My Marble Cake Recipe and an Update on Plagiarism
Update (June 16, 2011): The offending post has now been removed by Yahoo!.
Yesterday, an anonymous reader commented on my marble cake recipe saying that she saw it on another website, copied word by word (link at the bottom).
Admittedly, I do come across replications of my posts now and then, images cropped to remove the watermark, etc. I leave comments, email them, and hope they remove it. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. I am sure bloggers face this issue all the time.
So I headed over to the site and saw that not only has my post been copied over word by word, but there were close to 70 comments and over 300 FB likes on the post (strangely, I don't see this information now)! Most of the comments were about how good the swirls of the cake looked and what amazing memories the cake brought back, etc. I scanned the page to see if the source has been credited. Even if it was linked back to me, I want the post removed. Porting an entire post over is just not done, even if there's a link back.
Needless to say I was very upset and frustrated and put up a status on Facebook where a lot of you promised to support me if push came to shove.
On going through the earlier comments, I also realised that not only has this "Linda" person copied my entire marble cake recipe to her blog, she has also copied every single comment I got on the post, with the names of the commenters changed! Who does that? I started having serious doubts if this person was even real and whether this was done in some automated way. I checked her other posts and realised she only has about 2-3 posts apart from this. So I am not very sure if she is popular as I initially thought she was.
The first thing I did was to leave her a comment asking her to remove the copied content. Then I contacted Yahoo! following the steps on their Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy page. I got a reply today morning asking for a proper notice and the email has a lot of legal jargon that I am trying to figure out. I wish they had a document for such instances that folks like me can digitally sign so that even laymen can complain and prevent their content from being misused.
Next Steps:
- I am going to write back to Yahoo! and try to include as much information as I can to get this content removed.
- I am not sure if adding more comments will get this Linda person to remove my recipe. I doubt it but maybe that will work.
Either case, this has been stressful business so I am considering adding a watermark bang in the middle of my images going forward and maybe disabling right click on this blog. I don't think the latter is a super useful thing though, because anyone who has subscribed to the feeds will get all the info they need and can copy all they want.
Again, huge thanks to everyone who rallied against this for me. I am sorry if I wasted your time in any way, and I really really appreciate this. The food blogger community and my readers - you rock!
Copied post
My original post
Update: Apparently, my Eggless Chocolate Chunk Recipe has also been copied and posted by another Shine blogger (link). Thank you for letting me know, Swapna chechy.
Yesterday, an anonymous reader commented on my marble cake recipe saying that she saw it on another website, copied word by word (link at the bottom).
Admittedly, I do come across replications of my posts now and then, images cropped to remove the watermark, etc. I leave comments, email them, and hope they remove it. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. I am sure bloggers face this issue all the time.
So I headed over to the site and saw that not only has my post been copied over word by word, but there were close to 70 comments and over 300 FB likes on the post (strangely, I don't see this information now)! Most of the comments were about how good the swirls of the cake looked and what amazing memories the cake brought back, etc. I scanned the page to see if the source has been credited. Even if it was linked back to me, I want the post removed. Porting an entire post over is just not done, even if there's a link back.
Needless to say I was very upset and frustrated and put up a status on Facebook where a lot of you promised to support me if push came to shove.
On going through the earlier comments, I also realised that not only has this "Linda" person copied my entire marble cake recipe to her blog, she has also copied every single comment I got on the post, with the names of the commenters changed! Who does that? I started having serious doubts if this person was even real and whether this was done in some automated way. I checked her other posts and realised she only has about 2-3 posts apart from this. So I am not very sure if she is popular as I initially thought she was.
The first thing I did was to leave her a comment asking her to remove the copied content. Then I contacted Yahoo! following the steps on their Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy page. I got a reply today morning asking for a proper notice and the email has a lot of legal jargon that I am trying to figure out. I wish they had a document for such instances that folks like me can digitally sign so that even laymen can complain and prevent their content from being misused.
Next Steps:
- I am going to write back to Yahoo! and try to include as much information as I can to get this content removed.
- I am not sure if adding more comments will get this Linda person to remove my recipe. I doubt it but maybe that will work.
Either case, this has been stressful business so I am considering adding a watermark bang in the middle of my images going forward and maybe disabling right click on this blog. I don't think the latter is a super useful thing though, because anyone who has subscribed to the feeds will get all the info they need and can copy all they want.
Again, huge thanks to everyone who rallied against this for me. I am sorry if I wasted your time in any way, and I really really appreciate this. The food blogger community and my readers - you rock!
Copied post
My original post
Update: Apparently, my Eggless Chocolate Chunk Recipe has also been copied and posted by another Shine blogger (link). Thank you for letting me know, Swapna chechy.
Posts
goodluck babe
ReplyDeleteYou go girl! With you all the way. Hope this gets resolved soon and a few people learn the perils of plagiarism. Yahoo better get it's act together on this one.
