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I ran into an aggregator http://haaram.com who seems to be just taking content from my feed and republishing it on their site. Is this even legal?
I also noticed some of the other regular IndiBlogger users' blogs/posts as well being copied and was wondering if anyone has had luck communicating a takedown with them?
Giri
Replies 1 to 5 of 5
Good pointer Giri, even i did not know somebody can backlink our sites under the pretext of aggregator. I looked up wiki and found this definition on aggregator Aggregator refers to a web site or computer software that aggregates a specific type of information from multiple online sources. I believe if the host applies for permission many may grant it too, but as long as he is not commercialising the issue of piracy or plagiarism does not arise. I am sure the concerned host even though has not revealed his identity he must be legally right. I am sure others will throw light on this new terminology of Aggregator
I hope the management team of Indiblogger vets this site ( haaram.com) and gives us expert advice, since the same seems to be orginating from Chennai. I am afraid they might become a competitor of sorts for Indiblogger in long run, by using devious method.
It's just a feed aggregator and not republishing the articles. Just like the popular News aggregator Google News. The said site is not keeping the traffic with it, just routing the visitors to respective sites.
Thanks all.
I contacted their admin through their contact form requesting them to take down the pages that had full copies of my blog articles. I am happy to report that haaram.com has complied with my request and removed the article copies from their website.
So yes, they are a feed aggregator. I set my blogger feed to FULL so that my subscriber readers can use their RSS readers to enjoy my blog. But feed aggregators should take care to truncate feed content if they intend to stay within Copyright Fair Use rules.
regards,
Giri
1. I would recommend that you only send excerpts over the feed or email. This would help protect your interests in the long run. As you have sen from experience, anyone can use the data your feed sends. They just subscribe once and have incoming posts forever. It is always recommended that you send out excerpts.
2. The next time this happens, you may not be able to convince them to take down the content. Then it becomes a hassle to inform search engines, etc.
3. If people read everything in a feed, they may not visit your site. RSS subscribers are one thing, but real monetization is in visitors.
Thanks for all the nice info here......
hmm guess issue is resolved without any trouble.. good work
ya sir, we knew you were not here, so we are all displined......:). now you are back, to handle....
he he.. thats like my pupils.. 
Thank you Sir....:)
Thank you Sir ;) but only a pat wont do, we want a tangible reward for our excellent behaviour :p
I humbly agree with Arti.