Content Theft - Protection & Deterrents

[EFS Webmaster]

I've seen a number of postings regarding content theft however I didn't really see anything regarding content theft protection & deterrents. I would be interested in getting other peoples thoughts on this.

I know there are tools that can help detect content theft after it happens (i.e. Copyscape) however does anyone take steps proactively to minimize the ease with which content can be 'lifted' in the first place?

Most of the theft i've seen appears to be basic "copy/paste" type stuff. With this in mind, has anyone implemented code on their site to either:

1) prohibit the "copy" / highlight function on their pages in the first place,
2) disable the right click function,
3) create a small 'thumbprint' or similar within their code for traceability,
4) encrypt the sourcecode (for instance, using a tool like this http://www.corsac.com/product/wp.htm or this http://www.antssoft.com/htmlprotector/index.htm)

I know that if someone REALLY wants to copy content, it can't be stopped, however I would think that implementing a few of these 'roadblocks' would slow down or even stop most people, especially those that aren't overly tech saavy (i.e. most agents).

With that said:
- Is anyone doing anything to proactively prevent content theft?
- Would any of the coding techniques/tools presented above potentially hurt you in the Search Engines?

[Ted S]

As you said, if someone wants your copy, they can take it... source encrypting isn't really encrypting, it's obfuscating and since you're worried about copy (rather than code), that won't help. Stopping right clicks or the copy function are just javascript, a few clicks and that's off. With this in mind, the only people you are stopping is the people who don't want your copy enough to go through the hassle -- i.e. a potential customer.

What if I want to copy your contact information off a page? Part of an article to share with my friend, family member or spouse? A photo that I want to print to sort against other properties? All of those are good, legitimate uses that bring you business and they would all not work on your site.

In my experience, these measures are well intentioned but just serve to harm your user experience rather than to bring you any benefit.

[webmaster]

I agree with Ted S, other than putting an appropriate copyright notice on your website, with a link to a greater definition and potential actions if the content is taken, I would not go much further - of course your REW team can implement right click disable or any other measures you require, but I have not found it helps much.

At least with a very visible copyright notice, the users who steal it cannot claim ignorance (Which is not an excuse in a court of law anyways)

In terms of content produced by REW, we document and date all content create for a client, and will back you up if anyone is ever reported.

The best thing we can do is support each other when these things are reported - we probably had at least 20 cases of stolen design or content that I dealt with last year, and I had a 100% success rate in having that content taken down, and or the offending material changed sufficiently so as to not infringe on our customers copyright.