Plaguerising on websites??

betterbargains4u

Hi

I could do with some help please.
I run a chocolate fountain rental business and my nearest competitior has just changed his website design.
He has obviously copied and pasted the package contents from my website and I wondered what..if anything I can do about it?
I have emailed him to let him know, that I am unhappy about it and have asked him to change the wording, so it will not be posssible for our customers to confuse us.
Is there anything legally i can do, if he refuses to change it?
Also...how do I find the website that he was operating up until a short while ago.....and is there anyway of finding out when it was changed?
I have looked on Googles cached page for it, but it isn't showing all of the images/text.
Many thanks for any help you can offer.

Please now read post #39 in this topic from me.

Badger_Lady

Is your website copyrighted?

betterbargains4u

Hi

I didn't have it copyrighted officially, but have now put the following wording on my website
Copyright 2008 www.chocolatefountainshire.co.uk
I always thought that you had to register a copyright and pay for it.....am I wrong?

superscaper

Yes you can do something because your site IS copyrighted. It was copyrighted as soon as you created it. There is NO official register of copyright. Copyright is assumed at the point a work is created. It's merely an added means of proof of date of creation that's all, which should be relatively easy to prove with a website anyway. If I drew a picture, took a photo or wrote a poem and uploaded them to my website, they're automatically my copyrighted works. There's no need to register them or so even put a copyright symbol on them. Copying them without my permission is illegal.

timestar

I am no legal expert, but isn't Internet site stuff covered by the Digitial Millennium Copyright Act? Or is that just for sites hosted in the US?

superscaper

timestar wrote: »

I am no legal expert, but isn't Internet site stuff covered by the Digitial Millennium Copyright Act? Or is that just for sites hosted in the US?

That's an American law and has no juristiction outside the USA. Assuming the OP and the competitor are in the UK, the relavent law is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/copy/c-manage/c-useenforce/c-useenforce-enforce.htmEnforcing

[Deleted User]

timestar wrote: »

I am no legal expert, but isn't Internet site stuff covered by the Digitial Millennium Copyright Act? Or is that just for sites hosted in the US?

It's for US only.

Yes, you have automatic copyright on anything you create but proving you created it and when is why there are organisations that will let you register your work with them so that you have an officialy recognised way to prove it's your own.

Here's a link that might be worth reading:

http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/protect/p11_web_design_copyright

From them, it's £35 for a 10 year service for a small website.

kevsan

betterbargains4u wrote: »

Also...how do I find the website that he was operating up until a short while ago.....and is there anyway of finding out when it was changed?
I have looked on Googles cached page for it, but it isn't showing all of the images/text.

Try looking at http://www.archive.org/index.php it might have old versions of the site - depending on how long its been there etc.

isofa

You may have to prove yours was up first, otherwise he could then turn the tables and say you copied his.

So looking for older versions would be a great idea.

If you want to prove a copyright date without registering, this is my MSE tip! Print the item out with your (c) notice, seal and post it to yourself, so it is franked/postdated with the date and don't open it when you receive it.

Then if you need to prove it under the law, you have an sealed dated version with your copyright.

betterbargains4u

isofa wrote: »

You may have to prove yours was up first, otherwise he could then turn the tables and say you copied his.

So looking for older versions would be a great idea.

If you want to prove a copyright date without registering, this is my MSE tip! Print the item out with your (c) notice, seal and post it to yourself, so it is franked/postdated with the date and don't open it when you receive it.

Then if you need to prove it under the law, you have an sealed dated version with your copyright.

Thanks for this...but can't quite see how it would work as the date on the letter would be later than when he plaguerised my site info.

superscaper

betterbargains4u wrote: »

Thanks for this...but can't quite see how it would work as the date on the letter would be later than when he plaguerised my site info.

I think it was just general advice for the future and not something you could apply to this specific case in hindsight.