4/12/09

Plagiarism is THEFT

I was happily looking around Google to see what I could find and I ran across a Wordpress blog that looked very familiar. I knew I'd never been to this ugly green blog before and I didn't know the name of the Indian thief (Harshajyoti Das, also known as 'jr_sci' on most forums or Gudugudu), so that wasn't what I was finding familiar.

What was familiar is that EVERY SINGLE BLOG POST I've ever written was stolen, plagiarized and reproduced there exactly.

How stupid are some people to post a blog that says "My name is Bianca Raven" - but posted on a blog by someone who's name is Harshajyoti Das instead of Bianca? Surely that would be a hint?

I work hard to put together the words I offer on this blog for other writers to learn from. I try to find valid resources for you all. These words are free for you to READ anytime you want - but they're not free to be copied, reposted or otherwise stolen from me.

When I emailed this ugly green blog's owner and politely asked him to remove my content from his page he responded with the following email:

Hello,

Binaca listen. There are numerous blogs over the internet that has the same content as yours. If you want then I can provide the link of your blog in my freelance blog. Thus, I shall give a link of the original posts. Are you okay with this deal?

Actually I have no profit making intention. Your content is awsome so had taken to my blog. I am sorry if I have offended you.

Reagrds,
Harshajyoti Das

Hmmm.... plagiarizing my work and then saying you think my content is awesome doesn't make it okay to steal it and pretend that it's your own work. That's THEFT!

So I responded with the following:

Hello,

There are not numerous blogs all over the internet with my original copyrighted content. I wrote that content for use on my own blog only. I have not given permission for this content to be stolen by anyone.

If you wish to steal original content from writers, then you need to ask for permission from the legal copyright holder. If you don't ask for permission, then this is called theft.

I'm glad you think my content is awesome - thank you for the compliment - but this doesn't give you the right to automatically copy it.

Please remove my legally copyrighted content from your blog at once.

Thank you for your prompt attention to fixing this theft problem.
Regards,
Bianca Raven

Of course nothing was done to remove MY content from this plagiarized ugly-green blog. In fact, when I searched for the thief's name on Google, I noticed that he has an Associated Content account and a Squidoo lens. Hmm... No profit-making intentions from stealing other people's work huh? Sure buddy.

So I reported his lack of action to Wordpress (where the ugly-green plagiarized blog was hosted).

Here's the amusingly rude email I got this morning ...

Hey,

My Wordpress account got suspended because of you. You are such an asshole. I challenge you that I shall make a much more better blog than yours with a double traffic and show it to you.

Just keep fucking with your fucking blog. Just see to it how I am going to fuck you and your blog.

Regards,
Harshajyoti Das

Um... let me think. The last time I looked, Harshajyoti - YOU WERE THE ONE WHO STOLE MY WORK. That means you got your own Wordpress account suspended - not me!

Have a nice day and remember - if you take something that doesn't belong to you without permission of the owner it's called theft.

I wonder if he'll steal this post?

;)

34 comments:

SmartEngineer said...

Hi Bianca.I agree with what you have done.Its not fair to steal something and use other's hardwork simply copying it without appropriate permission.And its pathetic to see the guy emotional and blame everyone except himself.Its a good example of how to deal with such guys.Thanks for sharing.

Money Tips said...

It's a simple and excellent way of tackling article THEFT.

The guys' emotional outburst speaks for itself.

Well done Bianca. You've given us an idea how to deal with article theft cases.

Morgan Drake Eckstein said...

His response is just unbelievable.

As for giving you a link, doesn't he realize that no one is dumb enourgh to agree to that deal; after all, once someone reads the post there, why would they have any reason to click the link?

And you know that if he robs you that he is robbing other people too.

*sigh*

~Jan. said...

Raven,

I can only imagine how violated you feel at the hand of someone stealing your work. I'm glad that you took a stand and that the host responded as they did.

Too bad you cannot block his IP. He's bound to slime his way back to check out your blog.

Stay strong!

~Jan.

iakul said...

*sighes*

I hate it when that happens to writers.

And what makes it worse is that he thinks that you are the one doing him an injustice and doesn't see anything wrong with it.

Sometimes they just don't know what they're doing is wrong and the first e-mail does the trick. But this guy is practically convinced that you are the one hindering him from what he probably sees as a easy way to make money.

Anonymous said...

Had the guy just contacted and asked you if he could reproduce your stuff on his site....the guys an idiot. Have you gone to Associated and checked out what he's written there? If he's too lazy to even blog his own, he's probably to lazy to write period. I've had three things stolen from my blog(which I don't even get paid for) but my agent was on them like glue. If someone is going to claim to be a writer, then they should actually write..

