This post inspired by Tracy Santrock's excellent post describing her experience discovering that her content had been stolen and used by a competitor. I could surely identify with her feelings of shock, disappointment and finally outrage. I have felt those same emotions many times, each time I discover one of my location maps on a competitor's web site. Not unlike my experience, Tracy discovered her content on a competitor's blog by accident.
CONSIDER THE IRONY. In my case, I was reviewing Baltimore real estate agents' web sites looking for a referral agent. I saw a comprehensive web site for the area of my search and when I started to tour the web site, I ran into not just one, not just 3, but between 11-13 of my maps on that web site. He has also used my unique demographic presentation. This was about 4 years ago. How I discovered my unique maps on another agent's web site was as interesting as what transpired following. I love irony.
I came to a web site and saw a link to Baltimore County and "BAM", right in the solar plexus, MY BALTIMORE COUNTY MAP. So I looked at other links on the site; Anne Arundel County, MY MAP, Montgomery County, MY MAP and so on. It's been some time now but I believe that there were 11-13 of my maps on that agent's web site. I contacted my attorney and my copyright adventure began that day. Not only did the agent lose the opportunity to receive 4-6 Baltimore County referrals each month, he eventually paid me $41,000 in damages for Copyright Infringement. His broker paid about $10,500 and two other agents who were sharing that web site paid about $7,500 each.
PRE-ACTIVERAIN. Before ActiveRain, I often review local web sites and contact site owners looking for good referral agents. My Internet presence generates far more business than I or the brokers in my network can help. Needless to say, that agent was not invited to join the Homefinders.com Referral Network. That cost him too.
You gotta love the irony.
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