# The stealing has to stop



## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

Two weeks ago, I find out some schmuck is using the verbiage from my website WORD for WORD on a Craigslist ad.

Tonight, I see one of my pics being used in someone else's photo gallery.

I know there was discussion of this a while back. 

What was the consensus on the best way to handle this thieving mf'ers? I want to put an end to this.


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## Kuba (May 3, 2009)

Im not 100% sure, but shouldnt you have your site copyrighted? If so, i think you have the option to contact the host and have the site remove the plagiarism and photos..

Lots of guys do that tho... Thats why I dont post my work here at all.... Its normally the newer guys trying to jump into the market I think.. shrug

Have you tried contacting the individual in person (if possible) and asking them nicely to remove it or pay a monthy fee to continue to use it hahaha...:thumbsup:


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

This is the letter I sent to my thief:

"Mr. John Doe,

Please consider this a formal Notice of Infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Your website, www.stolefromyou.com, contains unauthorized reproductions of copyrighted material originally found at www.WrightWorks.net. You are to cease and desist the use of this content and remove it immediately. This includes any copied content you have used in your website(s), and any other copied content you are using in any other written, broadcast, or electronic form. 

If all copied content has not been removed by Monday, October 26th at 9am, I will file an official complaint with the U.S. Copyright Office, Google, Inc., and your Internet Service Provider. I will NOT be satisfied with minor changes and will vigorously pursue any and all remedies and damages available to me under law for your continued unauthorized use of my content.

I do not wish to see your reputation permanently damaged as a result of a single lapse in judgment. However, please understand I have put my heart and soul into my business and website. To see my content copied and used to promote you and your company is extraordinarily offensive to me as a writer, businessman, and fellow craftsman. 

We all make mistakes. Please remedy yours immediately and I will have no further need to pursue this. 

Regards,

Christopher Wright
President
WrightWorks, LLC "


If it's a website, you can contact their ISP and they will likely take down their site. For a CL ad, I'm guessing you could contact CL and have their account suspended. (long shot).


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## rselectric1 (Sep 20, 2009)

In general you cant stop it.

However, you can have someone call up the company that posted a pic of your job, posing as a potential client. Have them ask for more information on that particual picture (in the case of a kitchen, you can have them say "my wife loves that kitchen", and ask to go see it.


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

Watermarks. Not the most visually appealing thing on your site but it will stop the thievery.


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## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

Watermark ALL photos for a start.


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## Vision Custom (Jan 13, 2009)

Greg,

Here's a good starter. Inexpensive and effective.


iWatermark


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## Kuba (May 3, 2009)

I am lazy when it comes to the web lol...

I just keep my stuff off sites where its most likely targeted by copycats trying to start a business...

No offence to this site, but I bet there are hundreds of hacks coming here.


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## Frankawitz (Jun 17, 2006)

I had my site ripped off of pictures, I contacted my web hosting site and asked them how this was happening and they basically told me there was nothing they could do, So I dropped my website with them. The web hosting I was using was FreeServers which is from Netzero They have a bunch of MORONS from India working there and most of the time they can't speak English if their life depended on it.
Anyone who has to steal others pictures just shows what type of person they are, Low Life MORONS. Just remember "What comes around goes around!" They will get theirs:laughing:


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## bert0168 (Jan 28, 2008)

I am curious as to how you guys find these thieves. Unless I spend hours searching other contractor sites, is there a way to google search?

How are you guys doing it?


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

copyscape


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## Magnettica (Dec 19, 2006)

ChrWright said:


> This is the letter I sent to my thief:
> 
> "Mr. John Doe,
> 
> ...





Is it alright if I copy that for when I have this happen to me? God forbid.


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

http://www.contractortalk.com/f101/contractors-claiming-my-photos-their-work-67814/


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## Magnettica (Dec 19, 2006)

Kuba said:


> I am lazy when it comes to the web lol...
> 
> I just keep my stuff off sites where its most likely targeted by copycats trying to start a business...
> 
> No offence to this site, but I bet there are hundreds of hacks coming here.


Yes, that's true, I suppose, but they are quickly weeded out or too intimidated to stick around and have a discussion for fear of being exposed. For those who do stick around for awhile they can most certainly shed some of that hackness. You can learn a lot just by reading, I know i sure have. :thumbsup:


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

Of course you can use it Mag.


