To be shocked and hurt by this

[SquirrelsAndNuts]

I didn't know what to put as a title. I do feel shocked. And I think a little hurt.

I have a friend I met a few years ago. We are in the same line of work. We live quite far away from each other. There’s around a couple of hundred miles between us, but we stay in touch regularly. 
Anyway, we were chatting this week about work, and I decided to have a quick look on her website. 
I was shocked to see that she has copied and pasted everything from my website onto her own. It’s all the same - word for word. 
I don’t think at all this will have a negative impact on my business. But I just feel so shocked by this. I’m not sure if I also feel quite hurt? Or foolish? I couldn’t quite believe it at first. 

I really don’t know what to do. Part of me wants to do nothing and pretend that I haven’t seen it, but I also would prefer for her to remove it. However, I don’t want to risk hurting her or embarrassing her, or jeopardising our friendship.  
What would you do? 

[Legitimatesalvage]

Sorry. Cross-posted.

[itsallgoingpearshaped]

She's not your friend. You will find that out when you ask her why she's copied everything from your business page to her own without asking or assigning credit.

[GreenFingersWouldBeHandy]

Screenshot her pages before you say anything so you have proof

send her the link and say, “Who owns this website then? They’ve copied mine word for word

Great advice.

And stop being so nicey nice about it. I'd be fuming!!!

[Bananarama21]

Legitimatesalvage I clicked on the wrong thread meant to get the one above about the air miles

[MondayYogurt]

Someone with website skills may be able to put it better, but I believe there are also ways you can 'lock' the content on a site so it's can't be copy and pasted? I think it turns it into an image rather than text.
Suggest you implement that to prevent future nabbing.

[smoko]

@mondayyogurt well you could create content as an image - but then that would have a negative impact on your SEO, as search engines won't be able to read your page content & rank it accordingly.

Also this wouldn't prevent someone from just typing out the text.

[smoko]

Oh that's a good idea above - screenshot the website & show the "friend" & say someone has plagarised your website content & you're seeking legal advice.

She may well remove it without you having to confront her, if you need to be "nice"

[Alcemeg]

It's outrageous. She has committed copyright piracy. She should have asked your permission to reproduce the content. Especially if it's a whole site! This could seriously undermine the integrity of your own website.

This is not a friend, this is someone who has callously exploited your expertise for their own gain.

Here is a useful guide to next steps.

Good luck OP, shittin heck what a fucking cheek!

varn.co.uk/10/02/what-to-do-if-someone-copies-your-website-content-or-design/

[SE13Mummy]

1. Screen grab images of her website with your text
2. Contact her, send some of the images and say, 'Hi Friend, Copyscape has just alerted me to the fact that my website has been duplicated. Worryingly, the duplicate is directing traffic to your business! I know you said you don't currently have a website but please would you look into how this has happened. I will be contacting the website hosting service directly as well as reporting it to search engines but wanted to let you know in case you'd got round to employing a website developer and this is what they've come up with for you! Thanks, Squirrels.'

[ElftonWednesday]

If talking to her about it doesn't work, pay a lawyer to write a passing off letter if the content would cause confusion for customers between the two businesses.

[Alcemeg]

@connelly

And make sure to put the copyright symbol on all your pages.

It's still copyright whether you do that or not, but you're right, it's a good idea to remind cheeky fuckers people that this is your content, not theirs.

Some good advice here too
hjsolicitors.co.uk/article/how-to-protect-your-website-copyright/

[bozzabollix]

I’m an ex web designer and we’ve had entire designs ripped off, once by acquaintances- I went fairly interstellar with rage about that one. If you don’t like confrontation you could ask a friend to pose as someone who assists with search engine optimisation to contact her to say there’s been a duplication of content which will get both of your businesses blacklisted by search engines. Ask your most stroppy friend to do it. It needs sorting. What an absolute twat.

