Real Estate Blog - A SOLDIER IN THE COPYRIGHT BATTLE

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A SOLDIER IN THE COPYRIGHT BATTLE

KRISTAL, YOU JUST MADE MY DAY ! ! ! !

I just read a helpful post by Jim Lee about tracking copyright violators through Google search. One of the comments was from Kristal Kraft who posted that she is pursuing copyright violators.

Thank you Kristal. It's been lonely out here. I know that Alice Held has vigorously pursued copyright violators in the past. Certainly, my battles over the past 2 years have been documented. I very much welcome another real estate professional who will stand up and defend their property.

This is a hard battle to fight. The copyright violators have the easy job. Just copy and paste. Or, the infamous old "right click" syndrome. Of course, I give folks no credit for ignorance of property rights. I believe that they knew what they were doing when they did it. Which is one reason I pursue them relentlessly. It's surely hartwarming to know that I'm not out here alone. This is not easy folks. Sure, it's easy to send a letter and have the violator take your material off their web site. But, that is NOT enough. Those are our my competitors who are using my images to compete with me.

Take it from someone who knows, when you are visiting web sites looking for a referral agent and you run smack-dab into one of your prized local maps (or in one case, 13 of your maps) on a competitor's web site, you stop, can't believe it, and then when it sinks into your head that they are using your property, you get a very sick feeling in the pit of your stomach knowing that someone has just callously and cynically stolen your material to compete with you. Sure, they take your material down quickly after notice to cease and desist. But, is that enough?? NO! ! They benefitted from the use of your material while they used it to compete with you. THAT IS WHY YOU PURSUE DAMAGES.

This type of legal action is expensive. It's not fun to open that envelope from your attorney every month with a statement for $2,000-$3,000 for their work pursuing damages from the people who thought that they could use your property and if they just stopped, everything would be O.K. It isn't O.K. They have to pay. But, it's a bright day when you get a call from your attorney that the violators have offered to settle for $10,000-$20,000. It's a good day when you get the call that you won a motion in Court. I love judges. Yep, that's a very good day. Once you file suit, the copyright violators seem to think that they can fight and win. They can't win. They have no defense. It's just a matter of damages.

THANKS TO ACTIVE RAIN FOR GETTING THE WORD OUT

Real Estate Blog - IS THERE REALLY COPYRIGHT CONFUSION?

If folks have any confusion about copyright, don't be concerned about what you don't know. ... Lenn Harley - Maryland and Virginia Realtor ...
activerain.com/blogsview/18754/IS-THERE-REALLY-COPYRIGHT - 63k - Cached - Similar pages

Lenn's Blog - 4 visits - Nov 9

Many questions from the first copyright blog has kept this string going. This should be the last. ... Lenn Harley - Maryland and Virginia Realtor ...
activerain.com/blogs/lennharley - 77k - Nov 10, 2006 - Cached - Similar pages

Frederick County Maryland Points of Interest

LOOK BUT DON'T TOUCH

Posted by Lenn Harley, Real Estate Broker, Maryland & Virginia on 11/12/2006 03:12 PM

Comments (32)

32 Comments on A SOLDIER IN THE COPYRIGHT BATTLE

NOV

2006

Don't give up Lenn. The best thing to do is document your work and images. I'll battling a jerk who started off by stealing roughly a dozen of my pages verbatim. I contacted his webhost and they in turn called him as well. He removed my pages then promptly stole from someone else....3 times! One of my custom logos is still on his site. ARGH! The NAR needs to put some guidelines and penalties in place! -Charles

Oh how important it is. And it sticks out so blatently with some, who's voice changes everyday and doesn't have a sense of consistency...

Scott

This is a very frustrating part of the internet. Information is to easily copied from one site to the next.

NOV

2006

Jennifer is right. But, the law hasn't changed.

Keep up the fight, i support you all!!!!!!!!!!

Lenn,

You should now be able to use the Code of Ethics in your battle against copyright violations.

Here's a change to Article 12 the BOD just approved today in New Orleans.

"Realtors obligation to present a true picture in their advertising and representations to the public includes the URLs and domain names they use, and prohibits Realtors from:

engaging in deceptive or unauthorized framing of real estate brokerage websites;
manipulating (e.g. presenting content developed by others) listing content in any way that produces a deceptive or misleading result; or
deceptively using metatags, keywords, or other devices/methods to direct, drive, or divert Internet traffic, or to otherwise mislead consumers."

Jim - That's great news. But I don't know that it will be enough ...

Lenn, how do you track the theft? I've had several stolen in the past - but the only way I found out was that they were dumb enough to link to my site. So not only stealing my pictures BUT also my bandwidth.

Lenn,

"Just copy and paste. Or, the infamous old "right click" syndrome."

