I've never had to show docs. Remember, in the US you don't need official copyright registrations to legally own the copyright to material - it's copyright protected the moment it's created. As long as you can demonstrate you created it first, it's not a problem. For example, in many cases the other party is stupid enough to leave your name and link to your site, because they think credit and link back makes it legal (it doesn't). Those are the easiest cases. Things like archive.org can help if an older site is copied, and cached versions of the two sites can help with newer ones. In the end, they can't host / publish illegal content, and if you make a reasonable case they're good about dealing with it. I've not once been told that they won't act and remove infringing content because there wasn't more official paperwork.
Hope this does not hijack the thread, but i have a question of my own. I am modeling a site after another site , the content is all original and hand written so no issues their. The side bar navigation is same as my competitor but the body and header is all different. My site is still under development and would like to play it by the rules. The problem is i cant find a clear cut definition what's allowed and whats not allowed, any recommendation folks?
True, its easy to find someone with a WHOIS look up, but then you have to pay alot to get a lawyer involved. The best bet is to let Godaddy or which ever hosting company owns the domain to decide who really copied who, but then again they might make the wrong decision.
That's plagiarism.. You have a cause of action against him.. Demand that his site be removed or that he change his contents.. Also, contact Google.. Hmm.. But the others say that your material is likewise copied.. Care to explain..?
Step one. Contact them directly. Ask them to remove it. Step two. File a DMCA with the ISP. Ask them to remove it. Step three. Contact Copyright Attorney.
Your site use image that you dont have rights. And the other site is not exact copy, probably they copied your package or text, but i am sure you dont have any copyright or any patent for those. I understand your pain, but its free world and we live in Bangladesh. If you have power you could shut down even if you are wrong otherwise dont bother. And it does not matter weather its hosted here or not, there is always way to shut down.