If you’ve ever got your content stolen, you know it kinda sucks. Not only content but also images. Now I am not making any references to a previous post about a website who stole some of my content cause I don’t care that much about this incident.
Anyway I know I’ve probably stolen a few stock images myself at some point but I now use free image banks.
What Can You Do If Your Content Is Stolen?
As a webmaster, blogger, designer or whatever, if your content is stolen, you can always file a DCMA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act).
- DMCA definition at Wikipedia.com
- DMCA - What does it mean for webmasters? - Blogcast from shoemoney.com
- 12 U.S. Laws Bloggers Should Know
You can find out if your content has been reproduced by using CopyScape.com free service. Simply type in the URL of the page you want to verify and see where it’s being used.

You can also add a Copyscape.com banner at the bottom of your webpages. Not that it really protects you or anything but it let your readers know you are aware of content stealing.
Protecting Your Images
As stolen images cannot be detected by services like copyscape.com, you have to add a signature to them. This signature is called a watermark. This can either be visible or not. The thing with visible watermark is that they can easily be removed. Here are a few links on how to add watermarks to your images:
- Create a hidden watermark in images - Photoshop Tutorial
- Watermarking Images in Macromedia Fireworks
Where To Get Free Content And Images
And if you’re tempted to steal someone else’s content always remember there are free online resources.
- EzineArticle.com
- ArticleCity.com
- ArticlesFactory.com
- eZINESearch.com
- 8 Great Sources For Free Stock Photos from DerekBeau.com








November 13th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
This is great advice. We had some content hijacked and its frustrating.