Sharing your food and your words on your foodie blog is a wonderful thing, but someone stealing your food and your words is definitely not an okay thing.
Ready for a rant? Well, ready or not... here goes:
As foodies, we love our food and we lovingly share it. We take the time and put a lot of energy and effort into making wonderful meals, letting our food get cold so we can get a perfect picture, then invite readers into our home--our blog--offer them a delicious meal and enjoy a conversation, in the form of comments, with them. Then a day or so later, or maybe a week or a month later, we're visiting another blog and there we see it! Our food, our words--stolen right off our pages with no link and no credit.
I've had content ripped off from this blog and some of my other blogs, as well as having complete books ripped off and offered as downloads. My words that I so lovingly created and put my whole heart and soul into, and devoted a lot of time and thought to, are stolen, with no credit and no rightful payment. Words that I chose
to share to maybe brighten someone's day, to offer them a way to meditate with coffee, to share my knowledge, to share information about writing a cookbook, were taken from me, ripped right from
my soul. It's like someone breaking into your home and stealing your most prized possessions--possessions you would have willingly shared with them if only they had asked.
As I was browsing the blogosphere this morning, cup of coffee in hand, I came across a post that someone had STOLEN from my Zen Coffee blog. And this isn't the first time someone has stolen content from that blog or my Magical Mind blog without my permission and with no credit given; they posted it as their own.
That's STEALING! That's like the guest you invited into your home and shared your food with, has lobbed off with all your food when you went into the kitchen to get them more food. I HATE this! It makes me feel upset, angry, mad, hurt, and totally pissed! It makes me not want to share my food anymore or to write posts on my other blogs.
I know that plagiarism happens all the time, to everyone sooner
or later--and I've blogged about it at my Writer's Workshop--but
it's happened to me one too many times, even with my copyright notice on my sidebar. When it happens to you--and it will, sooner
or later--there are a few things you can do about it. WordPress has an informative article about Content Theft: What To Do. CopyScape is a wonderful resource to find out who is stealing your content and has an article about Responding to Plagiarism.
Maybe I'm overreacting to the theft of my content, but I think not. It's happened one time too many. I've had my fill of it and I don't
feel like sharing anymore--on any of my blogs. But then again, I may change my mind. I'm really, really upset and angry, and mostly hurt. And when I get hurt, I get crabby, moody, and withdraw. It's in my nature; I was born under the sign of Cancer--the crab--it's kind of scary that I'm so true to what this sign represents.
Okay, rant over. I'd just like to add that I've really enjoyed making some fine foodie friends.
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20 comments:
Thank you so much for this! I needed this info!
Why don't you give us the link of the person who stole your content?
You're not overreacting, that sucks!! It seemed to happen to a bunch of food bloggers I know this past year. So sorry, Gloria. :(
Thanks for the links.
I agree that you are not overreacting. In fact, if you do not demand that stolen content is removed from the Internet IMMEDIATELY and/or demand payment, you are underreacting. For print plagiarism, demand payment and say if they don't pay a reprint fee, you'll sue.
This issue has nothing to do with the careful crafting of your words but everything to do with the law. Using your words without permission is copyright infringement. Your work is copyrighted once it is available in a tangible form -- whether registered or not.
The US Copyright office explains it succinctly on an FAQ Page (http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what):
Q "When is my work protected?
A "Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
Q "Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
A" No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work."
Cookbook Cuisine: Go get 'em!
I hope your blood has gone down from a boil to a simmer and that you're feeling better (not accepting but just personally less stressed). I'm glad it wasn't one of us foodies because we'd sure miss you in this community.
P.S. Good advice from Claire.
Gloria, I agree that it's an incredibly sucky way to start the day. Gently remind yourself of those very wisewords and advise you wrote in your Zen Coffee book. Be in the moment. Meditate on this particular moment of your day. You can't go back and change what has happened, you can only attempt to prevent it from happening it again. Your love, kindness and energy are far to precious to waste on some inconsiderate bastards actions. Been there, done that...the only one that suffered was me (and my blood pressure).
Please know that my positive energies are flowing to you at this very moment. Keep your mind clear and follow the exact same rules that you've kindly offered to us in your wonderful books. I love you my friend.
I'm sorry Gloria!! I don't think your overreacting either. I would be furious!