ReplyDeleteStill with you, Nags. I hope this Linda person and her blog are pulled down.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck Naga! I wish you'd give the FB page as well, so we could literally spam and express our anger as well!! All the best..Shreya
ReplyDeleteNags, Good way to go. It sucks, especially the comments bit. I do a bit on intellectual property jargon stuff and have read a couple of such notices in detail. If you need help with it, lemme know.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Nags, definitely with you...Copying the recipe is bad enough, but copying comments is beyond ridiculous !!
ReplyDeleteWith you Nags..It's so disgusting to see .Don't know what to say.I too get angry..
ReplyDeleteBest of all..come out with success.
This is so bad ...she even copied your intro too ...talking about Kottayam ...as said with you ..
ReplyDeleteAhhh... that is rediculous ! With you Nags, hope this gets resolved !
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Mad Jammer. I have replied Yahoo. If they come back asking for more stuff, I will ask you for help, ok?
ReplyDeleteThis is really disgusting. Moreover your Blog is mentioned as one of the cooking blogs in Mangaiyar malar (June 2011), a tamil magazine.
ReplyDeleteoh really? must ask the in laws to get a copy of the magazine.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Nags--hope the issue is resolved soon!
ReplyDeleteApparently, one of the comments she has copied even says "Perfect swirls, Nags".. she changed the name of posters.. but not the comments which mentions ur name..
ReplyDeleteHope the issue solves soon...Gud luck!
ReplyDeleteReally infuriating !! Fight till the end..All the very best..!
ReplyDeleteOh! God....they copied it word for word....
ReplyDeleteAll the Best Nags!! Hope all your efforts pay off and they remove this post immediately.
This is sick. I can't imagine someone copying the comments too . What for ?
ReplyDeleteI come across many of my recipes too copied , actually my paneer pasanda recipe was copy pasted along with all my string of fullstops i type :)
The blogger later added a link and apologized but i wonder why such a thing is required by someone . If you are not interested in cooking n photography , why bother to have a blog for food.....I do not watermark my pictures as yet and when i see watermarks smudged and pictures posted i feel angry...
How sad! This has happened to me once but thankfully the site was removed after EC wrote to the admin. Looks like someone just transferred your blog!
ReplyDeleteThis is pathetic.. this "Linda" is sick.. she even copied ur name in the comments.. huh... I am not even a blogger(i just copy ur recipes in my kitchen)..even then i can feel the infringement.. All the best Nags!!
ReplyDeleteNags, dont worry. Everything will be resolved. We all are with you. I am really surprised. If a famous blog like yours, which has so many fans and followers gets copied inch by inch then what will happen to the blogs like mine who just started blogging. Its really disgusting.
ReplyDeleteWith you on this. Though I have given up after Times of India copied a photo clicked by me from my blog and published it. My numerous mails to the correspondents went unreplied. They didn't even reply to the mails I sent to their personal facebook ids. People are just shameless and the whole issue of plagiarism is pathetic! But I do hope your issue gets resolved and the Linda woman removes from her blog what is your hardwork. All the best!
ReplyDeletenot sure if u knew this already..but injipennu(myinjimanga) went thru this long back..if u check her blog u maybe able to get an idea of what exactly to do..Abt this situation i myself am feeling irritated..can understand how u must b feeling..
ReplyDeleteIf the retarded blogger wanted to copy your stuff, she should have taken the pains to at least change "Nags" from "her" comments! This whole issue angers me and makes me want to physically punch something. But I think talking to Yahoo! is a much more saner idea. All the best, girl.
ReplyDeleteThats ridiculous ! I've gone through your marble cake blog so many times and i love it. And now that i visited the copied site, it angered me so much. It makes absolutely no sense to copy even the comments. Defies all logic ! All the best to you and stay put.
ReplyDeleteNags
ReplyDeleteYou can leave a comment/threat on Shine Page on FB too. will do that myself.
Don't give up! This Linda person is scandalous and needs to be stopped. We work hard to bake, take pics, and post to our blogs. Comments make our day and its regrettable that Linda won't take the time to do her own work.
ReplyDeleteFight for this Nags.. definitely with you.. This is really frustrating..
ReplyDeleteNags,
ReplyDeleteHang in there. You have done all you can. Hopefully Yahoo will do something about it.
whoa !!! That is indeed a word by word, picture by picture copy. Hope you get justice from Yahoo and some serious action is taken. Not that my blog is that popular, but I never add any thing on my pictures marking them mine, so I better start doing it :(
ReplyDeleteGood grief. My BP went up three fold after viewing the shameless act. All I can think is "why?". You have all our support Nags. May da force be with you.
ReplyDeleteSubh
omg- how can people be this shameless- My full hearted support to your efforts!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you have to go through this. So ridiculous!!It doesn't seem like "Linda" is real! Please keep fighting them. They shouldn't be able to do this. Sooooo wrong!!! It is making me angry!!! I support you 100% percent!!
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteJust went through the copied post...and the comments are all visible...in fact there is one comment (7th from top) which even mentions your name "Nags"...no doubt about it! even the comments are copied!
