Blog content theft was always going to be a big issue. The utility of deploying search advertising only amplifies the problem by enabling plagerists and thieves to remarket content within their own commercial framework. I'm not talking about inserting the odd paragraph or extrapolating content in a different context - I'm talking about making off with a bloggers content in its entirety. So what to do?
I'm not sure but here are some thoughts that need qualifying and more discussion:
- Make all content available under Creative Commons and then work to enforce it.
- Collectively we lobby Google and Yahoo to protect IP by taking action against those who abuse it. Based on Google's intent to do pretty much the same with books this would appear to be unlikely to work.
- Support the evolution new tools like Copyscape into IP-address blocking tools that enable you to start to protect content by stopping those addresses from coming to your site. I know this won't really work now, but we need to spur and encourage technology innovation here.
- Collectively harrass the thieves. Lets create a black-list and make people aware of their infringements on our IP.
Part of me also says that the ecosystem depends on sharing - and sharing of content implies a certain amount of recycling of content. But it is wrong when that occurs without any new contextual framing, linking or value add to the orginal content creator. It's worse than plagerism - it is theft.
What these companies are missing is the opportunity to grow the ecosystem and participate. They are parasites. And that's the shame of it. If they had engaged guys like Steve and established a working commercial relationship, they'd probably be able to build wildly successful businesses. Instead they add no value and alienate the marketplace. Reflecting that, probably the best thing we could do is ignore them and let them rot.