Apologies for copying and pasting from your blog - but what is "right click" syndrome?

I commend you for going after them - most people would just ask them to remove the info. and would not like to waste their time with legal battles because of time and money. Where are people's ethics nowadays??

ines

"The Lovely Lenn"

Ahhh...This has become one of my favorite topics of study...I had no idea it was as bad as it is until my husband (Broker Bryant) and I started blogging. We are in the Trademark line now. That oughta help. Lawsuits are costly and the lawyer always gets most of the money...Touchy topic for me...Now about Toby's comment on bandwidth...How do they do that? I mean really does anyone have an answer to that? I would really like to know...

TLW "The Lovely Wife"...I Have A Question...ROAR!

Tony - Right click (on the mouse) to copy/paste.

Lenn, I wish you luck in your battle!

Keep up the good fight! We are all proud of you.

The fact that this is wrong and that monetary penalties come with it needs to be broadcast. Many agents really don't get "it", and seem to think that they can copy anything at all and put it on their site or cover it in their materials. Getting the word out and actively pursuing these people will benefit us all. Thank you for the work you do!

Lenn's situation looks black and white to me. Someone is stealing right off her website and they're competitors no less.

But the internet has created gray areas. Google is being sued for copyright infringement by the Authors Guild, Writers, Major Publishing companies from all over the world. Google is using the "fair use" defense.

Napster practically killed the music industry and they fought and fought until Napster was taken down. Disney has sued elementary schools for painting Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in their playgrounds.

Copyright is such a hot issue on the internet I find it very surprising that so many brokers are giving away the store by giving their listings so freely to third party websites that desperately need content then use that content to try to sell leads back to us. Are exclusive listings copyright property of the broker and seller? Content is still King. I think content trumps technology.

Mitchell...That was an excellent comment...FAIR USE...Interesting phrase...TLW...ROAR!

Lenn you aren't alone in the fight. Thanks for the mention. It's really sad to see how many agents think they are entitled to steal others work. I've had several people even steal my very own children! (pictures that is!). What cracks me up is when they blame it on their "web designer." It's usually obvious they don't have a web designer, basically because their sites suck!

Stealing bandwidth, also cracks me up. I've got a competitor who stole my maps and a lot of other content. I made him remove it, but it forgot to remove one little tiny graphic element. This is still on his page. I don't want him to remove it, because I am tracking his activity...hahahaha

TLW..."The Lovely Wife... Thanks.. Google is saying these books are in libraries so they can index the entire content and put it in search. The Authors are saying the books are in limited Libraries. Google also wants every film and video indexed.

Lenn: BTW: I love your maps. I am into maps also. I'm working on creating an interactive neighborhood map with icons of apartment buildings with links to the buildings and the listings.

Mitchell...Calling'em as I see 'em...Good info. Would like to be kept up to speed on that, the Authors need to win that case...You should put up a post about this...Or has it been done before? Send me a contact if you post it. If you don't post it someone else will. Why? Because I have just thrown out a post idea...Snag it buddy...TLW...ROAR!

The Lovely Wife... I have read about it but I don't think on activerain. Thanks for the idea. I have three ideas in my head right now. Everytime I start to write, I end up reading every one elses posts.

It is a great post idea. I'll keep you posted. ROAR!

OK, I guess I will be the OTHER side of the coin. Lenn, it is my opinion that peolpe can either be RIGHT or be HAPPY but rarely both. The best, sweetest, and longest lasting revenge, again, these are my opinions, is success! What if you took that $2,000-$3,000 per month you say you are spending per month to destroy the blasphemers and use it to market for more business? I assume with your steadfastness in your attack that you have the ability to throw out that kind of money on a consistent basis but, is it really making you happy? When you look back, how much does it help you to obliterate someone else that copied your map if it takes you years of your life and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars? I am sure your lawyer appreciates you sending his kids through college but I just don't see this as the best use of your time and money. I realize it is not my place to tell you what to do, but, I have seen a lot of people in my life spend their life proving to everyone else that they were right, when, in the big picture, choosing to be happy and successful is so much less stress and beneficial. I hope you don't take too much offense to my comments and I also hope you determine what you wish to accomplish, and accomplish it. You do very good work with maps and it IS a shame someone takes them without your permission

No offense taken, Ray. Actually, there is no other side of the coin.

I pursue copyright violators AND I am happy and successful. There's no conflict. The violators paid me approximately 5 times what my legal fees came to.

The law provides for compensation to the victim of copyright violation. Not to protect my property rights WOULD have made me suffer extreme stress and anger and THAT could have taken a toll on my good nature.

One can be RIGHT and HAPPY and both at the same time.

I'm not surprised to know of folks whose sympathies are with the copyright violators. There always are.