To quote - from copied blog "Posted by AyS Fri Jun 10, 2011 7:52pm PDT
Perfect swirls, Nags! That's a pretty marble cake you've got there."
Pretty incriminating, huh?
Good luck...
Take care
Chitra Nair
this is so atrocious !!!
ReplyDeletego ahead nags. all of us with u!!!
To all of you here, I think you guys are just reacting too much to this. Firstly, yes, copying someone else's content and reposting in their website is a too cheap act. But, you guys need to know that internet is an ocean. You have access to an ocean of information. And for all that you know, that girl could have been innocent enough. She could just liked it at random and would have wanted to share it. She could have written a courtesy at the end. But its ok. And for this you guys are making it too big out of nothing. And as for you nags or naga.... Pls dont go over the board.. you are talented. Agreed. But dont blow them too much :)
ReplyDeleteAh I was waiting for a comment like this. You are entitle to your opinion but don't you dare come in and tell me that "it is ok" for someone to use my content without asking me or crediting me.
ReplyDeleteThe Internet is an ocean, agreed. So is the entire world. So you would you say "it is ok" for someone to come to your house and steal something that belongs to you because that person was "innocent and liked it at random" just because your front door was open?
I am not asking anyone to rally up against me. I thought I will but decided against it because its not fair. Whatever people have done for me so far they have done because they wanted to.
What you are saying makes no sense but I forgive you because you seem very ignorant of how these things work. I am guessing you haven't been subjected to plagiarism. Unless you have experienced something similar, don't criticize me.
PS: I didn't "blow them too much" at any time. I am not even sure what you mean. Mind your language. It won't take me more than 30 mins to figure out who you are so don't think you can say what comes to your mind and hide behind a name or the word anonymous.
Listen, you are way to quarrelsome. I am not supporting the person who copied the content from you. As I told you it is a very cheap act. No doubt about that. But the hungama that you guys make is damn funny.
ReplyDeleteAnd about your comparison, As you said, If I had kept my house open, and things were stolen, then it is a price I am paying for being careless. And blogs are like open diaries. You know it better than me. And when you have decided to keep it open, these things are bound to happen. There are so many ppl noting down in their diaries. Are you gonna sue them as well?? :D If you did not want anyone to copy your images or the content, you could have done that. I hope you are aware of that. Keeping them open in a public forum is your mistake.
Being subjected to plagiarism is an awful thing. So I understand you feeling. But this is a blog. And you haven’t mentioned any copyrights or anything in your website. Have you??
Abt the blowing thingy, it was purely comical. So I do not want to keep arguing on that.
Ps: I am posting anonymously just coz you have a big fan base and the least I want is them following me and pelting me. Not coz you can’t find me. They seem even more aggressive. :)
Hahahaha.. Do you realise what you are doing? You are coming into my space and arguing about how I should react to what I think is an unfair act against me. I will reach how I bloody well wan to so don't tell me what to do. And excuse me, I am quarrelsome? Did I find you and pick a fight with you? if anything, you are the one doing it.
ReplyDeleteIf people seem supportive of me, that's because they understand what this feels like.
Having an open blog is not a careless act, its a way for me to share what I know. If people benefit from it, that's a good thing. Having an open house is not an act of carelessness either, its just another option.
If you are so worried about people coming and pelting you, stop judging others. You don't need to agree to what I do. Its my space, I go by my rules. Also, I decide how I react to things that happen to me, I don't need help from anyone.
You can decide to stay calm and be patient if the same happens to you. Fair?
Btw, there is a copyright message in my blog footer and in my about page. Just FYI.
ReplyDeleteYay! That post is removed! Aren't there laws to stop this plagarism? I can imagine your passion and hardwork behind each and every post and for someone to steal your work (yes, it is stealing!) is unpardonable. Good Job with the blog! I love your recipes!
ReplyDeleteNags.....
ReplyDeleteTake a deep breath and relax......Tension nahi lene ka .....Its Peoples way to react as we all differ from each other in nature....some provoke u for an argument some just be with u as a support.u shud be really happy ....so many people loves ur blog.....ur food...ur smile....Including ME.....so just keep smiling....
Neetz.....
Congratulations, girl.
ReplyDeletehuh
ReplyDeletewhat is this??
Its ones fundamental right to react the way one wants. since nags has put all her effort she has every right to fight for it.
everyone is so convinced of her talents after going through her recipes and photography !!
she is a pure gem and I SHOUT OUT here that am a big fan of Nags.
So i would object others nagging her.
I love U nags..
be the way you are and dont even change a single bit of yourself.
Thanks for your support mitha.
ReplyDeletepleasure is all mine. I think these are the simple gestures of love which I can give back to you .
ReplyDeleteThis is ridiculous!!
ReplyDeleteWith you on this, Nags. I think we should fight for all these things. Too much passiveness will only encourage such suckers to repeat it further!
in my humble opinion, you should just ask them to add an acknowledgement and share the knowledge!
ReplyDelete