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Copyscape

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Copyscape
Type of site
Plagiarism Search
Available inMultilingual
OwnerIndigo Stream Technologies
RevenueFrom premium services
URLwww.copyscape.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional

Copyscape is an online plagiarism detection service that checks whether similar text content appears elsewhere on the web.[1] It was launched in 2004 by Indigo Stream Technologies, Ltd.

Copyscape is used by content owners to detect cases of "content theft", in which content is copied without permission from one site to another.[2] It is also used by content publishers to detect cases of content fraud, in which old content is repackaged and sold as new original content.

Function

Given a URL of the original content, Copyscape returns a list of web pages that contain similar text to all or parts of this content.[3] It also shows the matching text highlighted on the found web page. Copyscape banners can be placed on a web page to warn potential plagiarists not to steal content.

Copyscape also provides two paid services: Copysentry monitors the web and sends notifications by email when new copies are found, and Copyscape Premium verifies the originality of content purchased by Online publishing|online content publishers.

Design and Independent Evaluation

Copyscape uses the Google Web API to power its searches.[4] Copyscape uses a set of algorithms to identify copied content that has been modified from its original form.

Independent plagiarism software tests[5] conducted by Professor Debora Weber-Wulff of the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin found Copyscape Premium to be the best performing service.[6]

Limitations

Copyscape finds 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. Contacting the offending site to have content removed by DMCA notice is also left up to the user.[7]

Reported Use in Plagiarism Cases

Copyscape's use has been reported in cases involving online plagiarism:

History

Copyscape was launched in 2004 by Indigo Stream Technologies, Ltd., co-founded in 2003 by Gideon Greenspan.[14]

References