If someone has copied your entire website and is hosting it somewhere else, DMCA.com can help.
There has been a rapid increase of popular websites being copied verbatim and re-hosted elsewhere. This is designed to steal your SEO or Search Engine Index status to capitalize on (Google) search engine traffic and ultimately steal your site traffic and clients. DMCA.com has helped many clients where this has happened. Often the first signs this has happened to you will be:
As a website owner, it can be a shocking and frustrating experience to discover that your whole website has been copied. Not only is this a violation of your intellectual property rights, but it can also lead to security issues and negatively impact your search results and content marketing efforts. Fortunately, DMCA.com can help you get the stolen website removed.
If you find that your entire website has been copied, DMCA.com can help you take down the infringing content. The takedown team will collect the required information from you, and file takedown notices on your behalf to the offending website's hosting company, requesting that the content be removed or disabled.
It's a good practice to regularly monitor your content for any duplicates or plagiarized material. Regularly checking Google search results can help you identify any offending website that may have copied your content. DMCA.com’s Monitoring Service can alert you to stolen content that may not show in Google searches. You can sign up for monitoring through the portal in your dmca.com account.
Once you have identified the website that has stolen your content, the next step is to file a DMCA Notice. DMCA.com’s takedown team specializes in these types of requests. You can fill out the Takedown Form to get started right away.
When your content is stolen, it's possible that the thief may have also gained access to your website's backend or server. It's essential to check for any security issues and change your passwords immediately. You can also use security plugins to help prevent unauthorized access. DMCA.com’s Protection Pro subscription can help you protect your website from content theft and give you the tools to respond effectively.
You can use content marketing to promote your original content and show your audience that you're the original source of the content. Share your content on social media, guest post on other blogs, and create valuable content that your audience will want to share.
DMCA.com's takedown form is very easy to complete. Simply submit the infringing name / URL HTTP link location, where you found your copied site and the takedown team can go to work on your behalf.
If one of these examples has been stolen from you, DMCA.com can help.
You can also submit a question regarding your takedown or case here: As a question!
Three pieces of information will be needed to file your request:
Where on the internet is your stolen content located? Is it a platform like Facebook or TikTok? Where on the website is the link that you want content removed from? Be sure to provide the exact URL or website/webpage link of what you want removed. If the stolen content is an video or image located on a website provide the direct link contained in the site. Copy and paste infringing text, and provide the URL of the infringing image if required.
Here's an example: https://www.badguy_site.com/webpage/image_2
Where was your content stolen from? Was it on you social media profile like Facebook, TikTok or Reddit? Was it from your website? Provide the exact URL it was stolen from, even if the content has already been removed from it's original location. The original URL is still valuable. If it was not online you can reference computer, cell phone, or camera etc. Provide the link if it was online such as a website or cloud storage to the exact page it was stolen from. You can upload the original content to a cloud storage service and provide that URL with an expalanation of where it was originally stolen from.
Here's an example: https://share.icloud.com/photos/my_original_content
How was the content stolen and what is the content owner's name? How do you own the content? Did you create it, buy it, copyright it? Who is authorized to file the DMCA Takedown? Who is claiming ownership of the content? When did you create the content and when was the content stolen?
Here's an example: "My photo I took of myself on my camera was stolen from my Google Drive and was posted on this website without my knowledge and I would like it removed."
If you are unsure how to collect the information for these three categories the Professional Takedown Team at DMCA.com can help with the answers. Click here to ask us about your situation.
If the list above does not appear to describe your situation by all means ask. Click here to Ask us about your situation
DMCA.com's first recommendation is to contact a lawyer or law firm in the legal jurisdiction of your company or website to determine what is the appropriate legal communication. DMCA.com does not offer any legal advice or specific recommendation regarding any copyright practice.
DMCA.com has two programs to help content creators, publishers and UGC platforms:
If you are unsure what program is best for your situation by all means reach out and one of the DMCA.com team can provide support: Help Me Choose the right option.