Filing an Effective DMCA Complaint

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdZdYpOV04UdYDeX4n4-PvPM_NV5lZMsMqs0VSwA85AuM8yFU8WbAAdHefKLo-_c-hf-IHu2eFoqVjh7f3tXxYiuK3Q_9PU1v6FGNeAv9ugGlU7GgG-jlnHA8xmShroaA6luHgShSn4M/s1600/OHNOStickGirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A stickgirl character with blonde hair and an orange bow asking for help." border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="329" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdZdYpOV04UdYDeX4n4-PvPM_NV5lZMsMqs0VSwA85AuM8yFU8WbAAdHefKLo-_c-hf-IHu2eFoqVjh7f3tXxYiuK3Q_9PU1v6FGNeAv9ugGlU7GgG-jlnHA8xmShroaA6luHgShSn4M/s200/OHNOStickGirl.jpg" title="Help Stick Girl" width="93" /></a>In the past, I've covered various ways of protecting your contents, and as a result, protecting your AdSense account. This is more of "that" ... because some foolish person decided it would be cool to copy the articles from my blog ... THIS blog.<br /><br />Filing the notice is the only way to really handle this, but the process is slow. Not only does it take time once you file the reports, if a person has copied a lot of your posts and are hosted on Blogger, the process involves including ALL the URLs copied, both from your blog, and from the copied blog.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydtzuc-Q5b9Scqk-3siR9OhrYbBx-TBHUJrZ51Wv7wBJZCJK_DHUxF9dVsF9Ro6AmBycWTZL3zjoZTvOPouaCR3stPFCHhru1SEl0pUu2MaN_rCCLEi5iPJGBLXAEFvjksMaBGnhjusU/s1600/BLOGSCRAPER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="A screenshot of my content on a scraper's blog." border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="517" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydtzuc-Q5b9Scqk-3siR9OhrYbBx-TBHUJrZ51Wv7wBJZCJK_DHUxF9dVsF9Ro6AmBycWTZL3zjoZTvOPouaCR3stPFCHhru1SEl0pUu2MaN_rCCLEi5iPJGBLXAEFvjksMaBGnhjusU/s400/BLOGSCRAPER.jpg" title="My Articles" width="252" /></a>Digging through content on someone's blog and keeping track of all the copied URLs can take a huge chunk of time, no matter how you do it. If they don't use the exact same post tiles, then it's harder to find the URLs related to your content.  Once you have that list, you'll have to go through your own blog to find the matching list of contents.<br /><br />Once you've completed that, you're ready to file the DMCA notice. No, you can't just give the main URL of the blog that copied you and say remove this blog. You have to list the individual URLs - and yes, I know this is frustrating and time consuming, but unless you complete and submit the process properly, nothing may be done at all.<br /><br />This (screenshot above) is not my blog, but it sure as heck looks like my content - my cartoon characters, my textual contents, most of them are also the titles of my posts. Even worse is the fact that this person has also claimed the copyright for my blog.  And that was, as they say ... "the straw that broke the camel's back".  I spent a day searching the blog for my content, made a list, and then got the list of URLs from my site. And filed the DMCA report.<br /><a name="more"></a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHMEwXRPyApySgzetse864vxUPCXPtNbNMDqBlqHtLi-5LcSMcPO41JfM6Tl2QE5YAoyO0xZblBpFpfmF1xPyLLqhHe0YrBFqwb33C33bnqktI8AiOytTEwYP1-mAPwy-0RytzeCKRsg/s1600/blogscraper2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Screenshot of a footer from an unnamed blog." border="0" data-original-height="54" data-original-width="731" height="29" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHMEwXRPyApySgzetse864vxUPCXPtNbNMDqBlqHtLi-5LcSMcPO41JfM6Tl2QE5YAoyO0xZblBpFpfmF1xPyLLqhHe0YrBFqwb33C33bnqktI8AiOytTEwYP1-mAPwy-0RytzeCKRsg/s400/blogscraper2.jpg" title="Footer" width="400" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEBYRc8hk4y0E1uLkvdNRpZ5RRNuzOf2mIsX134V2miVm0rqmBz7i8SJj3KdgikEcEHXDm5jRlQSugzfoXlDj-slzcSOJ5SiF1HirWi-nkbbWdbcep-VAlsUI-y59rl226mz3Bu54ZD8/s1600/stickgirlIndia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Stickgirl figure dressed in an Indian sari." border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="159" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEBYRc8hk4y0E1uLkvdNRpZ5RRNuzOf2mIsX134V2miVm0rqmBz7i8SJj3KdgikEcEHXDm5jRlQSugzfoXlDj-slzcSOJ5SiF1HirWi-nkbbWdbcep-VAlsUI-y59rl226mz3Bu54ZD8/s200/stickgirlIndia.jpg" title="Stickgirl India" width="127" /></a>Now it's a waiting game. Patience is an important quality when you file a DMCA. When you file through Blogger, you do get a link to your "removal dashboard" so you can check on the status. Currenly, it says "pending" ... that's because I just submitted it a few days ago, and from previous experience I know that the DMCA process can sometimes take as long as a month. A faster process would be really nice, but as with all things, doing it right takes time. And doing it right is really the only way to go.