Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I received an email from a competitor claiming that I was infringing upon their copyright for their webpage. They used a program called COPYSCAPE to research similar wording as theirs in webpages.  When I checked the wording with Copyscape, my website came up along with several others. This person has threatened to pursue this in court if I don`t remedy the phrases.  They also accused me of plagerism.  The infringement as they outlined to me was over my use of the words and phrases as follows: 

"All items will be shipped within 24 to 72 hours of payment."

"All information you provide will be kept strictly confidential."

Mind you, these are just a couple of phrases sited in a long list of common business terms on my site.  Can anyone claim ownership to copyright and exclusive rights to these commonly used phrases? I would appreciate any input, especially from a copyright lawyer or someone experienced in this matter.  Thank you.

Yeah-- and right after they sue you, they`re going to have to go after everyone on eBay.  They don`t have a copyright on this, they`ve simply chosen to harass you.  They`re nuts. 

If someone did this to me, my response would be `bring it on`.  I would then proceed to `out` them for their antics, publicly embarassing them for this nonsense.

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Paul Strauss
www.ChicagoSuperConference.com

That`s utterly bogus, imho (without having seen any of the evidence and claims). I`m not a lawyer, but I`d think there`s all kinds of defense against this; for example copyrights aren`t applicable for "short phrases", this verbage is already probably in "public domain", etc. Wait for another bit of "correspondence", with more explicit infringement notice. In the meantime, rest easy, but do check over your core "content", to be sure it`s not copied without proper representation.

Get a good lawyer, let them take you to court, counter sue them for defimation and don`t settle out of court. Let the judge come up with fare compensation with consideration for the business lost because of your time pursuing the case. As your competitor, it will make them look bad and also give your company free press. More hassle than its worth, but it would teach them a lesson and also, some states now have frivolous lawsuit guidelines and after they finish paying all of the fees, they may end up suing themselves right out of business.

Get revenge like Frank Sinatra said:  The best revenge is MASSIVE SUCCESS.  Put them out of business.

Whatever you choose to do- don`t play with them.  If you`re going to take them to court-- take them down.  Like you say-- don`t settle.

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Paul Strauss
www.ChicagoSuperConference.com

By the way, to the OP- you have no obligation whatsoever to respond to an e-mail.  I`m not an attorney either, but my best legal advice to you at this point is don`t acknowledge this, and whatever you do DO NOT REPLY -- especially via e-mail.  Do NOT do ANYTHING to create a communication trail that in any way acknowledges this ever took place.

Personally, I`d leave the ball in their court.  Do nothing. Say nothing.  Move on.

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Paul Strauss
www.ChicagoSuperConference.com

Exactly,
Don`t do nothing. Just mind your business and when they call you just hang up. Don`t comfront them or argue. Simply, say I have to go or something.. I see that almost on every site "Will ship within 24 to 72 hour" If they want to prove that in court... Good luck, they have to show copyright and trademark documentation. If there are other parts of your web site that look similar to theirs do your homework and research how many people use the same phrases on their web sites..
and if they take you to court show the judge that you have researched this and that its not proprietary to them, but that its found in the public domain... being on the Internet is a public domain. Finally, counter sue..

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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

What we have here is the internet version of the woman in your HOA who thinks EVERYONE is violating the neighborhood rules all the time (I live next door to my neighborhood`s "special person" - YAY me...)

Copyscape can be used by idiots too.  Apparently, they don`t "get" that just because it came up with a match (of sorts) doesn`t mean that they have a legal case. 

If they insist on harrassing you about it, tell them to have their attorney write you a letter.  I doubt they`d find any attorney who would claim copyright infringement on such generic phrases.  Similar use of generic phrases does NO DAMAGE to their business whatsoever. 

Otherwise, ignore them.  Add them to your "blocked" list so you don`t have to see their messages.  If they are serious, an attorney will send you a real letter, not an email.  So, I would just block their emails. 

I appreciate and want to thank you all for your comments and opinions. I will check back to see if there are further notes. You all have confirmed my assesment.

Regards,

Mark

Mark,

I`m curious, what is your website address?

Regards,

Jason

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Website Strategist
InetSolution, Inc.
Website:www.inetsolution.com
Blog: turnleft.inetsolution.com