Hypothetical Question

Would this situation change your thinking?

Yes, I would do the following things:
1) Immediately file for a registered copyright since to be able to sue for infringement, the work must be registered with the Copyright Office. However, I may register after the infringement occured, as long as it is before my filing a lawsuit.
2) Protect both my HTML and graphics with a "no right click" script.
3) Protect both my HTML and graphics with a paper copy of my site since when printing from the Web, making sure that both the date and URL are printed on the page also. At least this would provide some proof of the date of my website. I would also mail myself a copy of the web site, but not open it. The postmarked date will show the start date of my site.
4) Protect my graphics with a watermark or other identifying mark, e.g., both Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro have options to watermark graphics.
5) Routinely use the major search engines to see if someone has stolen anything from my site by searching for words or phrases unique to my site, such as my company name. or typing the titles and headlines from my most popular web pages into the search box. I would then go through the first three results pages. If the content looks familiar, I would then check the web address (URL). If it shows a link to a page I am not familiar with, I would click on it and review the page. If my material appears, I would look to make certain that I am given full credit for my work that another site displays especially if another web author has used my work without my permission. If there is no reference on the page to myself as the original author or to my web site, I then would know if I might have a case for copyright infringement.
Note: Remember that some search engines allow the searching for particular images with unusual names.
6) Routinely review my log files carried by my web hosts which include updated records of who links directly to my site which are viewable and printable and check them for sites that look unfamilar and review them.

What actions, if any, would you take to recover your stolen material?

First -- Document the taking of my copyrighted materials
1) I would make hard and digital copies of the stolen web page content and the source code by printing the web pages that were stolen and made sure the date is contained on every page printed. These printouts should include URLs and titles as well as having a date on the printed pages and the URLs in the event the host or the webmaster takes down the site.
2) I would need to view the source code by using the Menu command and view source in the web browser then print it all being sure that it is also dated. Then I would compare the code of the offender's website with my own code to see how closely they match, e.g., same font settings, same graphics, same bullet points, same table formats.
3) If I find any I would next make a listing of all web pages that have the stolen items and write down exactly what was stolen on each page, e.g., listing of both the content and the names of any graphic images which were stolen.

Second -- Research the Offender
1) I would then do a WHOIS search to see who hosts the site and who is the administrative contact and check to see if the web host has an acceptable use policy that addresses copyright infringement and also print their Acceptable Use Policy web page and source code again making sure it is well dated.

Third -- Notify involved parties
a)An attorney --- Note: Not a requirement in the initial stages
b)The offender's web host
c)Major newsgroups within my industry as well as the offender's industry --- Note: This can be particularly useful if you regularly contribute and ususally other parties recognize your work.
d)Major search engines and directories

Fourth -- Demand Removal of my copyrighted materials
1) Speak with the company owner or the manager of the offending web site or to the webmaster. It is better to do this via a phone call before sending an email message.
2) Immediately send a carefully worded email message or a certified, registered letter to the offender explaining the copyright infringement.
3) Order the removal of all offending material including a few pages of evidence listing every graphic image they have used or stolen without your permission before you contact them.
4) Demand that you receive an agreement to have the copyrighted materials removed with 24 to 48 hours 5) Demand that you receive a signed notice or at least an email message from the offending parties stating they acted with impropriety; that the files have been removed and will stay removed; that no copyrighted materials from your web site will ever be copied by them again under any circumstances (or, at least, without your expressed written consent)
6) State emphatically that you will pursue a lawsuit against them if they do not comply with your order
---Note: Why is having this written agreement from them important? It gives me a paper that provides me with the acknowledgement of wrongdoing. If these pages ever appear again without my permission, I have the email, letter, and signed notice as evidence.

Fifth -- Use of the Law
If my pages are not removed from the internet to my satisfaction, or an agreement to my terms within the 48 hours sipulated I would need to hire an attorney to send them a registered, certified letter printed on the lawyer's letterhead.
Note: Always bear in mind that it is always better to avoid a lawsuit and reach a form of settlement, especially if no significant loss has occured. In my estimation and experience lawsuits can prove costly and time-consuming for both parties.

And who, if anyone, could you sue for copyright infringement under current law?

No one is above the law including our federal officials. I am unsure if the law has been changed that stated you had to get permission to sue the goverment from the goverment before you could proceed.

a darlin Creation by Dixie