Gloria, I'm so sorry. Thank you...It's great info for all of us. And I, for one, love a good rant when my blood boils. It does a body good!! Thanks for sharing and I can't wait to hear more from you. On any topic!
OH no. I just found you and was really enjoying reading your blogs. I'm so sorry. :( Thanks for the great information.
I would be very upset too, and seriously consider shutting down.
I hope you are stronger than me, and weather the disappointment in other peoples' actions.
As one "crab" to another (I'm a July baby), please don't withdraw. I know only too well how that goes because it can become my pattern in an instant. You have every right to be angry that someone has stolen your words. It is a personal violation of the highest magnitude. I would report it, if it's possible to do so. I would also try to contact the person who did it in the hopes that they are just ill-informed about such things and not devious. Just don't stop sharing, friend.
It's just so UNFAIR Gloria & I know how much it hurts. My blood boils just reading your post...it really sucks!!
Hang on there Gloria, it takes all sorts to make this world, 7 that is sometimes a pity too!!
HUGS & LOV, Deeba
Thank you, all you wonderful foodies and friends, for your support. :) It really means a lot to me and I've decided to continue sharing. Can't let a silly little thing like a thief get the better of me.
I left a very polite comment on this person's blog with a link to my stolen words and asked him to give credit where credit was due. I also reported it to the web host. He apologized and removed the post.
Meg: It sounds like this has happened to you, too.
Anonymous: There are too many links and besides that, I don't support and link to blogs that steal content. My blog stuff has been ripped off 23 times that I know of, which I took action against, and my book was downloaded over 2,000 times before my publisher put the kabosh on the freeware sites.
Melissa: It does suck and you're welcome for the links.
Claire: Since you and I are both professional writers, we know copyright and what it means and how to honor it. Thanks for sharing the link.
Joan: I was upset for all of ten minutes. Once I wrote my post and vented, I felt so much better!
Teresa: I love you, too, my friend. Since the content was stolen from my Zen blog, I decided to be very Zen about it, and I actually had a really great day because I redirected my energies and started working on a new book.
Reeni: Thanks for your support, sweetie.
Chef Bliss: You're right; it does do a body good to get it all out.
Kendra: It's nice to meet you and I hope to see you around here more often.
Natashya: I did think about shutting down and not blogging anymore, but since I'm a writer, I just have to write. It's as necessary as breathing to me.
Arlene: As one crab to another, you can completely understand my feelings and you know how sensitive we "crabs" are.
Deeba: You left a comment as I was writing my response. Thanks. Love and hugs right back to you.
I have heard of it happening to others as well so you are definitely not alone Gloria. They had the same reaction as anyone would.
Hey Gloria! It is okay to rant, we're here to listen (I mean, read). This problem is really so infuriating!!! It is good that you're able to get this off your chest and you feel better!! It is also good that you're able to do something about it, too and the person removed the contents from his blog :) Thanks for sharing this experience.
So sorry it happened to you as well Gloria. I know this has also happened to other fellow bloggers.
I don't blame you for being outraged, I would be too. Hopefully this will stop.
Thanks for the information.
Kind, dear, thoughtful fans of Cookbook Cuisine -
For people like Gloria and me who try to make our livings from our words, this all comes down to being vigilent and protecting our intellectual property -- and therefore our livelihoods. We lock our doors, and we lock our cars, but we can't lock online content. A credit and a link are fine IF THE ORIGINATOR HAS GIVEN PERMISSION for someone to reuse the material.
Re "You can't go back and change what has happened, you can only attempt to prevent it from happening it again." With all due respect, a writer CAN and MUST insist that the plagiarist remove stolen content. One of the beauties of the Internet is that it is easy to delete stolen material. In print media, printing a correction or a retraction is the only recourse.
For online plagiarism, an apology for use without permission is not enough. Payment is the best thing; taking down content used without permission is next best. For plagiarism in print, money is the ONLY just compensation.
This has happened to us on many occasions and some of it we didn't even think was worthy of theft to be honest. We had a picture stolen that came from a book we didn't even write and the next thing we see - it's all over tastespotting. You're right about the energy and effort bloggers so caringly put into their work - as an extension of themselves to have it usurped - just unethical.
Hi Gloria, Thanks for your support! I will follow the link and read about what to do. Hugs.
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