Sunday, May 22, 2011

Open Letter to Whoever That Steal Photos and Contents of My Blog

I often get requests from fellow bloggers to use my photos or recipes on their blogs and usually accommodate as long as there is proper attribution. Many readily agree on the condition. But of late, a growing number are downloading my photographs and whole contents from my blog and posting them as their own without my permission. I have contacted some who were decent enough to remove the photos or gave me the credit via links and comments. However, some hide behind privacy features that prevent me from getting in touch to tell them. What they do is unethical and that they need to stop stealing.

My questions to these bloggers is -- Why are you doing this? My guess is you want a blog to be proud of but are too lazy to do research on cooking/baking techniques continuously, cook/bake/grill every other day, take hundreds if not thousands of pictures and spend hours on end editing them. THAT is what it takes for me to build up My Kitchen Snippets. I don't claim my blog is a work of art or the likes, but it is my little home which doors I willingly open to anyone interested in my kitchen adventures. I feel that my generosity is abused when you 'STEAL' after visiting my home. If you like my contents and photographs just ask or have the courtesy to create a link back to my blog as the source. You cannot steal in the hope that I won’t find out because I will.

The next and subsequent blogs where I find my photographs and contents without credit to me will be reported to their blog hosts under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

36 comments:

Rebekah said...

I am so sorry to hear that's happening to you! I know that would really bother me if I saw something complete of mine taken and posted as someone else's property - I hope you are able to get any copyright infringements resolved!!

Anonymous said...

It's very wrong to steal without permission. Report them I say. Don't be nice to them as they are thieves. Take care and have a smooth weekend. Best regards, lynda

Jenn said...

How frustrating to have your hard work stolen from you! These people should be deeply ashamed. They should definitely be reported immediately as they do know better. Don't be too nice!

ann low said...

Yes, don't be too nice to these pests! I've reported mine to the host directly.

Yummy Bakes said...

So sorry to hear this. But I agree don't condone such act - report to the right authority!

WendyinKK said...

Gosh.
I don't I will be this nice to them to give them an open letter.
Report them.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

sorry to hear this. ya, don't be nice to them.

Kak Rose said...

teach them a lesson not to steal one's property... report them to the authority.

Linda said...

So sorry to hear that, I just get to know your blog, and I never felt so addicted to it. It been a habitual that I need to view your blog. I'm really felt so unfair for you and those terrible people. You shouldn't give them warning, report to them straight! Don't be upset, a smile will brighten up everything. I will always support you even though I'm new to cooking! Still learning...... "jia-you" (Chinese)!

indahhouse said...

Hi sis Gert,
Kesiannya kak..
Dia copy all blog contents? Teruknya.. Blog kena ada personaliti sendiri.. Kalau ambil resipi pun, kena letak link.
Buat apa yg patut kak. Buat je report.

Yat Maria said...

Gert

sorry to hear that..I hate when that happens..well I think U shd report it dear..

Anonymous said...

i hope that those nasty people will heed the advice to credit photos and contents back to your blog, otherwise please report them to the relevant authority! i do not wish to lose my source of recipes and inspiration to cook because of these sneaky people. please do not be disheartened by them. jiayou! -ling

Elin said...

Gertrude, these people have no moral values. Taking your photos and claiming it is their is darn shameful on their part. An open letter is too nice I feel...you should report them.

Anyway don't feel upset many of us will know that it is not their original and that it has been stolen from you coz we are regular here. Do not let this stop you from posting. We are here for you and supporting you and your works :)

Take care, hugs & muax,
Elin

My Little Space said...

Gert, so sorry to hear that! Btw, how do you find them? I wonder if anyone did that to me too. I found one but the site is pretty good enough directed all the entries to my site. I am glad & happy enough. Chill out friend & have a good weekend.
Best wishes,
Kristy

Jeannie said...

Agreed with the rest of the comments...don't have to be nice to thieves, teach them the lesson they deserve.

Shereen said...

Gert,
I hope you won't be dishearten with all these nonsense.On the bright side...you should be proud that people want to steal your contents and pictures.That is how good your blog is!

Ketchup said...

I'm sorry to hear what happened. Curious to know, did they also remove the watermarks on your images? Not sure if this is ethical though: list them out, so we can lobby them for you.

Cuisine Paradise said...

Don't be upset pal. I know you will be hurt to see what they have done. I am shock to see some of my posts and photots being upload identically to another blog too.... so sad of these ppl.

Rona Y said...

This is the second time in two weeks a blogger I read has found stolen content elsewhere! One thing that may help is to not allow the full content of a post to show in Google Reader or other blog readers. I don't know how it works, but I know three other blogs I read regularly resorted to only allowing previews in Google Reader to help prevent theft. (Those blogs were David Lebovitz, Market Manila, and Our Adventures in Japan--maybe one of the blog owners can explain the workings to you, since I have no clue!)

