torn down.

On the upside, I welcome with open arms anyone pee’d off with their site being shut down and might be looking for an alternative.

If I open one called PizzaHutt and it’s in some small town in the middle of no where, I’d probably get a way with it.

On the other hand, if it’s in downtown Melbourne, then I’d have the Pizza Hut lawyers on my doorstep before the paint was dry on the signage.

Apple went after websites using “pod” in their name earlier in the year. eg iPodlounge changed to iLounge.

But if you’re just a little guy, do you go to lawyers? Do you want the bad publicity? Can your business survive bad publicity? Apple obviously could.

It’s hard to know until we’re actually in the situation. The first reaction would be to call the lawyers. But for a small business, more effective is quality of service. The copycats won’t succeed as long as you continue to do a better job than them.

There is one exception. If it’s a big guy (eg and MS, Google or Apple) who are stealing your branding, then sue the b’s!

You can also use the classic “The original and best site!”