How to Notify Google About Content Theft

If you’re a blogger who has been at it for a while, you’ve probably run across other blogs stealing your content at one point or another. These are commonly referred to as scrapers, and will often use your content to post Google AdSense ads and make money off your work.

A post on Google’s Inside AdSense Blog is directing users with this problem to the company’s process for handling the situation. File a report by following the steps Google has outlined:

1. Identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you believe has been infringed.

2. Identify the material that you claim is infringing the copyrighted work listed in item #1 -  Identify each page that allegedly contains infringing material by providing its URL.

3. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit Google to contact you (email address is preferred).

4. Include the following statement: "I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials as described above is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law."

5. Include the following statement: "I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed."

6. Sign the paper.

7. Send to the address or FAX shown here.

The second step there could be time consuming depending on how long your content has been scraped.

Gergana Marinova of AdSense Publisher Support notes that only the copyright holder should bother reporting infringements, as they cannot accept reports from third-parties. Copyright holders can also report violations to Google Webmaster Guidelines where they can fill out a form.