Little Inbox said...

How shameful they are. We take so much time to maintain our cooking blog, and they just take 0 effort to steal the posts.

Anonymous said...

Gert

Sorry to hear about that. Yeah report them. Those thieves just want an easy job, steal and claim to be theirs. Shame on you guys(thieves).

Have a nice week-end.
Yen

Cheah said...

I do agree with all the others. Yes, report them. Shame on them to steal and claim to be their own!

lena said...

gert, how did you manage to find out?

Unknown said...

Im curious, how did you find out? Sorry this happened, hard to prevent.

Rona Y said...

And coincidentally, Cookistry published hints on how to deal with blog content thieves today! You've already done some of it, but there are some other ideas in there that you can try.

http://cookistry.blogspot.com/2011/05/bloggers-have-you-been-copied-what-can.html

ICook4Fun said...

Rebekah, yes it is very disheartening sometimes. I have to do more research on this :(

Lynda, yes it is. I did report some of them and now they make they blog private.

Jenn, yes it is. This is not the first time. Happened so many times that is why I wrote this post.

Ann, yes totally agreed with you. They are PESTS!!!

Yummy Bakes, thank you. I will.

Wendy, I did report some of them.

Sonia, thank you.

Kak Rose, the same blog is still doing it. Copy all the posting and paste it in his/her blog.

Linda, thank you so much for your support. Hope to see your comment often :) No, I can't get too upset with people like this as there are plenty of them out there. I am already old so I don't want to get older :)

Indahhouse, yes. The whole content of all my latest posting. Lots of them infact. Apa nak buat, orang ada blog dia pun nak ada blog tapi malas. So they copied content of a few bloggers and put it there. Bukan I saja :(

Yat Maria, dah report. I know it happen to you jugak kan. Tak tahu apa nak cakap about people like this.

Ling, what I hate about people like this is they copied the whole content of my blog. Don't worry, I will not stop blogging because of them. Thank you for all your support.

Elin, no only photos but the whole content of my blog. That is why I was upset when I found out. Thank you for your support.

Geraldine said...

Hi Gert,

Sorry to hear how leeches are stealing from your hard work. I recently was in a similar situation where someone was copying my idea. In all that steaming and cursing, what an old lady once told me ran through my mind, and only then did I have a few seconds to comfort myself, what she said was "imitation is a sincerest form of flattery".

Please do not let this leeches stop your devotion to blogging about food. Because of you, our meal times are more interesting.

ICook4Fun said...

Kristy, you can go to Copyscape website and type in your blog link and if any of your entries being copy they will tell you. Many of them I stumble upon them accidentally.

Jeannie, yes I will.

Shereen, yes quite disheatening. This website stole the whole content of my postings. Not only mine but a few other bloggers too.

Ketchup, nope. They post all the pictures with the watermark on it. If I list them out then I will be directing traffic to their website since they have tons of ads in their blog. Earning money out of people hardwork :(

Ellena, I am fine now. I was upset when I found out. Yes they copied the whole content of my posting. No only one but a lot of them.

Rona, Thanks you so much for the tips. I will do more research on this. I will check out the blogs your mentioned.

Little Inbox, it is shameful!! Yes they don't know how much work we put into each posting :(

ICook4Fun said...

Yen, thank you for your kind words and support.

Cheah, I will.

Lena, try going to copyscape and type in your website URL and if anyone copy your posting it will appears.

Jennifurla, thank you. try going to copyscape and type in your website URL and if anyone copy your posting it will appears.

Rona, I will check out the link. Thank you so much.

ICook4Fun said...

Geraldine, thank you so much for your comforting words. Don't worry, I won't stop blogging because of these leeches :)

ICook4Fun said...

For those who are interested on how to stop content theft you can read this article from Blog Herald.

http://www.blogherald.com/2007/11/26/the-6-steps-to-stop-content-theft/

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear that your hardwork is stolen. The thieves do not have shame. Please don't be disheartened, I love visiting your blog for meal ideas.- RH

Smoky Wok (formerly Tastes of Home) said...

You have my fullest support! It's very dismaying to me how unscrupulous those ppl are.

Cooking Foodie said...

I found a food stall in Mumbai having their hoarding / display board with my blog photos and they were so lazy they didnt even remove my name. It says cooking foodie for all to see!

MummyDing said...

It is sad to know that there are people that evil to claim the fruits of your hardwork. Pls do report them so they know what shame it is.
Your blog has been a great support for me, thanks for always posting different kinds of recipes especially the Asian cuisines.

Rita said...

You are doing the right thing! I understand exactly how you feel as the same thing has happened to me (while I've been away from blogging). One thief even has the nerve to paste a cartoon over the watermark on my photo to cover it.
Thank you to you and others too for sharing tips on how to deal with these thieves!