DISQUS

Difficult question to answer as I don't know the specific cases. So my answer would be: it depends.

On one side: plagiarism is a problem and maybe setting some examples will prevent others from doing the same.

However, there are a few reasons I think it's not good to punish people forever. First, people make mistakes. They are punished for it. But after they have paid their penalty's, they are free again. At least in most countries, for most crimes. So you would think that for a (relatively) minor offense like plagiarism, one would not have to pay for the rest of their live.

Internet being more important each year, there's no doubt that a few bad online stories can hunt you and hurt you badly. Forever. If you're trying to get a job and potential employers search for your name and keep finding the (subjective, one-sided) negative stories about you, you're in deep trouble.

The problem is that most people doing the research on you won't take the time to read on and dig deeper. They see a few headlines and draw their conclusions. You do not even get a chance to defend yourself.

And that takes us to my second point. Justice. Because what we're doing here is in fact some kind of legal case. But then without the court, an independent judge or a proper legal system. Someone does something and is arrested, judged and punished by an angry mob of civilians (the bloggers). No rules. No honest trial.

Of course, it's our right to write about stuff that happens. Freedom of speech and freedom of journalism, etc. I'm only saying that one should be careful. And that maybe, even knowing how bad it is that someone copied your article(s), one has to think about the wrongdoers as well.

So, if the people you talk about have apologized and haven't continued with the practices, I would say remove their names. Just replace them with fictitious names and mention that the original names have been removed.

Great post again. Even though I wish we didn't have to write and read about this. Why are people so evil? Why are the good people (read: honest bloggers) taken advantage of? It's really so sad.

So Jonathan, is writing about the subject your way of coping with these problems or do you need some strong anti -depressive medicine as well?

So what hosting package did you take? The funny thing is I have lately read some posts about the bad performance of MT's grid server and people moving away from MT for that reason.

I am also looking for a good and affordable host for my sites. And as you mention, the admin panels and service is also important. Even worth a few dollars more.

Thanks for a year full of great content Jonathan!

Great article again Jonathan.

One advice for anyone looking for "inspiration": even if you don't commit copyright infringement by writing all code yourself and designing all images yourself, be careful. If a design is too similar or looks a bit familiar, sooner or later people will find out and publicly nail you. And that's not a pleasant experience, to say the least. Certainly if you didn't mean to rip someone off and you really did your best to design something original.

Interesting developments. Hopefully succesfully. [off-topic] Can't they put a tiny bit of effort in making that page somewhat readable? Ouch, my eyes..

Great article Jonathan, thanks. Practical information like this is of great value for everyone dealing with these matters. For many not knowing what to do exactly can be the reason to take no action. And that's too bad. In my recent case, when I contacted others about the copyright infringement of their material, most of them responded that they didn't have the resources to take action, not knowing it sometimes/often doesn't take more then a few emails to do something.

So thanks again, I'm now off reading your other new articles.

Thanks for the write-up Jonathan.

That's one good thing about the EU: the creation of common legislation for all countries in the EU. As markets globalize that's very important.

Hopefully this can be taken even further on a global level, so that international policy becomes more important. And besides the US and Europe, let's not forget Asia.

About the language problem: indeed it can be difficult with so many languages. However, I have a feeling that English is becoming more and more a commonly used language in almost all European countries. Especially since people working on the web are more internationally oriented and might be mostly from a younger generation. Even though we should or could consider working together in translating the most important information and documents. I could help in at least some languages.

What's also important I think is generating a better consciousness of the matter and spreading that knowledge. So that people feel they can indeed take action, even when an infringing party is in another country or continent. But with European and international policy becoming more important that should be possible.

Wow, what a story.
If you don't become a rich copyright lawyer you should become a famous writer at least, Jonathan.

It's so good you are addressing this wide-spread problem. I'll do anything to support your work, and am planning to investigate and invest in this subject myself as well. I'm sure the stories we read here from you and others are the tip of the iceberg. So giving more recognition to this problem will help many people.

Indeed, very well said. I didn't think about the difference between the two in that way before.

Jonathan,
thanks for your answer. I asked about the framing because I recently found out one of my sites (together with many sites I know the owners of) is being "framed". I did some research and must say it's very difficult to find good information, let alone good advice (it's a difficult subject). I've been following your site for a year now, but now your advice can come in handy. Your work here is really appreciated!

It's an interesting and and difficult subject. I think you sum it up quite well, at the moment I have nothing to add to your draft.

I do have a question though: In this article you are talking about "content aggregation" as a (grey) form of plagiarism, in which the boundaries between copyright infringement and fair use are not clear.

But if these are grey areas, framing is certainly not in the grey area, isn't it? (meaning it is a form of plagiarism) What are your thoughts on framing in this matter? I know you wrote about it in september 05. Have you changed your position or ideas on that matter in any way since then? (Sorry if this is off-topic)