I don't agree.

I am glad you made out, I certainly do not have any sympathies to copyright violators, I don't condone that at all, but, hey, if battling copyright infringers has made you money and helps your stress, good for you! I guess I assumed from the article that you had been pursuing them for a long time to no avail, that will teach me to assume

Lenn, quite the post. Got everyone's attention. Good job. When I was reading your post and the comments I got to thinking and wondered how in the world you ever found the people that steal your stuff? You are really incredible. I can hardly find the time to just keep my stuff going much less check everywhere for these copyright infringers. But, maybe no one wants to steal my stuff. I don't have gorgeous maps like you do.

NOV

2006

Gena and Ray:

I don't have to look for these copyright violators. I run in to them in the normal course of my work. As you know Gena, I do the SEO on my own web sites. Part of the SEO that I do is routine searches for keyword phrases search. When I see a web site that ranks highly on Google for a specific keyword or keyword phrase, I look at that web site. I ran to two copyright violators while researching keywords.

The second way I found them was looking for referral agents. In fact that was the first one when I was looking for an agent to refer a very good buyer. I have never been successful finding a good agent for Homefinders.com in the Annapolis area. So, while searching for "real estate agent Annapolis", I ran into this web site with 13 of my maps. The rest is history.

The agents who stole my map images were all in my market area and, therefore, competitors. This is the basis on which we proceed to vigorously pursue damages. Obviously, if they were not my direct competitors, the case for damages would not have been so easy. Although, with real estate referrals so much of our business, I could probably have made a case.

I have seen, through Google images, a number of photos that are copyright protected by me on other agents' web site but I don't pursue them because they are not my competitors. My maps, however are of little to no use to agents not in my market area.

So, Gena, this is not a huge undertaking. I run into the copyright infringment in my daily routine and my attorney takes over when I send it to him.

Lenn

Lenn, As you well know...I am never ceased to be amazed by you. Such knowledge and stamina the likes most of us have never known...you are terrific!

I know there is a way to protect the ability to copy for the web sites but most of the companies that build the site wont set it up that way. That would be the best protection.

One tip on photos and maps (which unfortunately I am right now trying to figure out, so somebody please save me the time and tell me how to easily do it) - watermark all of them. You can't do it to content, but to graphics, put your logo/name on all of them, including the copyright sign. Even if your competitors use them, they'll be advertising for you, plus they will have no defense if you have to pursue them legally, because their own pirated content will prove where they got it.

Again, someone please inform me how to easily watermark and we'll all benefit from the idea. Another even better technology (which I'm even farther from understanding how to implement) prevents people from right clicking and denies that request - it's somehow coded into the site's html to recognize someone doing that and disallow it. Again, does anyone know how to do that?

Gabriel. you can add code to prevent novices from right clicking to "grab" a photo. But for a person who knows how to "grab" your content, that will not prevent them from doing so.

There is a service you can subscribe to that puts a watermark on a photo and will trace who is downloading it. What a kick when that happens. Two minutes after the thief publishes your work you can have your attorney on the phone telling him to cease and desist. That should scare the pants off them!

Gena ~ Lenn is amazing. She is a trailblazer and a great leader to follow.

Sorry Lenn for jumping in to answer your posts...this topic gets me up on arms! As you well know!

Kristal, if you know how to code that or can point me towards someone that can - even if the more knowledgeable thieves can still get around it, I'll go with the 80/20 rule for now. As for the watermark service, that's great - and if you can point me there as well I will be in touch with them immediately. You can send me any information offline from this as well re: this topic if it's too long or involved to post in a reply here. Thanks.

The only watermark I'm interested in is the mark the tear makes on the check when a copyright violator pays me for their violation of my copyright.

Anything less is work for me. The law took care of that when the copyright law was promulgated that years ago.

I'm not playing hide and seek with folks who want to use my content to compete with me. Want to play? You will pay.

Simple, direct and EVERYONE knows the rules. The burden to avoid stealing content is on the thief, not the owner of the copyright.

Re: your comment Lenn on the watermark, if you just want to spend your time chasing people with lawyers, that's a fine attitute to have, but if you want to help protect yourself from those you might not otherwise catch, it's a powerful deterrent and prevention is often the best medicine.

You might get settlements from time to time but if you tally up your time spent, and the money on the lawyers, in time I wonder how "profitable" that will be. I'd rather not have to get into it - and then be aggressive in pursuing the violators if I do have to even after that. I doubt your business plan is about creating and suing about copyrighted material. Personally, I'd rather just protect myself and not have to go through the hassles you did, though I'm glad you have broken that trail.

Lenn,

What you've done over the years to protect your copyrighted material is so important. Trying to get away with stealing content is not an option. You are an authority on this.

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