Lee Masterson said...

Well done for standing up for what's right Bianca. It's never a nice feeling when this happens to any writer. The guy obviously has no idea he's doing anything wrong, but that doesn't excuse his stupid actions.

Richard Arblaster said...

What a nice individual, it seems he underestimated how far you would go and trying to "sweet talk" his way out of it.

It won't be long before his wordpress account is suspended again.

It seems with some people the laws don't apply to them.

Gayze said...

The idiot should feel fortunate that you didn't press charges! Not only is it "wrong" to steal another's content, it's against the law. It's a crime. Period.

Grrrr!

Bianca Raven said...

Thank you everyone for your comments and support. I really appreciate it :)

Anonymous said...

What a crazy and frustrating story. I love how he gets angry at you, when he was the one stealing your words! Funny how that works!

Harsh said...

Hey listen, everyone. I am sorry. I just wanted to check out how wordpress works as I didn't had any idea about wordpress before. So, I took some posts from this blog. I am sorry for everything.

Now, when the blog got deleted, I think Binaca, you should not make it an issue.

I apologise to everyone. Whatever I had done, was a mistake and shall not repeat this mistake. Thank you Binaca to make me understand THE WAY TO BLOG.

2ThePoint said...

Harshajyoti,

I'm not buying your explanation. What you did was not a 'mistake'. You know it and I know it.

Bianca, well done on how you handled this. Superb.

Bianca Raven said...

Harsh, you're a thief AND a liar. You're a moderator on a webmaster forum and you actively advised some of the members there about how to use copyscape.

In another thread you actively asked someone else about taking blog posts from other people's blogs and how to do it legally.

In fact you admitted that you had another blog suspended back in February for the SAME theft issue - yet you went and did it again.

You were bragging on that forum about your 'great new content and how it had improved your PR and your visitor numbers so quickly' and you pointed out how good you were as a freelancer to anyone who would respond to your discussions.

Harshajyoti Das, you are a thief and a liar.

Vivek Narayan said...

hi Bianca
plagiarism has become a major issue on the internet.a few days ago while searching for some information on Google,i came across a forum which is just a carbon copy of Talkgold forum.they are copying the content from Talkgold forum or using some software to duplicate the content posted at Talgold forum.i was amazed to see how my posts at Talkgold forum were exactly copied by them.i never came across that dulicate forum before yet my content was posted on that forum.
i would like to congrat you on bringing this theft issue at the forefront and successfully punish the thief.

Towsoner said...

I find plagiarism is used by people who have no real talent and they know it. They find it easier to steal and say the content is theirs. It's done with text and images. I've seen where images are watermarked so it can not be stolen. It's a shame that blog posts can have the same done to them.

Harsh said...

I have admitted, that was a mistake. Now you guys believe me or not, I don't care.

It was my duty to inform you guys, that it was a mistake.

Believe me..!!

Felicia said...

What is this world coming to? The thief is blaming the victim?

I guess taking responsibility for one's own actions is a concept of the past.

Good for you Bianca for taking him on!

Chastised-Dreamz said...

lol I think that you did the right thing in putting the the person on blast. I'm guessing they don't understand the concept of plagiarism.

It's frustrating when people do that because they get easy earnings while you put in the hard work and even if they didn't get earnings I would still be angry because they get credit for all the time and work that you put into writing the articles.

I hope that they learn from their mistake.

parsibagan said...

Hi Bianca, long time no see. You have visited my blog and have also posted some warm comments on the same. I just do not get the time to write so much nowadays (health problems, family etc.), but that does not mean that I'll `rip' contents off your blog and paste them on mine. The day I do that I am left with no moral conscience.

Keep up the good work angel. One small query, and it is off-topic. If I wish to subscribe to certain new threads in this blog,via email, and without posting in them, what is the proper procedure?

Thanks once again :)

Bianca Raven said...

Parsibagan, there is an RSS subscription box in the top right hand corner of the blog. It gives you the option of subscribing to new posts OR new comments. You want to choose 'Subscribe to new posts'.

You'll be sent an email the moment I write a new post so you can keep informed of when I update.

Vagz said...

Indian culture for sure. Steal, act as though it's not a big deal (because in India it's not a big deal), morph from thief into victim after the axe falls. They don't get angry about anything except getting caught. No matter what the offense a simple apology is supposed to suffice...no true remorse. Judging from his replies he can't even write English well enough to blog. Change your pursuits buddy, you're destined for big trouble.

parsibagan said...

