Copyscape
| Developer(s) | Indigo Stream Technologies |
|---|---|
| Platform | Internet |
| Type | Plagiarism detection |
| Website | http://www.copyscape.com |
Copyscape is an online plagiarism detection service that allows users to check whether their content has been stolen or copied by others on the web. The service is provided by Indigo Stream Technologies, Ltd.
Features
Copyscape offers both free and paid services for detecting and preventing online plagiarism:
Free Services
- The free Copyscape service allows users to type in the URL of their web page; Copyscape returns a list of web pages that contain copies of all or parts of this content.
- Copyscape Banners are freely available to be placed on users' websites in order to warn potential plagiarists against stealing the site's content.
- Informational resources, links and an online forum allow users to learn more about protecting their Intellectual Property rights online.
Professional Services
- Copyscape Premium allows an unlimited number of searches. It also allows users to search for copies of their offline content by copying and pasting their text. This is used by online content publishers who need to verify the originality of content they have purchased before posting it on their site. The service also allows users to track the status of cases of plagiarism.
- The Copysentry service provides ongoing protection for a user's entire website by automatically monitoring the web every day and alerting the user by email whenever new copies are found. The service also allows users to track the status of cases of plagiarism.
Use in Plagiarism Cases
Copyscape has been used in a number of publicized cases to detect online plagiarism. Some examples include:
- On March 18 2005, Copyscape was reported as the means used to search the Internet for unauthorized use of materials in the case of Brayton Purcell LLP vs. Recordon & Recordon, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (361 F.Supp.2d 1135). According to Brayton Purcell, Copyscape was used to search the Internet for unauthorized use of materials on October 7, 2004.[1]
- On April 6 2005, Arve Bersvendsen, a Norwegian Web developer, used Copyscape to find a copy of a CSS tutorial he wrote posted on a site owned by Apple Inc.[2] Bersvendsen claimed that Apple had infringed his copyright, and the content in question was immediately removed.[3]
- On October 17 2005, Paul Litterick of the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists used Copyscape to analyze Bruce Logan's published newspaper work, setting off a plagiarism scandal. Litterick found that some of Logan's work was taken (in most cases with permission) from Anglo-American sources, including the Heritage Foundation, the Conservative Christian Fellowship, the Institute for American Values, Digby Anderson of the Social Affairs Unit and writers Maggie Gallagher and Melanie Phillips. Litterick published the results in the Fundy Post (Issues 18 and 19). Logan retired from the Maxim Institute one month later. [4]
- On December 9 2005, Richard Stiennon of ZDNet used Copyscape to find six websites that had stolen and re-published an ISP business plan he had written.[5]
Design
Copyscape uses the Google Web API to power its searches. Copyscape uses a set of proprietary algorithms to identify copied content even if it has been significantly modified from its original form.
Copyscape is able to find online copies of textual content, but not of images or other media.
Copyscape is not able to determine whether a copy is authorized or unauthorized, nor is it able to determine which of two websites copied the other. Both of these determinations are left up to users.
History
Copyscape was launched in 2004 by Indigo Stream Technologies, Ltd., which was co-founded in 2003 by Gideon Greenspan.[6]
See also
- Plagiarism
- Intellectual property
- Copyright Infringement
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act