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJxO2PF5TGPVwM5fFLo2mD6B-nlsBmmjEMj8YaRj2jUyPumQnKeEUp1I5ar0cfsFTmtRohwpgcr2CZ0j8UjFlWMsY9kSToGX7Bdj1GEgHJ9yWIAR2cK94_ib2pGjpWwW0aUoWSNCf6Yk/s1600/RemovalDashboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="357" data-original-width="1600" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJxO2PF5TGPVwM5fFLo2mD6B-nlsBmmjEMj8YaRj2jUyPumQnKeEUp1I5ar0cfsFTmtRohwpgcr2CZ0j8UjFlWMsY9kSToGX7Bdj1GEgHJ9yWIAR2cK94_ib2pGjpWwW0aUoWSNCf6Yk/s640/RemovalDashboard.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The person receiving the notice will be able to file a counter-claim (which would be foolish in this case, since they can't prove they wrote the content.) and the process take several weeks from the time that person receives the DMCA notice. They have something like 14 days to respond (unless that's changed recently). How long it takes for them to receive the notice after you file can depend on how many notices have been filed recently.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGz5X5zqLoska9dMx0WTV6pwG9jh3wMEipJFD26-4GvHZZR8MV0moYTQ8g98CewaPwxTYsVKV0a_yOhNY5KTntG4YxxeNVWgkRDhC9fsChfNOmtlE73eAAOSCLKaUZD-iwrOCnTksU0TU/s1600/originalstickgirlsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Stickgirl holding a pencil with the word original overtop of her." border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGz5X5zqLoska9dMx0WTV6pwG9jh3wMEipJFD26-4GvHZZR8MV0moYTQ8g98CewaPwxTYsVKV0a_yOhNY5KTntG4YxxeNVWgkRDhC9fsChfNOmtlE73eAAOSCLKaUZD-iwrOCnTksU0TU/s320/originalstickgirlsmall.jpg" title="Original StickGirl" width="285" /></a></div>This isn't the first time I've filed DMCA notices, but it's the first time I've filed one through Blogger. It's also the first time I've filed one with that many URLs at one time, previously the most I've filed for was 7 at one time.<br /><br />People who do such things (scrape or copy content) are completely annoying to the people who create the original work. It's not exactly a legal crime of huge proportions, but people can be sued for doing such a thing, particularly if it can be proven that the person's use of the original content has caused harm to the originator (financially, or by reputation). I don't intend to go that far, and doing so takes much more work, and usually involves the need of a legal representative (which will cost you money, especially if you lose the case).<br /><br />For me, the most annoying thing of it all that the person has taken credit for the work I've done, and copied some of my ad code, and I won't sit still for that. Dumber still is the fact that some of my content still has my author bio at the end. That in itself would provide enough proof to the DMCA complaint that I am the originator of the content.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvopYnyZX77KJRvoT8Iclzz8prkQvSk2-3Aub4xhprUIFvcJBh5lPnweH5-cnVvF-TX5l1T03COOaA57LP3-jv1otnI68M6kYC-BRcKIv-OcBo-VE_MUJnyMmbX6Ey3pTUS6V_4HuqvI/s1600/Stickgirl7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="431" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnvopYnyZX77KJRvoT8Iclzz8prkQvSk2-3Aub4xhprUIFvcJBh5lPnweH5-cnVvF-TX5l1T03COOaA57LP3-jv1otnI68M6kYC-BRcKIv-OcBo-VE_MUJnyMmbX6Ey3pTUS6V_4HuqvI/s320/Stickgirl7.png" width="229" /></a>99% of the time when I find my work somewhere else, it's a single post, or an image used without permission. Usually in a case like that, I'll send an email directly to the site owner through their contact page, and ask them to either remove the content (in the case of an article I usually insist on this), or to at least credit me for the work and provide a link to my website (usually for images). Most people simply didn't know they couldn't use it without permission, and will remove the content, or provide appropriate credit.<br /><br />And while I know there are some of you that would like to retaliate when it happens to you ... that would make you no better than the perpetrator. It might be fun to think about sending out some little piece of script that would wipe the blog off the internet, but that's the wrong way to handle this sort of situation and in the end ... it would only give you a passing satisfaction. Doing the wrong thing in response to another wrong thing is never the way to deal with an issue.<br /><br />Always use the right methods ... be the "better man" and do the right thing.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">posted by J.Gracey Stinson </span></div></div>

