How to Protect Your Articles from Being Stolen

As access to paid writing opportunities increases thanks to the internet, so do your chances of having your articles stolen. Every day there are ads all over the internet luring freelancers to write articles for $15-$20 a piece in 10-20 articles assignments. Unfortunately, a large percentage of those ads are crooks waiting to steal your ideas and sell them to the highest bidder. Don't let this detour you from your dreams of writing. There are a couple of easy ways to fight back when you have found out that your hard work and creativity has been stolen by an online article thief.

#1: Use Search Engines: If you are like me, quite often you write your articles, submit them, and wait for the money to roll in. However, even if your articles are published on a reputable site, that does not mean they are immune to being stolen. Make it a goal to search periodically with search engines for key phrases from your articles. This will help turn up anywhere else your articles have been published without your permission. Keep in mind that you may have checked a box allowing a publisher to distribute your article to partner sites, so do you research on what rights still remain with you and what rights you have sold to your publisher.

#2: Locate the fraudulent publisher: Once you have found the site your article has been posted on, it's time to find out who posted it. This is not always possible to find the exact person, but there are a few ways to at least find out the ISP that hosts the service. Because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, ISP's are required to remove any copy written material that has been published without the author's knowledge, or without the author's byline. Input the web address that you found your stolen content on into whois.com. This search will help locate all the necessary contact information you need to move forward.

#4: Send a letter to the owner of the website or their ISP: Your next step is to contact the owner or publisher of the website. If you are unable to get a response from them, then send a letter or email to their ISP. There are great form letters located at http://www.writing-world.com/rights/pirates.shtml to help assist you in the correct style and terminology of your letter. Also, be sure that your letter sounds professional and is respectful. In many cases the publisher may have bought the material from the person who stole your work unknowingly, and may be willing to pay you for your material. A sale is better than a nasty email back from the publisher any day. In my experience, and from what I've read from others, some ISP's will try to tell you they will not do anything without proof of copyright infringement. However, from what I understand the ISP is responsible to at least contact the website holder and question them about it. Proof is only required if you take the case to court.

#5: Decide if you want to take the matter further: If you were writing a novel and it was stolen, you may want to think about hiring a lawyer. However, if you wrote a $15 article, it may not be worth it for you to go through the astronomical costs associated with a lawsuit. On the other hand, maybe it's a matter of principal and you don't care how much money it takes, you just want to bring the pirates to justice. Either way, know how far you are willing to take your battle. In most cases your first email to the publisher or ISP will be enough to regain your material and get it removed from the unauthorized sites.

Most of all do not let a few stolen articles dissuade you from ever trying to sell your work again. If anything take it as a compliment. Your work was good enough that someone wanted to claim it as their own to make money off of it. If the thief can make money off your work, then you surely can. Fight hard and use this experience to protect yourself, and your work, in the future.