Website theft is where somebody copies your entire website and reproduces it as their own. This can happen to anyone, but poor website security is usually a factor when an entire website has been stolen. Under intellectual property laws, all created material is protected by copyright – websites being no exception. People are not allowed to steal your website or any of the content on your website – but this does not always prevent it happening. It’s illegal, but it does happen – causing much annoyance and aggravation to the creators of the original website.

You’ve probably heard of illegal DVDs and CDs. Well, there are also illegal websites. So what is an illegal website?  In terms of website theft, an illegal website is one where the entire website has been stolen from another source without authorization. It’s against the law and there are steps you can take if your website is stolen. However, the best action happens before the theft occurs – taking steps to prevent your website from being stolen in the first place.

Steps to Take if Your Website is Stolen

If you discover that your website has been stolen, there are a number of steps you can take to ensure the illegal website is removed and the unauthorized use of your material is stopped.

The first step is to take down any details that relate the website theft. Make screenshots of the pirated website. This will come in handy if you decide to sue the offending party. Take details of the illegal website information. Keep a hard copy of any documents relating to the website theft and keep dates and records of any important information.

Search for the host server, by using the services at Whois.com. Put in the url of the offending website into the search engine. Use the Look Up option to discover the identity of the host server.

Send out emails to the offending party, the host server and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Ensure that your correspondence is worded in the correct way and that the notification to the host server follows any guidelines set out by them. Under the DMCA, a Notice of Copyright Infringement can be sent to anyone who steals copyrighted work. After reporting illegal websites, the DMCA requires the host server to take down the site within 72 hours. However, if your notice does not meet the specifications then the host server will not be required to do anything. For details on the necessary information to include in a DMCA notice, go to www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf.

You should also notify your advertisers if you have any. They may also help remove the offending site more quickly if they decide to take steps to get the illegal website taken down. One other thing you may want to consider is getting legal advice if you think there is any possibility that you may sue or if the host server refuses to remove the website.

Steps for Protecting Yourself Against Website Theft

Although there are steps you can take after your website has been stolen, it is far better to take preventative steps to stop your website from being stolen in the first place. Here are some steps you can take in order to improve website security and make it more difficult for people to steal your own work.

•    Host with a company that has strong security measures.
•    If you manage your own server, keep your firewall and security software updated.
•    Password protect website. Change your passwords frequently and make them difficult to guess. The best passwords often contain a mixture of numbers and letters.
•    Put up copyright statements on each page of your site. Created work is automatically protected by copyright, but it is often a good idea to remind people of this fact.
•    Encrypt your website pages, using encryption software. You may also want to consider purchasing website security software that contains other security measures that may be added to your web pages.
•    Have someone trustworthy police your data, checking regularly for unauthorized break-ins.
•    Keep your anti-virus program updated and also update your security patches.

Detecting Website Theft

You may be thinking that website theft could never happen to you. If so, think again. Website theft is a very common problem and many people have suddenly been faced with the realization that their entire website has been used without authorization. It seems some people enjoy stealing other people’s work. Do not presume that people know the laws and will obey them. Website thieves often work in the hope that the website owners do not know the laws, or that it will take them some time to find the pirated websites.

Look for other websites that may be stealing your work on a regular basis. You can use anti-plagiarism detection software or simply search in Google. Ask other people to help find website pirates as well. If you do receive information that someone is stealing your website, look into it straight away. The sooner you can take steps to remedy the problem, the sooner the offending website will be removed.

Copyright website laws should prevent people from stealing your work, but unfortunately many people just choose to ignore them. There is no foolproof method for preventing it either – even with the best website security measures in place. If it happens, keep calm and follow the right steps to have any pirated websites removed.