Filing an Effective DMCA Complaint

In the past, I've covered various ways of protecting your contents, and as a result, protecting your AdSense account. This is more of ...

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Adsense, Blogger and the DMCA Notice

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">With the recent push by Adsense to ensure the quality of publisher websites, it has become even more important that Adsense publishers are vigilant about protecting their copyrights.<br /><br />I've already written about some of the ways you can protect your contents on <a href="http://helpfulinformationfornewbies.blogspot.com/2009/09/dont-let-your-work-become-duplicate.html">this post back in 2009</a> about duplicate contents.<br /><br />There is a new one also out there called "EmbedAnything". Personally, I would not use this, and not having used it, I don't really have any recommendations for it.<br /><br />My personal opinion is that Embed Anything might be fine for those who wish to share their contents, but it not an option for those who do not. I also don't believe it would provide much in the way of actual protection.<br /><br />Anyone can copy from your website, even if you disabled the right click function (which is totally annoying to most visitors as the right click context menu contains many functions that people use while viewing a website, not just the copy function) people can still copy your content. A couple of ways. Firstly, Firefox will show a notice that the right-click function has been disabled on that website, however, Firefox will still let you highlight and copy the text, rendering the "no right click" codes entirely useless.<br /><br />And if someone really wants to copy your text, they can simply view the source code for your page, and highlight the text block they want, then copy it. Disabling the right-click functionality doesn't work in source code view, so pretty much any browser can still allow people to copy your work.<br /><br />What's left then?<br /><br />Besides the free registry places I listed in my old article (which still apply), you need to file DMCA notices to get your copied works removed from the sites that copied them. Keep in mind though - if you had previously given someone approval to re-post your content, you should not file a DMCA notice. You've given them permission and that means it is not a DMCA issue - they posted with your authorization.<br /><br />The other thing you need to be clear about when filing a DMCA claim is that you actually own the content. If you've copied a bunch of images off someone else's website...you don't own those, and you may not file a DMCA claim for things you don't own.<br /><br />Lastly, in filing a DMCA claim, you need to file it with the correct agency. If the person who copied your content has a website and paid webhosting, you will want to find out who their webhost is (do a "whois" search for that) because that's who you want to file the claim with. If they are also using Adsense, you can file a DMCA claim with Adsense. If they are using Blogger, you'll need to file a DMCA claim with Blogger.<br /><br />You need to complete the forms fully and correctly, and from some of the DMCA notices I've seen on Chilling Effects...some people don't understand how to fill out the forms. Below are copies of the DMCA notices for Adsense and Blogger, with instructions on how to complete them correctly (click the image to get a larger view).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=lr_dmca&product=adsense">Adsense DMCA Notice - Online Form</a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sample</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccvyu301JFhTLJH4uGb4E4DQ07TiicO4bN9__b-vF8YnZos33qcrE0eryn8XXloxhzeboMZg4AN7BjLDyJ6yMBxabLplKgtyb0I29aQL67pL-Lyw-0WxLZqWVXCv7Mne2Rp0Pal4ZeO4/s1600/AdsenseDMCA_HowTo_A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccvyu301JFhTLJH4uGb4E4DQ07TiicO4bN9__b-vF8YnZos33qcrE0eryn8XXloxhzeboMZg4AN7BjLDyJ6yMBxabLplKgtyb0I29aQL67pL-Lyw-0WxLZqWVXCv7Mne2Rp0Pal4ZeO4/s640/AdsenseDMCA_HowTo_A.jpg" width="555" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=lr_dmca&product=blogger">Blogger DMCA Notice - Online Form</a></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sample</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMiRz6FnvfjjRyAiQO4ikZbXHLE2sljbgcWncRxrTCedf7c0rVMF5h4hftyw9AEoV5r1a8Jo5oA5zWbp6EDTlJxax3j-__jIHe0TjzbJidkdSOwjqt3yy4su5506jfE9qtNdBqcP3q3M/s1600/BloggerDMCA_HowTo_A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMiRz6FnvfjjRyAiQO4ikZbXHLE2sljbgcWncRxrTCedf7c0rVMF5h4hftyw9AEoV5r1a8Jo5oA5zWbp6EDTlJxax3j-__jIHe0TjzbJidkdSOwjqt3yy4su5506jfE9qtNdBqcP3q3M/s640/BloggerDMCA_HowTo_A.jpg" width="524" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Please remember - do not complete a form unless you are the original owner of the contents.</div></div>