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## Magnettica (Dec 19, 2006)

Thanks :thumbsup:


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## Anti-wingnut (Mar 12, 2009)

Magnettica said:


> Is it alright if I copy


A little ironic, considering the conversation as a whole


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## Framer53 (Feb 23, 2008)

Anti-wingnut said:


> A little ironic, considering the conversation as a whole


 
Ironic, maybe, but at least he asked!:thumbsup:


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

I would like to see a sticky post created with the methods to combat this, the letters and websites and information that pertains to any of us dealing with this.

Contractortalk is our resource, we have websites, this problem will always be ongoing. A sticky any of us can reference would be a very good thing.


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## Zinsco (Oct 14, 2009)

ChrWright said:


> This is the letter I sent to my thief:
> 
> "Mr. John Doe,
> 
> ...



Please tell me you didn't actually send this moronic letter to anybody. 
.
.
.
.


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## Splinter (Apr 5, 2005)

What's so moronic about it? Are you still a goofy 20 year old that starts every sentence with, "Ummmm"? A professionally worded letter to protect your own digital property is required these days...


Maybe Chris should just find the guy and club him on the head...


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## Tom Struble (Mar 2, 2007)

Splinter said:


> What's so moronic about it? Are you still a goofy 20 year old that starts every sentence with, "Ummmm"?
> 
> i think he's an entrepreneur:whistling


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

Zinsco said:


> Please tell me you didn't actually send this moronic letter to anybody. .



Yes, and I'd love to hear your point if you have one... 

If you're just being a smart ass, then I'd say mission accomplished. :thumbsup:

If you have an alternative viewpoint on the theft of intellectual property then let's hear it.


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

I posted this to another thread, and I'll say it again here:

I'm certainly not going to waste money on a lawsuit. 

But if someone refuses to remove content they've stolen from me, I'll make damn sure anyone searching their name online knows they're a thief. If they belong to a trade organization (NARI, NAHB, ETC.) someone's going to hear about it on their ethics committees. I'll do my best to get them de-listed from Google and their site taken down by their ISP--there's certainly no guarantee of that but I know at least one other contractor has had success getting this done in the past.

In ten minutes of online searching, I knew quite a lot about the gentleman who stole from me and the organizations and groups he belonged to in the industry and in his market. The cost to his reputation would have been very high had he not removed my content. For my part, I have not published his name on the forums since he complied with my request in a timely fashion.

The hacks are certainly less likely to care about any of this and will probably just snub their nose. But anyone who goes to the trouble of building a website is more likely than not to care about their name turning to mud online.


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## Chris G (May 17, 2006)

Watermarks don't have to be an eyeseore. I think Mac has some of the nicest ones I have seen. Whenever he posts pics here, they always appear. More like a logo on picture, but by definition, a watermark.

Also, people aren't stupid. They know there are contractors out there that misrepresent themselves. If you show a cool watermark on your pics, it enhances the perception that you are the real deal, and are frankly, proud enough of your work to put a big stamp on it.


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## OGStilts (Aug 30, 2007)

Did you guys know you can disable the right click feature of the mouse on your website? I did it on this website if you'd like to see what I'm talking about.

www.northshorebathrooms.com

It's not completely fool proof but it makes it a lot harder for them to steal your pictures or copy your text.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Nice website Chad. I'll be spending the weekend copying it!

Just kidding.


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## OGStilts (Aug 30, 2007)

Zinsco said:


> Please tell me you didn't actually send this moronic letter to anybody.
> .
> .
> .


Well Zin, this is the 2nd stupid post by you today to catch my attention. So I see you are new to this party, do you have anything useful to say around here or do you just like to stir up trouble.


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## OGStilts (Aug 30, 2007)

Mike Finley said:


> Nice website Chad. I'll be spending the weekend copying it!
> 
> Just kidding.


It hasn't been working so I think you might want to stick with what you got. :laughing:


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

I couldnt care less if people stole pics and ideas from my website. In over 12 years of using on line advertiseing i cant think of one time i gained work from it. 90% of my work was recomendations. Let the people who steal your ideas go and try and do what you do. They will make their self look like a bunch of idiots.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> .........They will make their self look like a bunch of idiots.


As well as make us all look that way. :thumbdown


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

OGStilts said:


> Did you guys know you can disable the right click feature of the mouse on your website? I did it on this website if you'd like to see what I'm talking about.
> 
> www.northshorebathrooms.com
> 
> It's not completely fool proof but it makes it a lot harder for them to steal your pictures or copy your text.


