Copied Content

[Andrew]

I checked the stolen review earlier.
Then I checked it again later and there are boxes that say, "I stole this review.  www.Badmovies.org wrote it."

How did you manage to add those to his blog?
They're hilarious!  

He was using the images on my site.  I just renamed the originals.  Renamed copies of my "I stole this review" image as the name of the images he used, and uploaded them to the server.  Pop, they show up on his review.

I've already sent him an email.  If he doesn't do something about the stolen review today, I'll send a copyright notice to Hostmonster (his hosting provider).

[Ash]

Thanks for the info Andrew.
You did everyone a favor by nailing that thief!

About Reader Reviews...
I understand your reasoning for not policing reader reviews.

However...
If you happen to come across one of our reviews that you know has been stolen and put on another site, would you be willing to take a few moments to drop us an e-mail or a PM to let us know?
Kind of a nudge in the ribs to say, "Hey...  This guy is stealing from you.  Just thought you should know about it."

That way we can take care of it ourselves.  

[Andrew]

However...
If you happen to come across one of our reviews that you know has been stolen and put on another site, would you be willing to take a few moments to drop us an e-mail or a PM to let us know?
Kind of a nudge in the ribs to say, "Hey...  This guy is stealing from you.  Just thought you should know about it."

Yes, but it is very unlikely I would find them without looking for them.  I do not just stumble across the copies of mine, I cannot think of a time when I have.

[Ash]

Yes, but it is very unlikely I would find them without looking for them.  I do not just stumble across the copies of mine, I cannot think of a time when I have.

So you use a program to deliberately search for review thieves?

[Andrew]

So you use a program to deliberately search for review thieves?

Perhaps once a month (usually less often) I will check with some Google searches or Copyscape searches.

[Mh]

hello I'm sorry I posted your content on my site i wasn't trying to be a bad guy, I was just doing it to put something on there.i not to familiar with this type of thing so i apologize, please forgive me, now I know not to do it again. please try to give me a break and show some class with this type of thing because I'm not sitting here making it my business to bash you or your site which is very good i might say.I like what you have to say about films. It is funny and insightful . I didn't try to steal your work it was purely innocent and stupid on my part. once again i apologize for that ignorant act.

Sincerely,
 Mh   

[nshumate]

This "purely innocent" person asking Andrew to "show some class" makes my jaw drop.

[Andrew]

I did not immediately contact the hosting company with a DMCA notice and have not pursued any type of civil action.  In short: once the copied review was removed I let the matter drop.  I can only assume that the person in question means that they found this forum thread somehow and wishes it was not here.

[Rev. Powell]

I do believe the original "thief" actually didn't realize he was doing something wrong.  He's probably a youngster, and it kids today don't seem to grasp the concept that something intangible like words can be stolen.  Heck, most adults don't seem to grasp the concept.  He probably never even stopped to consider that badmovies.org is a for-profit venture and not just an elaborate hobby blog.  It's the dark side of the "information wants to be free" Net-culture.

That said, the "show some class" comment buried inside the apology suggests he still doesn't quite get it.  Andrew's little prank with the "this content stolen from badmovies.org" images was actually sent the message in a quite humorous and harmless way, and definitely worked. 

[CheezeFlixz]

He didn't learn anything, I see he/she/it is hot linking others sites for content, at least images.