Hartman Inventory, LLC

We all know the old saying that imitation is a form of flattery. Well, I beg to differ with that – at least when it comes to plagiarism!

I frequently find a blog or article that I’ve written copied word-for-word as someone else’s work. Some even have the nerve to post their name as the author! Finding who to contact is usually impossible.

If I’m credited for the article, that’s absolutely fine. And, of course, I am very flattered that others  find my writings worth sharing with their readers.

However, recently I discovered something that goes way beyond a blog post or an article.  I found a website – yes, an entire website – that was copied word-for-word from ours! It even included the credit of our webmaster that many companies include at the bottom of the web pages. Frustration and anger turned to laughter when I realized all links were live, leading people directly to OUR site! It was obvious someone copied the code as well as the content.

Funny or not, this type of imitation is not flattery. It is called plagiarism, copyright infringement and downright theft. I can tell you what it cost us to have this website developed, edited, updated, SEO’d (if there is such a word), etc. It was a LOT of money. And when someone decides to just take that away, it is no different than a burglary – someone stealing a computer, furniture or money from our office.  It’s theft. Plain and simple. Not flattery at all!

Although, it does show that we have a deluxe website – one that others wish they had. When you take the good with the bad, this is one good take-away. We are the most imitated home inventory business! And we are proud of that.

Back to the copyright infringement – we got it all ironed out. But that is a story for another day….