Flattered and Furious…

I decided to send out my newsletter a little early due to the nature of RECENT marketing promotions regarding…

Copyright infringement.

It’s not pretty. It can infuriate those who have been copied. Especially when the thief doesn’t even bother to change one word. Well OK, he did change one word… from my website name to his website name.

I can’t think of the last time I found myself so angry!

While I should be flattered that someone else wanted to copy my success, I quickly remembered all the buzz going around about how to legally “steal” someone else’s site.

While the Site Stealer package is being promoted for legally stealing someone else’s site, it did not mean word for word. In fact, I’m pretty sure they meant that “ideas” from successful sites could be stolen, not the whole page, word for word and the graphics to boot.

I’m referring to my giveaway site.

I got a JV invite from one of my friends. Since I like promoting these giveaways I went over to sign up, only to see my site, with a different header and footer, staring me in the face. I couldn’t believe the nerve!

I went ahead and joined, just to check if ALL my stuff had been copied and of course it had, right down to the OTO and the graphics I created.

So should I be flattered that someone thinks I am successful enough to copy? Yes.

Even though I’m flattered, I’m also furious.

The site owner did reply to my email claiming that he “outsourced” the web copy writing to a third party and said that he would change it. 24 hours later, he was still promoting the giveaway with MY WEB COPY on it.

He outsourced it all right, right off of my pages.

There is no way to “legally” steal someone else’s site. It’s a marketing ploy used by someone to generate sales for their “Site Stealer” product. A product which has already been banned by Clickbank I might add.

Copyright infringement will not only result in legal action, it can also ruin your reputation as a marketer. Is it worth it?

I dunno. Ask the guy who stole my site if he’s noticed his contributors pulling their gifts from his giveaway. Ask if if his member signups are dropping because nobody is promoting it. Ask him if he thinks people will still trust him now that word is spreading that he’s not an honest marketer.

My guess is that any business he’s built over the last year will quickly slip through his fingers.

Those who do promote his site are simply reinforcing his idea that stealing can pay off in the long run and are probably not the kind of marketers I wish to do business with.

copyright infringement site stealing