Someone stole my article? What to do next

 

Plagiarism is theft - plain and simple any way you look at it, it is and will always be considered theft. It is theft of the most important thing in the world - time. Time is a precious commodity and one that everyone in the world cherishes. If you really think about it, most people are paid because of their, first and foremost, time, and then in a close second the kind of job the individual is performing.

Even as i sit here writing this free article, to be distributed freely for anyone to use as long as they follow my, and the article publishing websites guidelines I fear the theft of my time. These articles that are fortunately able to be distributed for free are still someones finely crafted language, thoughts, and ideas. There is nothing worse then having your thoughts ripped off, and your time burglarized.

Most article writers will run into this at one time or another and most of them will react in one initial way - angry. This is the emotion that you will feel when you first see someone else' name as the author of your hard work, and time.

Unfortunately this has happened to me, and my first reaction was to write this individual a nasty email and I acted on this initial reaction. The person who stole my work didn't respond after two days, to any of my threats, and they sounded serious. The unfortunate truth is that there isn't much that can be done in this situation, unless you happen to be a lawyer and want to provide a subpoena to an internet personality that may require a lot of time in tracking down their identity. If you decide to take this route, then the person is just stealing more of your precious time and it's not recommended you take this route unless you know you can get a lot of money for damages. Just realize that you will never get your time back.

After a few attempts to have this person rectify the situation, I decided to look into other ways to get this taken care of.

I will now display each step I took to have this looked at by Google, and my goal is to hopefully have my stolen article removed from Googles search index. My main goal is to have this persons website banned from Google. Reporting a plagiarized website or article is very easy to do and I'll lay it out in the simplest way so anyone will understand and be able to get rid of this falsification.

1)Validate your article has actually been stolen- Do plenty of research that can prove that your article has been stolen, and is being claimed under a name other then your own. Visit the website plagiarism checker too check either the title, pieces, or your entire article on Google to see what websites are publishing it. You can also Google search your articles complete published title on google with quotes around it and that will show you where it's being hosted.

2)Report the Plagiarism- After finding a credible source indicating that your article has been stolen and plagiarized, report it at plagiarism checker through their link at the top right of their website that will take you to the next screen explaining in steps what to do to get Googles' attention about your complaint.

3)Create a Google webmasters account- If you have one already skip down to step 4, and if you don't - simply sign up for a Google webmasters account by Google searching "Google webmaster tools".

4)Fill out the spam report form- Look the form over carefully, and start with the first box answering with as much detail as you can.

• In this box place the direct link to where your article is published without your permission and without your name.
  
• Copy the exact search term you used to find the article.
  
• Copy the URL of the search page where your articles results are found.
  
• Check the box that lets Google know the kind of problem you're having, check as many boxes that apply. In our case, i suggest choosing "Duplicate" and "Other".
  
• The additional details box is the most important of all the boxes. When i filled mine out i included a little synopsis of my problem, a link to first place i published my article, and an email address i could be contacted at.
  

The truth of this reality is some people are lazy, and want to succeed by taking shortcuts. As a marketer, advertiser, article writer, blogger you can't stand for this kind of behavior. The only way it's going to subside is if when you experience it, instead of ignoring it, you take this threat seriously and alert the right people.

Don't let the actions of a few unethical people deter you from writing. Just make sure you're prepared when someone claims your work as their own you react in the appropriate way. Always remember that plagiarism is the theft of your time, ideas, and it should never be taken lightly.

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Author Information:

Jordan Greve is a marketer for one of the biggest printing companies in NYC. He does the marketing and advertising for 1800 Postcards which is the largest commercial printer of full color postcards, business cards, and more.
  
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• you don't change the article in any way and you include the byline(including a link to our website)

In doing so you agree to indemnify http://www.1800postcards.com and its directors, officers, employees, and agents from and against all losses, claims, damages, and liabilities that arise out of their use.