 
Many sites do that but all you have to do to copy the screen is press print screen and then ctrl-v to paste it into a paint program. Just as easy as doing right click.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

480sparky said:


> As well as make us all look that way. :thumbdown


If they are directly affecting your buiness then yes it's a problem. But like they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let them try and be like you. What matters in the end is that you are who you say you are and your quality of work defines how the customers see you. If the guy copying could do work like he is copying then he wouldnt need to steal photos of work. It will soon come back and bite them.


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## jkfox624 (Jun 20, 2009)

I read the title and i was thinking of ppl stealing tools. On that note we had the local carpentry class from high school come to a job to see how things work, some bastard stole a can of snuff and a drywall rasp. I can picture them being one of the bastards you guys are complaining about in a couple years.


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

BCConstruction said:


> Many sites do that but all you have to do to copy the screen is press print screen and then ctrl-v to paste it into a paint program. Just as easy as doing right click.


Or just use Firefox. You still get the message box stating right-click has been disabled but after clicking "OK" the right-click menu pops up anyway.


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## OGStilts (Aug 30, 2007)

BCConstruction said:


> Many sites do that but all you have to do to copy the screen is press print screen and then ctrl-v to paste it into a paint program. Just as easy as doing right click.


:no: Like I said it's not completely fool proof, but you just made it a lot easier for the fools that do this crap to figure that out. Thanks. :laughing:


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## OGStilts (Aug 30, 2007)

angus242 said:


> Or just use Firefox. You still get the message box stating right-click has been disabled but after clicking "OK" the right-click menu pops up anyway.


You too. :clap:


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Water marks are def the way to go though if your worried about it.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

You might still be working on it, but your link to your gallery pages is broken on your FAQ page.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> If they are directly affecting your buiness then yes it's a problem............


If it affects my business, then it affects yours as well.

We all know there's good used car salesmen, and there's bad ones. But we always talk about the bad ones.

There's good politicians, and there's bad politicians. But we only take up issues when the bad ones pop up.

Same way with contractors. There's good ones and there's bad ones. And the bad ones will always ruin it for the rest of us.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

480sparky said:


> If it affects my business, then it affects yours as well.
> 
> We all know there's good used car salesmen, and there's bad ones. But we always talk about the bad ones.
> 
> ...


If you have a bad name for your self than you have only your self to blame. Im known for doing a quality job and no hack would ever be able to change that and it's the reason im rammed with work. They can steal all my pictures and online infomation they like as it wont affect me. Unless they start using the same company name as me also and live in the same area.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> If you have a bad name for your self than you have only your self to blame. Im known for doing a quality job and no hack would ever be able to change that and it's the reason im rammed with work. They can steal all my pictures and online infomation they like as it wont affect me. Unless they start using the same company name as me also and live in the same area.


Well, I for one am glad you live in a fantasy world where the actions of others have no bearing on how you are perceived by the public in general. Most people have a general disdain for contractors, except for you, of course.


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## Zinsco (Oct 14, 2009)

OGStilts said:


> Did you guys know you can disable the right click feature of the mouse on your website? I did it on this website if you'd like to see what I'm talking about.
> 
> www.northshorebathrooms.com
> 
> It's not completely fool proof but it makes it a lot harder for them to steal your pictures or copy your text.


It's very easy to circumvent that, just look at the page source code and enter the direct URL of the image into your browser. I'm confident that you know this but I wouldn't say it makes things a lot harder.

I would say that as far as electricians are concerned, 99% of the images are stolen. There's basically 20 pictures that appear over and over and over.....
.
.
.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

480sparky said:


> Well, I for one am glad you live in a fantasy world where the actions of others have no bearing on how you are perceived by the public in general. Most people have a general disdain for contractors, except for you, of course.


Dont get me wrong i have worked for many people who have had people who have done a sub par job. But they have never treated me like i was going to have them over. As most contractors should know when most of your work is recomendations the people getting you to do the work have already seen what you can do. I very rarely do work for people that aint recomendations. In the last month i have got a $16000 deck, 5 bathrooms, Home theatre, 2000sqft floring, multiple crown, trim, baseboard installs, Window installs, sideing job, Kitchen, Basement remodel and some other small jobs just from recomendations. All customers willing to wait for me to get to them as well. I only been in the US for just over 2 years on and of and i am already rammed with work. Being English does help though.
And the copy cat hacks didnt affect me at all.


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## ChrWright (Jul 17, 2007)

BCConstruction said:


> If they are directly affecting your buiness then yes it's a problem. But like they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let them try and be like you. What matters in the end is that you are who you say you are and your quality of work defines how the customers see you. If the guy copying could do work like he is copying then he wouldnt need to steal photos of work. It will soon come back and bite them.