Adsense, Blogger and the DMCA Notice

With the recent push by Adsense to ensure the quality of publisher websites, it has become even more important that Adsense publishers are v...

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Don't Let Your Work Become "Duplicate Content"

<div><a class="addthis_button" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=gracey"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/v2/lg-share-en.gif" style="border: 0pt none;" width="125" /></a><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=gracey" type="text/javascript"></script></div><br />In at least one of my recent endeavours I've come to realize that taking time to protect your work online can be pretty important for some things.<br /><br />Not just images, graphics and photos, but your written work, like blog posts and articles, stories and poetry. Pretty much anything you put on the net.<br /><br />Some folks won't worry much about whether someone has copied their blog post or photos, but for those who are concerned, there are some steps you can take that help. While there is no real protection for anything you put out on the internet, making the effort can do two things - offer protection from those who just don't know any better, and help to educate them about copyright and plagiarism.<br /><br />Anyone who follows any of my free blogs will already know that I'm pretty happy to share much of what I do with others. That's just my nature. What I'm not happy to see is other people claiming my work as their own. While none of these methods shown here will really stop anyone who is out to copy your work and put their name on it, some of them will help you find any work of yours that's been used elsewhere.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.copyscape.com/about.php"><img alt="copyscape logo" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367536270940471970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRIrv_DSBoEiSRva2FVJgxRWpEVNshXzLqpYetC-8k_hPai2iErWNKmiwdkWdDU6YWjL9T6Iry6SkiWfS-VP0NudgEZ7WFE79EzDBTLEE18jn-sMTbpm5m9njfiaXWUyZTxHPmjBmY15a/s400/Snap369.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 52px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 195px;" /></a> <a href="http://www.copyscape.com/about.php" style="color: #3333ff; font-weight: bold;">Copyscape</a><span style="color: #3366ff;"> </span>is a service that will search the internet for written work. They offer a free service (limited, but it works) and paid programs for greater coverage. You simply put in the url of the page where your work is displayed (a blog page or website page), hit enter and wait. It will search around the net looking for whatever article or written work is on your page and then list places it found it, if any.<br /><br /><a href="http://copyrightspot.com/"><img alt="Copyright Spot Logo" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367537347602966018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHZyLDVhEiOSlozpweDbGjBkz3kNc0rXsNMbIFLVCY9SWBm_xog87Oo0DBRtnMlAISJOyv_Fotaf-YL4DMVtGgcfNh8wQSK-ndnfYg-H_9GOjwAxFJbRPNlf0GK6GoBCPOmrwCGNduSWh/s400/Snap367.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 71px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 329px;" /></a> <a href="http://copyrightspot.com/" style="color: #ffff66; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #3333ff;">CopyrightSpot</span> </a>works essentially the same as Copyscape, though the service is at present, completely free. It is, however, still in "alpha testing", but it does seem to work reasonably well. Like copyscape, it is designed for the written word. You can also use their logo to show that you check your work against their service on a regular basis. While this won't stop someone out to purposely copy your stuff, it might give them pause if they realize you will eventually find them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkf6uyeKBhijFbWfYTSS1jcIJmarpwwPKKWTgMPVxMAhQkqBkQgf7T7XjjmHoICfGzsm1uLfhlcffQZvZCZdt5GbixWlxQ3-iRJgoQCGdCYw_OLEp20CdWQr8LkKtBCvO7lszXNnQZG9-w/s1600-h/Snap368.jpg"><img alt="MyFree Copyright Logo" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367539444269639970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkf6uyeKBhijFbWfYTSS1jcIJmarpwwPKKWTgMPVxMAhQkqBkQgf7T7XjjmHoICfGzsm1uLfhlcffQZvZCZdt5GbixWlxQ3-iRJgoQCGdCYw_OLEp20CdWQr8LkKtBCvO7lszXNnQZG9-w/s400/Snap368.