@Vagz: Why pull in a culture unnecessarily? It is not that just Indians are into scamming or stealing. If you check out Google, you'll find far more renowned scammers from all over the world. Blame that particular person for his particular mistake and not the entire country and culture. Yes, I am an Indian and am proud of that fact. Thanks!

Bianca Raven said...

Vagz, I don't believe this is solely a cultural issue. I believe it's a personal lack of morals and ethics from someone who was taught to skim content from members in an American forum that he frequents. (yes, I researched his activities heavily).

I spent quite a lot of time correcting the posts inside that particular forum to point out that plagiarism is a criminal offense. Hopefully more people will undertand more about writer's Intellectual Property Rights.

Unknown said...

OMG!!! I swear, some people just make my head spin.

I had the exact same thing happen to my husband and I, only it wasn't our writing, it was photos of our garden! This person even took a photo of my husbands hand holding a gourd, and bekieve me, I know my husbands hands well, so I am sure it was his hands. This woman had text in the photos, and posted them on her blog stated it was her gourd garden!

Hubby and I wrote her, and told her just how crappy that made us feel, and to remove them. She also had a chart on her blog, which we had given her permission to use, but she had to put our link in, and not change any credits that we put into the chart. She not only did not link to us, but she took out the copywrite credits, so that it appeared to be hers!

I do not understand some people in this world, they think they can take what they want, then get pissy with us when we ask for what is ours back.

parsibagan said...

Hello `Ma & Pa' there is one simple solution for this. Use any simple image editing program and embed the details in the image. You can very well embed something like the following text "Chris Goldenberg of Texas with his gourd" in the image. :)

Owlwings said...

I think that you have done the absolutely correct thing, Bianca, by publishing the correspondence.

Harsh (or whatever his name is) only compounds his despicability by responding. Not only did he steal your content in the first place but, when asked politely to remove it, did not do so and sought to justify his actions. When he found that his account was closed, he responded in a manner commensurate with his name. He now crawls back here and says that he is 'sorry' and that it's not a 'big issue'!

I suppose that, in the grand scheme of things, it really is no 'big issue' that one more person reveals themselves for what they are and loses whatever respect anyone had for them.

Valerie said...

Hi!

Sometimes, it helps to "ego surf". I googled my name once and out came my article ( a travel tip article) in a bikini-related site...I have to contact the developer to have my article removed.

Freelance writers should be vigilant with these kind of people..

Dana Prince said...

Way to go in defending yourself, Bianca.

Is it true that being plagiarised is the sincerest form of flattery to a writer? No, it's infuriating!

Plagiarizers need to realise their hosting and their Google Adsense accounts can also be cancelled if they scrape other people's content.

I'm glad you stood up for yourself and put your sleuth hat on to discover this guy really wasn't a "victim".

Cheers,
Dana

Lee Masterson said...

Would you believe I just found one of my own forex articles reprodouced in its entirety on a HubPage with the name Harshajyoti Das and screen name jr_sci as the author?

I was doing a copyscape search on my recent work and his name came up. I immediately thought of you and this post about the same thief.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what you mean by "Indian" thief in your blog post. I understand that Plagiarism is theft but you seem to be suffering from a white man's disease - poor chap's they have been suffering of this for a very long time now. God rid them of this aliment! Bianca I appreciate your blogs...but mind your language please

iakul said...

I wonder what the annoymous person who posted above me meant in his/her comment. The plagiariser is from Inida and he plagiarised, which makes Indian thief a perfectly acceptable description. What else should Bianca have called him? A "person of morally questionable character whose base of operations is located in the part of Asia that people refer to as India"?

Bianca Raven said...

Hey Anonymous - you wrote:

"I wonder what you mean by "Indian" thief in your blog post. I understand that Plagiarism is theft but you seem to be suffering from a white man's disease - poor chap's they have been suffering of this for a very long time now. God rid them of this aliment! Bianca I appreciate your blogs...but mind your language please"

What language am I watching?? If the person had been Chinese, I would have said "Chinese thief". If the thief had been Australian, I would have said "Australian thief".

The thief in question is Indian - so what language is offending you?

White-man disease, my @$$. Take that chip off your shoulder and realize I was referring to a person from a specific geographical location. Idiot.

parsibagan said...

I sometimes wonder why people post anonymously... I guess the post by a certain `anonymous'... replied befittingly by an Angel... has made things clear.

@Bianca: One overseas site paid me $32 for a 500 words article. I guess you have mentioned about it in your site. Health restrictions does not permit me to be so active nowadays, but one of these days I shall email you about it. Though they paid after a month... I believe that they are honest.