More than anything else, it's about pride. Of course it doesn't hurt my business when someone in another market copies me--that's not the point. 

I'll be damned if someone else is going to take credit for something I built, or post my words as if they're their own. 

That dog don't hunt.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

ChrWright said:


> More than anything else, it's about pride. Of course it doesn't hurt my business when someone in another market copies me--that's not the point.
> 
> I'll be damned if someone else is going to take credit for something I built, or post my words as if they're their own.
> 
> That dog don't hunt.


 
I know some people are affected differently about things like this. I built a bar for a frind in a new club he was opening and it come out really nice. I heard a few months later that he had been telling everyone that he had built it. Yeah i thought he was cheeky but it didnt bother me enough to say anything. I knew full well that if someone asked him how he did it he wouldnt have the first clue. In the end making him self look like a complete tool bag. lol


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## Chris G (May 17, 2006)

BCConstruction said:


> Dont get me wrong i have worked for many people who have had people who have done a sub par job. But they have never treated me like i was going to have them over. As most contractors should know when most of your work is recomendations


Not everyone's business come from recommendations. It depends upon the category you are in. How did you get your first job in the US?


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## Zinsco (Oct 14, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> Being English does help though.


Word. For some reason Americans will buy anything from someone with a British accent. Every Brit I know is busy working and scoring American chicks! As more Americans relocate to Mexico and India in search of work, and more Brits come to America, England may win the revolutionary war after all!


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Chris G said:


> Not everyone's business come from recommendations. It depends upon the category you are in. How did you get your first job in the US?


 
My first job when i come to the US was working in a food bar. Didnt have any tools as i left everything behind in the UK except my trusty Makita lxt's. They were impoted from the US so worked on 120v so bought them back here. The very first job i did here was a wet room shower for my bro in law, Then a tiled floor for him in another bathroom and slowly but surely i built up my tool collection and got my self a truck and trailer and almost every tool i need. Thats when little jobs popped up here and their like trim, crown and so on and it's built from that. Plus a little hard work of course.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

Zinsco said:


> Word. For some reason Americans will buy anything from someone with a British accent. Every Brit I know is busy working and scoring American chicks! As more Americans relocate to Mexico and India in search of work, and more Brits come to America, England may win the revolutionary war after all!


 
I heard about another english guy in my area. Aint had a chance to meet him yet. 27 years old and has his own window company with quite a few guys working for him by the sounds of it. Met his wife in the exact same way i did in the exact same place. His rep told me that he also gets loads of work because of his english accent.


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

Zinsco said:


> and more Brits come to America


That's because of our superior dental plans here...:cheesygri


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

angus242 said:


> That's because of our superior dental plans here...:cheesygri


 
:laughing::laughing::laughing:


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

angus242 said:


> That's because of our superior dental plans here...:cheesygri


 
The crazy thing in the UK is it's free and people dont use it lol. I have used both the UK and US system and so far the UK system has been far more advanced with the equipment they use. I had to have 12 x-rays to check my theeth over here and i was told this is normal? In the UK you sit in a machine that takes one x-ray and it loads a full 3d x-ray onto the pc in the surgeons room and they can view your theeth at any angle and zoom in and out. It's a shame it cost so dam much over here. I pay over $250 a month for my medical insurance and so far i have had to pay out for all my treatments as the insurance didnt cover it? I dont smoke, im healty, im into sports and keep my self fit. Im what they call a low risk. I would hate to see what cost a high risk is!


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## j_builder (May 10, 2008)

Greg Di said:


> Two weeks ago, I find out some schmuck is using the verbiage from my website WORD for WORD on a Craigslist ad.
> 
> Tonight, I see one of my pics being used in someone else's photo gallery.
> 
> ...


Greg-Good point:thumbsup: Why should one spend so much valuable time and effort to create a unique (one of a kind) website just to have some "copycat" take any of your pic's for _free_! 

You've got some nice informative info on all of your website's too :thumbup:
I also removed a lot of my photo's here for the same reasons...just thought that I'd throw this at ya to see a response to a *watermark* for your pic's to maybe safe guard from the "copycats".

I took this picture from one that you posted here at CT and I don't intend to use it to better my business by it...much nicer than my work anyway.


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## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

I know.