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 98px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 334px;" /></a> For images, the same folks who put out CopyrightSpot have<a href="http://myfreecopyright.com/" style="color: #3333ff; font-weight: bold;"> MyFree Copyright</a>. Here, you can upload a small version of any image or graphic and create a footprint for it, then get a registration number to place on your images, along with the logo if you want. This service also works to protect a file of written work, or text whether it's a web page or pdf or other form of written work. It too is provided freely. Each item you register generates an email to your account, showing the date of registration and registration number. While this is not the same as registering work with the Registry Office, it can provide a "time stamp" for your work, so if it's necessary to provide proof that someone else copied the work from you, this can be helpful. Like any other service, it doesn't stop unauthorized uses (nothing really does), but it has it's uses.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.copyclaim.com/"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367679076778822690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3fZq42qZrQDUpEIhApyN8AgM8-drvDdnA89VwRBy25NJ_Q65B8lEQGZ_zicaZvL58spcz3oTQ8IU6X3yXgDhyN0euotz5fL7rScbiKeevA1a0kvrT2HzMoT3PzSKNyqqgmuPx4VFw0qQC/s400/Snap372.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 92px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 350px;" /></a><strike> And one more place where you can upload files, including chk sums and other details and get it time stamped to help protect your ownership of your work. <a href="http://www.copyclaim.com/">Copyclaim</a> is also free, so those who write articles, poetry, tutuorials or upload .pdf files might find it useful.</strike> <b>Note: it looks like Copyclaim is defunct.</b><br /><br /><a href="http://tineye.com/"><img alt="TinEye Logo" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367541389217542866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIDO103NADr6JoWrXI9HPqAveJVyEqeNzxjbmv0KNEbtfNcl9XIJYjFy3yDswMBJnV3_vX2UReQjuLSSGx8b97_OyGaP7aaxACuE2nemq89lSFBNhsEaHXh4UNfkX_vHTGtipART2JJIkX/s400/Snap370.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 103px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 356px;" /></a><br /><a href="http://tineye.com/" style="color: #3333ff; font-weight: bold;">TinEye</a> doesn't actually offer protection, but it can help you find your images on the internet. It's still in beta, and has a ways to go before it will become really useful, but it too works if images are used in a lot of different places. TinEye is essentially a "reverse lookup tool" for images - you can upload a low res version of your image and it will search around the net and list places where it's found. If you prefer not to upload an image, you can use the Firefox browser plugin, where you simply right click on your image, and it will search from that. Note that with the browser plugin, this won't work if you are using the clear gif method of protecting your image, because all TinEye will see is no image and a clear gif. There is also a version for macs.<br /><br />The image bank TinEye uses to search is still somewhat limited, so if it doesn't find your image, that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't in use somewhere else, it just means that wherever the image is, TinEye hasn't indexed that particular site or space yet. The more people who use TinEye and submit sites for indexing, the better it will get.<br /><br /><a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8922" style="color: #3333ff; font-weight: bold;">Get the TinEye Plugin for Firefox here.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Internet-Utilities/TinEye-Reverse-Image-Search.shtml" style="color: #3333ff; font-weight: bold;">Get the mac version here.</a><br /><br />While there are other similar services for protecting your copyrights, many are paid services. <span style="font-weight: bold;">If you earn your living with imaging or writing, you might want to invest in a paid service, and/or register your work at the Registry Office for your country or state.</span> But for the average blogger who might have a need to prove the work belongs to them, these free services should be sufficient.<br /><br />(originally posted by the writer, me, on another of my blogs)

Don't Let Your Work Become "Duplicate Content"

In at least one of my recent endeavours I've come to realize that taking time to protect your work online can be pretty important for so...

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