BLOG THEFT FOLLOW UP

Thank you all for you kind words and support regarding the splog which has been stealing my content (original post). I have duly added the site to all the black lists that exist out there, and sent a notice to google adsense about it. After a lengthy wait, I received a reply, and have posted it in full below, so that if this happens to any of you you will know what to expect from them. Which is, as you can see, not much! Since my attorney is on vacation to Mars at the moment, and since my bank account cannot withstand any fees associated with the fact that I would be "liable to the alleged infringer for damages (including costs and attorneys' fees)' and given this is the States we're dealing with, who have a very odd idea of justice, and since I'm not sure whether I do have the right to request that my posts not be used (since I don't disallow it under the copyright, if linked back) THEN I figure I'm just going to have to live with it.
I hope that, after such a long time of not posting, the guy has got tired of stealing from me. I suppose I'll know shortly after posting this!
The other thing that keeps floating around my head is the google motto "Don't be evil." humph. OK, splogs are not google's fault, but you'd think they'd be a bit more helpful in aiding normal people fight them! So I found some sites regarding the evil/not evil status of google, such as this one. Interesting reading indeed! As someone who held off using google as my search engine for a long time (they really do NOT give the best results, as far as I'm concerned, and I never like jumping on bandwagons) I finally switched because the services they offer (personalised home pages, google earth, etc.) are really so useful. Now I'm starting to wonder if I was a bit hasty!
And one last word to my splogger: if you ever do check your blog and see these posts, well. Ask yourself: is the money you make off of my work is enough to ease your guilty conscience? And even if it is you should know that, in these circles at least, and probably in real life as well, you will forever be known as a LOSER!

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FROM GOOGLE ADSENSE:

It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the text of which can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office website: http://www.copyright.gov/) and other applicable intellectual property laws. In this case, this means that if we receive proper notice of infringement, we will forward that notice to the responsible web site publisher.

To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by fax or regular mail, not by email) that sets forth the items specified below. Please note that pursuant to that Act, you may be liable to the alleged infringer for damages (including costs and attorneys' fees) if you materially misrepresent that you own an item when you in fact do not. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether you have the right to request removal from our service, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.

To expedite our ability to process your request, please use the following format (including section numbers):

1. Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you believe has been infringed upon. For example, "The copyrighted work at issue is the text that appears on http://www.legal.com/legal_page.html."

2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing upon the copyrighted work listed in item #1 above. You must identify each page that allegedly contains infringing material by providing its URL.

3. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit Google to contact you (email address is preferred).

4. Include the following statement: "I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above on the allegedly infringing web pages is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law."

5. Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."

6. Sign the paper.

7. Send the written communication to the following address:

Google, Inc.
Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaints
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View CA 94043

OR Fax to:

(650) 618-8507, Attn: AdSense Support, DMCA complaints

Regards,
The Google AdSense Team

Original Message Follows:
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From: rkarafilly@gmail.com
Subject: Google AdSense DMCA Complaint
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:00:04 -0700

Url: http://blogroot.net/
PropertyCode: ca-pub-7976427294976685
LanguageCode: en
Notes:
SPAM REPORT!!!! This site has been feeding off my blog, stealing all my posts, since March. It is a splog! It has no useful, original content of its own.