Believe me, this is not the first time I've had a sleaze bag steal from me online so I am pretty guarded with what I will explain online as far as techniques or tricks go. I got burned a few years ago by some guy in my backyard saying to go to my website, see what they want, and he'd do it for less. The guy actually admitted it online too. You want to talk about an ass-reaming. He got one from about 50 contractors and I put the word out on the street locally that the guy was a crook.

Not to say I don't say a word, but I realize there are some things that I know that I took a lot of effort to learn and I'm not putting the info out there for anyone to glean for free.

Right now, I'm locking down all my images as best I can and will be overtly watermarking everything from now on.


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## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

Here's a nearly foolproof way to prevent theft:

http://animoto.com/play/nt7uWSXKU10...utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=one_click_share

I may be embedding these all over the place.


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## j_builder (May 10, 2008)

*WaterMark*

I found this freeware to be user friendly. 
http://www.photo-freeware.net/watermark-v2.php


Much for creative than a simple watermark! slide show/video


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## Zinsco (Oct 14, 2009)

j_builder said:


> I took this picture from one that you posted here at CT and I don't intend to use it to better my business by it...much nicer than my work anyway.


Here's the watermark covered over by another.


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## charimon (Nov 24, 2008)

Magnettica said:


> Is it alright if I copy that for when I have this happen to me? God forbid.


I love the irony :thumbup:
Craig


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## Destin Handyman (Nov 15, 2009)

Simply email them and say you have 1 day to remove the listing, or you will have your attorney contact them about the listing and photos.

David
Emerald Coast Deluxe Services LLC


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## TopFloor (Apr 21, 2009)

Zinsco said:


> Please tell me you didn't actually send this moronic letter to anybody.


:mellow:


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## dld (Jul 18, 2007)

*Atom Park TagsLock Pro*

*
one choice is

Atom Park TagsLock Pro*


search the web for it

" Disable right mouse button clicks to prevent surfers from seeing the properties of your pages and *saving the images*. An excellent resource for web masters of Adult Sites 
" Insert a copyright string into the html page source


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## Elite1 (Nov 18, 2009)

Happens to us all the time. I hate to say it but its probably not going to stop there... At least you know that your doing a good enough job that people are coping you.
http://www.eliteroofingwi.com/


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

OK, I'm technologically challenged. If I find someone has my original work on their web site, I know I can ask them to remove it or face legal action.

Problem: How do I prove my work is the original and they copied me instead of the other way around?

Also, how do I found out where a given website is hosted, so I can contact them and ask it to be removed?

Again, I'm not a computer geek.


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## manny1602 (Jul 30, 2008)

Search for network tools. The first google search result is the one I use.
Just type in the domain name and hit search. That will give you the hosting company and their abuse phone number and email address.

If you have the original pictures of your work you win.


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## brooksto (Jan 1, 2009)

have run into image stealing many times. Unfortunately if it can be viewed it can be copied. Disabling right click and the like will thrwart maybe the computer illiterate, but there are other ways and programs that can be used. If it can be viewed it can be copied. Only solution I have found is putting a semi transparent watermark over the whole image or diagonally running down the image every so often. I dont like doing it because I feel it detracts from the image but ya gotta do what ya gotta do sometimes.


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## brooklynite (Nov 12, 2009)

Put your pictures in a FLASH slide show and that makes it much harder to simply copy and paste. Suddenly the number of people who know how to copy and paste from a regular site vs a flash site drops from 90% to 2% of your site's visitors.


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## delavan (Dec 11, 2009)

You will never win this war. This is normal practice on the internet. Next time put a visible watermark on your jpeg. Put a watermark with your real website 
Next time you will have more visitors for free


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## basswood (Oct 31, 2008)

Kuba said:


> Thats why I dont post my work here at all....


If everyone took your approach, this forum would be worthless.

I post photos of anything that others might find useful. I have no trade secrets and I am not worried about having photos or ideas ripped off. This is a place for sharing information to improve the trades.

Regards,

Basswood


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## basswood (Oct 31, 2008)

Thought I should add that it is reasonable to be miffed when someone claims your work as their own. It is also good to be vigilant about poachers in your local market.

I'm no marketing guru (just got a basic starter website going last month), but I think that few leads will come my way from the web. I think of it as something for potential customers to look at between the initial phone call and the first meeting, or between the first meeting and closing the deal... mostly the website just helps to set the hook.

I like to think that few people will rip off my photos and pretend to be me... If you steal my identity, you should know you get two teenagers, lots of bills, and you have to take out the trash for Thursday pick up.:jester:

Bass


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