Using Copyscape to Detect Copied Content and Duplicate Content on the Web

Plagiarism, copied content and duplicate content are all serious and growing problems on Hub Pages and the rest of the Web. Anyone at any time and any where in the world can copy and paste your online content and try to benefit from your hard work. Many times they will make minor changes to avoid detection and claim the content is unique, some people will not even bother to change it and just hope they don't get caught. Most of the Web is based on and built from hard work of people who are honest and spend a lot of time and energy creating informative and unique content. Copied content and possible duplicate content penalties are becoming a global epidemic that violates people's rights and can often discourage writers from creating new and original content for the web. Copyscape is a free public service that can help address this problem, protect your rights, and prevent copied content and duplicate content.

Generally it is best to prevent plagiarism, however once you find copied content there are steps you can take. It is up to you to determine if your content has been copied or duplicated, Copyscape offers a free search tool that can help you do that. The free Copyscape url search allows you to type in your URL and then Copyscape searches the web for any pages with the same content. There are also more advanced tools available such as text search which allows you to search the text of your article against every page on the web. If you find copied content or duplicate content that has been stolen from you it is important to act promptly. You must use legal means track down the violator and have your content removed from their site. Copyscape has a resource center which offers information and assistance to understand your rights and the laws regarding copied content.

In exercising your rights and defending your content from plagiarism you should be proactive and vigilant. The steps below are a good way to start protecting yourself from copied content and duplicate content issues:

1. Place a warning banner on each of your pages, Copyscape has many warning banners available that make potential violators aware that you will not tolerate copied content.

2. Be sure that you include copyright notices with your content that states you have ownership of the content and that copied content is not only wrong but illegal. You can insert the copyright symbol with HTML with the following keyboard shortcut. (© is

   ©

   in HTML).

3. You can also choose to use the automatic Copysentry service which detects and identifies any copied content as it appears on the web.

If you find that your content has been stolen or copied without your permission, you can take immediate action to have it removed. Usually by notifying the webmaster of the offending site, the issue can be resolved quickly but if that does not work Copyscape has resources and information available for other options to pursue those who use copied content on the web. Since there are copyright laws that vary in different places, it is best to seek legal advice from a professional that specializes in plagiarism and copied content, but here are some steps to consider:

1. Look on the violator's website for contact information and send a simple and polite message requesting the material to be removed from the site. If the site does not provide contact details available, try sending an email to (

   webmaster@

   the domain).

2. Using the Whois service to locate the website owner's name and other contact details may give you the information needed to contact them directly. Go to a Whois service and search for the domain name of the offending site, the contact details should be shown near the bottom of the page.

3. You may also contact the web host provider used by the offending site and inform them that they are using copied content which you hold the copyright to. This information can often result in the site being removed from the hosting service until issues are resolved.

4. You can send a formal 'Cease and Desist' notice letting the offending person or company know that they must remove your copied content.

5. Filing a notice of violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) with various search engines like Google can often have the site removed from their results.

6. You may need proof of any alleged infringement, if so you can use the Internet Archive to provide evidence that the copied content was placed on the web after your content was already published.