[Triffid1]

I am a bit surprised at how many people are recommending a gently gently approach. At best, this woman is completely clueless and genuinely does not see that she has stolen your work product. At worst, she has been shamelessly ripping you and your work off and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

If you want to believe the best, then sure, you don't have to go in guns blazing. But there's no need for appeasement. "Hi Friend, I see you appear to have used my entire website content for yours. That is obviously an infringement of my copyright and I'm very unhappy that you've taken my words and information and portrayed them as your own. Please remove that content immediately."

[Justilou1]

You know that it’s only a matter of time before she accuses you of copying her…

[YouJustFoldItIn]

Is it your own business or a MLM website?


Yes it's my own business.

Yes but is it an MLM? We all know how much people in MLMs love to talk about being a 'business owner' when it's not really anything of the sort.

If let's say it is an MLM and she's someone in your downline, then given that you are selling exactly the same thing and what with all 'coaching' you'd be giving her to expand her own 'business' so that more money comes back to you, she'd probably think it was perfectly fine to replicate your wording. After all, you are skimming off a chunk of her earnings.

I have offered to do this. I have asked if she would like any help with her website to help increase business

Sounding very, very much like someone on your downline of an MLM to me.

I do have a really successful business. Which she's commented on several times and that hers struggles from time to time. So I think she's taken my information hoping it will improve her business.

Sounding even more like it.

We became friends through a work related training course several years ago

And again....

Is it an MLM? Is she in your downline? Do you make money by helping her to improve her sales and by encouraging her to find her own downline recruits?

[3luckystars]

It doesn’t really matter what the business is, she has copied your website. That’s not what a friend does.

Could you call her and say ‘your website is still up and running and the content is identical to mine, I’m not happy about that’ and then don’t say anything else. See what she says.
You will feel miles better if you say this, but don’t fill in the gaps in the conversation. Stay quiet. Good luck.

[smoko]

@YouJustFoldItIn

perceptive!

[ChorizoJacketPotato]

She should bloody well pay you for your work at least.

[YouJustFoldItIn]

smoko my DH always jokes that I should have been a detective as very little gets past me.

[CSJobseeker]

This is obviously breach of copyright. Get a solicitor to write to her, stating that she is required her to amend her website. This is business, so go the professional/formal route.

She's obviously not your friend, but she ended the friendship when she stole your content, not you. Once her website is changed, block her and move on.

www.gov.uk/guidance/enforcing-your-copyright

[WhenISnappedAndFarted]

@MondayYogurt yes you can do that but you can still go into the source code and copy the writing anyway

[WhenISnappedAndFarted]

OP,

It does affect your business as it affects the SEO like others have said.

I'm a web developer, if she's hired someone to do the website then (hopefully) they'll have a contract. I don't do website copy, clients give that to me which they've either done themselves or hired someone else to do it.

Someone previously suggested contacting the web developer, if it were me, it's not my responsibility and nothing to do with me as stated in my contracts but I would send her over a quick email advising her that if she has just copied and pasted someone elses content then it could get her into serious trouble and to change it asap. I also wouldn't work with her again.

[WhenISnappedAndFarted]

Also, if she's still claiming she doesn't have a website you can do a domain owner search to see who does own it and details on that.

[CSJobseeker]

@Holly60

Ok it sounds like you like her and want to maintain the friendship.

How about ‘hi X, was just looking at your website and saw that some of it is really similar to mine. No worries about that but at some point did you want me to help you edit it so it’s even more relevant to your business?’

Then see what she says?

Wow.

"No worries about that" Really?!

Why are you advising OP to try to maintain a friendship with someone who steals from her? Not only that, you are advising the OP to do some work for free for this woman!

The extent to which some people enthusiastically accept being treated like a doormat is really eye opening.

[HollowTalk]

I agree with a PP - are you both offering an identical service/product, then? Are you both MLMs?

I would be outraged and tell her to pull it down immediately. I'd take screenshots before approaching her so that she couldn't deny it.