If you actually wrote it or had it written as a work for hire then the same copyright rules apply to it as any other content on your site. So yes you can have them remove it or file a complaint with their host or a DMCA. I would email them first and demand removal before I took either of the other actions.
How far are you willing to go with it? How deep do you want to go... There are lots of things you can do as stated above.
I agree, you can do pretty much anything you want, as it is protected copyright, so long, as has been stated, you wrote it yourself or you paid someone to write it for you. You could do anything that has been stated, its technically your property. You can sue, you can ask them to remove it (I say ask because you get more bees with honey than with vinegar) you can contact host/DMCA. Although, I recommend contacting them first, then the host.
I think you can take action against them..but the problem is that if the person whole who stole your terms and conditions is smart..he will not keep it in the same format..and just by changing a couple of things here and there he might get away with it..
AFAIK,you cannot do anything coz TOS is more or less is same. If they 100% copy it,then you can sue them. And i don't believe anyone will 100% copy exactly same TOS without modifying the TOS to suit his site
If you really want to pursue something that may take years and lots of money, you can certainly try. However, as stated, terms and conditions are so similiar on every website I dont really see the point. It is not something that affects or will affect your sales or credibility. No one stole anything that is going to affect you in any way so I would just chalk it up and move on, it is really not worth the time in the end.
I have to agree with paytink. It may be annoying, but why would you otherwise care? I doubt it will affect your sales at all. The only way I can see it affecting you is if you spend too much time or money trying to get them to take it down. Spend your time on things that make you money.
As others have said, you can send a C&D, but theres no real point. Just send them a nice email asking them to change their T&C as to not copy yours directly.
Its interesting that out of a billion websites you happen to stumble upon somebody else TOS to realize it was yours :O
It's not that uncommon - believe me ! One of the things I do to earn a crust is writing copy for websites - tos, about us etc etc - I'm pretty good at it if I do say so myself, and others think so too and are happy to pay me. However there are plenty of people who do not want to pay me, and just copy&paste the bulk of my work. I've found a number of these websites and I recognise my work instantly, even though key details have been changed to match the (thieving) website (actually in at least a couple of cases they didn't even bother to do that !). I have never (so far) taken any action at all in relation to this kind of 'scrumping' - it would cost me more in time than it's worth, and also it would kinda be like the pot calling the kettle black (lol). To be fair - I suppose the ones who rip of my work don't actually know who I am anyway, and so have no way to hire me even if they would. C'est La Vite
Is not it quite common that ppl. rip each others tos´s off to save time? I would not waste my time on that.
I agree. They should be. But strangely people do it slavishly without really thinking. It is as if it doesn't mean anything to them and is just a box to tick. It shows they havn't thought much about their business. Unless you are a legal forms seller I don't know why you would be concerned.
I send out dozens of C&D and DMCA notices every month. Doesn't take that long and it's necessary to protect your intellectual property. I say go for it. Don't just allow people to copy your material.
I see this stuff all the time... someone stole my article, script, website, or whatever..."I want to sue, sue, sue..." Then its an entire different ball game if they have to pony up a few hundred bucks to some atty that is going to tell you this is not a million dollar case, and its not worth my time because the other guy probably doesnt have jack-crap... and your atty is probably going to say something like "life is tough, but us atty's do not work for free, we are greedy bastards who like to rape other people of money, if we think we have a sure fire case, and we know the other side has money" In all out honesty, if you can not get your solution done via email, then I do not see this going any further then that.
It's been my question before also, but if you will look for TOS of similar, niche-related sites. You will notice that the TOS are almost the same. The phrases are just on different order, the words are sometimes synonym or jumbled. If everything is the same 100% (which i think is impossible) then you can sue them.