A simple "cover all" statement will do. This is the most commonly used statement, and perhaps the clearest, and covers most eventualities. It simply means that you withhold all rights to the maximum extent allowable under law.
©2020 Author Name. This story may not be reproduced in any manner, without the express permission of the author.
That will be largely ineffectual if someone is intent on stealing your work, or if they are doing so programmatically (almost impossible for us to protect against).
If you post stories anywhere on the web, there's a very high likelihood that at some stage, they will be posted on other sites (and sometimes even sold in ebooks), without your approval (yes, it's plagiarism, content theft, and stealing). Short of not posting your work anywhere, there's not a great deal you can do to stop it happening.
Some people take the attitude that it's inevitable and in a way flattering. Others become extremely irate, and want to go on the warpath.
Your options?
1) Do nothing. The easiest solution and takes no time out of your day. Let karma deal with it.
2) Try and have the content removed.
For those who wish to choose option 2, here's how to go about it.
On Web Sites:
Decide if you actually want it to be removed. Sometimes the source is fully acknowledged, and it's beneficial / free promotion for you (a link back to your story / profile etc). Most times, it's not.
Some smaller sites and blogs in particular, take our RSS feeds, and use them as posts. They are not stealing your work, merely putting a snippet of the story on their site, and it should give a link back to your full story page, unless they are up to no good. That actually benefits authors as you will get greater exposure. It's not story theft as such.
When you are sure you want it removed, send them a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Takedown Notice. Hopefully that is enough, and your story will be taken down.
The dodgier sites usually have no contact details, no way of contacting the owner / anyone, via the site. Most of the contact us pages go nowhere, or to email addresses which are bogus or simply ignored.
Every site owner however, has to provide legitimate details to the domain registrar, which is how you can find at least someone to write to. Even if they hide behind a proxy registering service, there is still an email address listed in their whois information.
Example: Who'd have thought it, Facebook was registered back in 1997: http://www.whois.net/whois/facebook.com
Write to the abuse@, admin@ or support@ etc email addresses of the registrar there, include a DMCA. The hosting company is usually also listed in the WHOIS information. Go to their web site, and file a DMCA with them too.
Filing a DCMA notice on google is a good way to get them expelled from the google returns (cutting off their main traffic source and $): https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/dmca-notice?pli=1& - you need to have a address or set one up. If a couple of authors go through the process of filling out a report, google will pay attention quickly. Grouping together with others authors who have had their work stolen and placed on a particular site, will give you a lot more power when filing reports.
It is very hard shutting down these sites, and even if your efforts are successful, they often simply buy another $10 domain name, and do it all over again.
You have to remember, these content thieves have no morals. I liken them to weeds. You pull some out, and they grow back again a few days later. It's a never ending battle.
Note: Outside of the US, DMCA's are likely to be largely ignored. There are however some international bodies / agreements in place, which may help (although when dealing with content thieves, are unlikely to).
This is why you may have better luck contacting Google directly instead, to get their site pulled from their listings and blacklisted. No traffic = pointless web site.
Digital Downloads / eBooks:
This is an excellent post by Dancing Doll, concerning the major Online Publishers, and how to report your work being stolen:
Google / Blogspot:
Google has a drop-down menu style form for their DMCA. This covers Blogger/Blogspot as well. Follow the instructions carefully - if a longer story appears on multiple pages, you will need to fill out of those for 'page one, page two, page three' and so on, even though it's the same story. Turnaround time varies but expect it to take 2-8 weeks. I was dealing with a few take-downs two months ago that averaged around the 8 week timeframe. They do work though - I've never had one go ignored - so just fill out properly and be patient.
DMCA Form for Google
Amazon:
Amazon DMCAs - these get handled much more quickly - usually within 24 hrs, the book is pulled and you will be notified.
Process:
Reporting Copyright Infringement
This procedure is exclusively for notifying Amazon.com and its affiliates that your copyrighted material has been infringed.
If you believe your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, provide Amazon.com's copyright agent the following written information:
An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest.
A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed upon.
A description of where on the site the material you claim is infringing is located.
Your address, telephone number, and e-mail address.
A statement by you that:
You have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
Under penalty of perjury, the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
Amazon.com's Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on its site can be reached at:
Copyright Agent
Amazon.com Legal
Department
P.O. Box 81226
Seattle, WA 98108-1226
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
GoodReads:
DMCA Notice
If you believe that your copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement and is accessible via the Service, please notify Goodreads's copyright agent, as set forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA"). For your complaint to be valid under the DMCA, you must provide the following information in writing:
An electronic or physical signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
Identification of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and where it is located on the Service;
Information reasonably sufficient to permit Goodreads to contact you, such as your address, telephone number, and, e-mail address;
A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or law; and,
A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information is accurate, and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
The above information must be submitted to the following DMCA Agent:
Name: Otis Chandler
Attn: DMCA Notice
Company: Goodreads, Inc.
Address: 188 Spear Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105
Email:
UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT THAT ONLINE MATERIAL IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Please note that this procedure is exclusively for notifying Goodreads and its affiliates that your copyrighted material has been infringed. The preceding requirements are intended to comply with Goodreads's rights and obligations under the DMCA, including 17 U.S.C. §512(c), but do not constitute legal advice. It may be advisable to contact an attorney regarding your rights and obligations under the DMCA and other applicable laws.
In accordance with the DMCA and other applicable law, Goodreads has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances and at Goodreads's sole discretion, members who are deemed to be repeat infringers. Goodreads may also at its sole discretion limit access to the Service and/or terminate the accounts of any Users who infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.
___________________________________________________
Please note, as it is an incredibly time consuming exercise fighting these crooks, we are unable to help on an indivual basis, other than giving advice on dealing with them here.
From a legal perspective too, a DMCA has to come from the copyright owner, which is you. I was told the same thing by both Google and Amazon's Legal Departments, years ago, when first encountering this issue.
Good luck everyone, I hope this helps.
Nicola
