Why Work When You Can Cut and Paste?

I thought I had seen it all when it comes to the theft of content on the web. Every evening I review my Google Alerts. Imagine my surprise when I saw a headline that said our company had entered into relationship with a broker I've never heard of. I clicked through to the link in the alert and it took me to a press release on a broker web site that immediately sounded familiar. It only took a second to realize that the press release was the exact same document we distributed announcing a client relationship back in March. The only difference was that someone had done a search and replace on the broker name along with some other elements and published the release to the site. It was give a prominent link in the navigation of the site as well. I couldn't believe it. It's a great press release, I know, I wrote it :) I could only think to myself......self, what the heck would someone have to gain by doing this?

You've Entered Another Dimension
I called the broker to get an answer. I spoke to a receptionist and office manager, neither of which were eager to be helpful. Despite my extremely nice attempts to explain that I was not a sales person and that the issue was an important business matter, potentially a legal one, I was forced to tell them why I was calling before they would let me speak with the broker. At this point I was waiting for Rod Serling to step around the corner and notify me that I had entered the twilight zone. The broker called me back a short time later. She had no idea how the press release was posted to her site. She even suggested perhaps the site was hacked. I explained to her how unlikely it was and asked if she could please investigate how and why someone would go to the trouble of putting her brokerage at risk of displaying stolen content that represented false information.

You See It's Like This.....
When she called back this is the explanation I received. In March of last year the broker entered into an agreement with a template web site company to provide them with a web site. She went on and on about how poor the customer and technical support was for the site and the fact that it took from March until June to launch. Evidently during that period the salesperson she had worked with was terminated. I'm not sure exactly why. It had something to do with the company not being able to provide an IDX feed of listings or something. She had nothing good to say about the experience at all. From what I could gather one of the services that the company provides is actual template content, including a template press release. Evidently the service provider didn't feel it necessary to take the time to craft an actual template. They instead opted to find one they liked on the web, do a quick search and replace and voila! instant content. The only problem is, the broker didn't change the template content and the site was published as is. I've purposely left out the names of the companies involved in this fiasco but we are in the process of making sure that we find out if it was an isolated incident or if the release is part of their standard package and sending a clearly worded cease and desist letter along with a request for a public retraction of the information. Anyone that knows me is aware of the fact that all they had to do is ask. I would have figured out a way to help.

What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
Like it or not, if you're going to be in just about any business these days, you're going to be considered both a producer and publisher of content. I've seen several references to "They Don't Know What They Don't Know" In blog posts lately. Fine, but lawyers and courts don't really give a crap what you don't know. There are clear cut laws regarding intellectual property and they shouldn't be taken lightly.

The reason for this post is to illustrate how important it is as a content producer to be diligent in protecting it. It can go way beyond just someone right clicking a photo. What if the potential investors we are speaking with started seeing press releases about relationships we had not entered into? Even if it can be explained away, it casts a negative pall over the process in general. I also want to draw attention to how important it is as a content publisher to make sure that you are regularly reviewing what you hang out there in cyberspace. Also, if you use content from other sources, make sure that source is authorized to allow you to distribute it.

"We're Not Very Technical"
It really chaps me that so many people look at the work product of people that write, record, design, photograph etc. as something that doesn't have the same intrinsic value as other services or products. Would you try to rip off the services of your electrician or plumber? How about your dentist or God forbid your Realtor® It's not just that. Look at the carelessness in which the broker approached her web presence. The bottom line? It's important to understand who owns what on the web. Saying "We're not very technical" isn't going to cut it.

Cutting corners by cut and paste isn't going to cut it either.

1/5 Update: The corporate counsel for the Tech Vendor claims no knowledge of the incident at all and puts it all back on the broker. Argghh.