Digital content is one of the most valuable assets for any business, blog, or independent professional operating online.
In addition to being a key tool for attracting traffic, improving search engine rankings, and building a brand, it also constitutes intellectual property protected by copyright laws. Therefore, discovering that another website has copied your content—either fully or partially—can be a frustrating and damaging experience.
In this article, we’ll explain the steps you can take if you find that your content has been plagiarized, how to protect your rights, and what legal and technical resources are available to you.
1. Confirm the Plagiarism
Before taking any action, it’s essential to verify that plagiarism has indeed occurred. You can use various tools to analyze and detect duplicate content, such as:
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Copyscape – to check if copies of your content exist on other websites.
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Plagscan, Quetext, or Plagiarism Detector – helpful for checking specific text excerpts.
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Advanced Google Search – by searching an exact phrase in quotation marks, you can check if it’s been duplicated elsewhere.
Once plagiarism is confirmed, it’s recommended to take screenshots or save copies of the infringing pages as evidence, ideally in PDF format with visible date and time stamps.
2. Assess the Legality of the Use
Not every use of your content constitutes an infringement. To determine whether it’s a legitimate use or a copyright violation, ask yourself:
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Has the website provided proper attribution and links back to your original content?
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Is it a partial quote that is clearly marked and credited?
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Could the use qualify as “fair use” (especially in countries like the U.S.)?
If your content has been copied entirely or substantially, without permission or attribution, this likely constitutes a clear copyright infringement.
3. Contact the Website Owner
As a first step, it’s advisable to reach out directly and politely to the administrator of the infringing website. The goal is to resolve the situation without legal proceedings.
Sample email:
Subject: Formal Request to Remove Copyrighted Content
Dear [Website Owner’s Name],
My name is [Your Name], and I am the copyright holder of the content originally published on [Your Website Name], specifically at the following URL: [Your Website URL].
I have discovered that this content has been reproduced without authorization on your website: [Infringing Website URL]. I kindly request that you remove this content within 48 hours.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. If I do not receive a response, I will be forced to take further action in accordance with applicable copyright laws.
Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Email Address]
[Phone Number – optional]
4. Contact the Hosting Provider of the Infringing Website
If you don’t receive a response or cooperation from the site administrator, you can escalate the issue by contacting the hosting provider of the website. To identify the host, use tools like:
Once identified, you can send a formal copyright infringement notice—commonly known as a DMCA takedown request—including documented evidence and a signed statement affirming that you are the rightful content owner.
5. Request Content Removal from Google
If the plagiarized content appears in Google search results, you can file a request to have it removed from Google’s index. This process also falls under DMCA and can be done via this link:
Google Copyright Removal Request Form (DMCA)
While this won’t remove the content from the infringing website itself, it will significantly reduce its visibility in search results—discouraging further use and minimizing negative impact.
This publication does not constitute legal advice.
How can LAW4DIGITAL help you?
At LAW4DIGITAL, we are lawyers specialized in digital businesses. We offer comprehensive legal advice to digital companies. We help you with online legal support.
We’ll keep you updated on digital business topics. In any case, you can contact us via email at hola@law4digital.com, by phone at (+34) 931 444 820, or by filling out our form at law4digital.com.
See you in the next post!
The Law4Digital Team
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