A group of idiots copied one of our forums

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by kidder, Nov 23, 2007.

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  1. #1
    These clowns got themselves banned for breaking the rules on our site, so they took the only domain extension we did not have registered and setup the same forum categories and spend most of the time bagging out our site which is 6 years old and has over 20,000 members. We have busted them numerous times using proxies and trying to solicit away members from us.

    If they were half smart they would not have tried to leech off our brand because they will proably never out gun us in the serps... Is there a legal anlge here I might be able to follow? I know the other ways to cause them pain but it's not our style.
     
    kidder, Nov 23, 2007 IP
  2. Mankar7

    Mankar7 Peon

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    #2
    Email their host and domain registrar in detail explaining what they did and proof. If their host is reputable, they'll probably take them down. Their registrar may even revoke the domain. GoDaddy is notorious for revoking domains even with little reason. Which usually is horrible, but is good for you in this situation.
     
    Mankar7, Nov 23, 2007 IP
  3. BlueDevilMedia

    BlueDevilMedia Well-Known Member

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    #3
    Contact their host...
     
    BlueDevilMedia, Nov 23, 2007 IP
  4. Agent_Dweeb

    Agent_Dweeb Peon

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    #4
    I bet they leeched by using an RSS feed, if so, then that is alright.
     
    Agent_Dweeb, Nov 23, 2007 IP
  5. BlueDevilMedia

    BlueDevilMedia Well-Known Member

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    #5

    Making RSS feeds available still doesn't give you permission to duplicate an exact copy of a site. And I'm pretty sure they are not giving credit where credit is due :)
     
    BlueDevilMedia, Nov 23, 2007 IP
  6. kidder

    kidder Peon

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    #6
    It's not an exact copy of the content, they are just replicating what they see on our site in terms of forum categories and even thread topics. What we can't live with is the continual slander of our site and the continual attempted solicitation of our members.
     
    kidder, Nov 23, 2007 IP
  7. moonwulf

    moonwulf Banned

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    #7
    if its not a exact copy then it would be considered a clone
     
    moonwulf, Nov 23, 2007 IP
  8. brandnewx

    brandnewx Peon

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    #8
    RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is an irony that somebody who wants to protect his contents decides to make them Really Simple To Be Syndicated. I suggest you clean up your own mess first before filing a lawsuit. Why not just make only the first paragraph of forum post available to RSS readers?

    If they steal exact copies of your contents, first thing you want to do is send a DMCA notice to Google and Yahoo to remove their websites from the search indexes. Here you go, check the procedures: www.google.com/dmca.html

    Do this at last resort: Send a DMCA notice to their web host and registrar to delete their websites. GoDaddy and many other registrars are known to drop domains requested in DMCA.

    BUT remember this: you must be absolutely, completely, undoubtedly sure that they STEAL your contents NOT your ideas before sending DMCA. Sending bogus DMCA notice is a serious crime and can land you in jail for years. (This competitor of mine is about to serve time sending bogus DMCA notices to shoot down my site.)
     
    brandnewx, Nov 23, 2007 IP