CDRLabs.com

One of my biggest pet peeves is websites taking content from another publication (printed or online) and using it at their own. Quite often they'll copy the entire article word for word and give no credit to the original author. Other times, they'll change or add a few paragraphs, but the overall content is the same.

Tonight, I saw another case of this. A website that will remain unnamed copied this article from Silicon Optix:

Home Theater December 2005: Going Shopping

The plagiarizers changed the first paragraph but the rest is essentially the same. Are they this hard up for articles and/or news? Do they not care that they are plagiarizing? I guess not as this isn't the first time this website has done this. Heck, its not the first time this week.

Here's another one. The same website modified the first few paragraphs but the rest is essentially the same.

http://mmislueck.com/WhatsNews.htm

Looks like CDRInfo is the perpetrator:
http://cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Detail ... wsId=15725
http://cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Detail ... wsId=15718

Shame on those plagerizers!

IMO, Siliconoptix has done a very clear and comprehensive job of stating their position on others using the content of their website. Their "copyright statement" is easily readable, but lengthy. Below is the introductory sentence and the website link so that anyone wishing to read the full document may locate it.



"Silicon Optix Copyright Statement
All editorial content and graphics on this site are protected by U.S. copyright and international treaties and may not be copied without the express written permission of Silicon Optix Inc. (SiOptix), which reserves all rights. ......"

http://www.siliconoptix.com/copyright.cfm

Based on the foregoing, I would be surprised if Silicon Optix (and their attorneys) would be happy with unattributed plagiarizing of their material.

There is a huge difference between appropriately using material someone else created, and plagiarizing. Where would the folks who write press releases be if nobody ever redistributed them, syndicated newspaper columnists would be out of a job if newspapers would not print the columns. My point is that many websites including CDRabs use material from others. We as customers should expect them to follow the rules of the copyright owner.

Ian, thanks for pointing out instances which appear to you to be possible inappropriate use. I personally don't wish to support venues that repeatedly engage in copyright abuse.

Yep, press releases are the exception. Companies put them out with the hope that they will be distributed as much as possible.

When people write articles though, they hope that people will read their magazine or visit their website. When someone else reproduces the article in whole and doesn't give credit back to the original author they lose readers and potentially income. Not to mention, the plagiarizers get credit for their work.

Ugh.. adding a paragraph at the end and the beginning does not make it your own. Here's another one that they borrowed:

http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20051221A7037.html

Nice.. let's rip off content from CNET.com and pictures from AV Watch in the same article.

http://news.com.com/Sony+details+Blu-ra ... 18590.html

In particular:

Sony's most anticipated high-definition product remains the PlayStation 3, which is still expected to be released this spring, at least in Japan. But the company said Wednesday that it will also release, in the summer, an as-yet-unpriced Blu-ray player called the BDP-S1, and, by the end of the year, an external computer drive that will play and record the Blu-Ray discs. BD technology will also be included in VAIO computers.

Pictures from:

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/ ... /ces03.htm
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/ ... /ces02.htm

Great website dedicated to this sort of stuff: http://www.plagiarismtoday.com

This new website isn't off to a good start. They're already ripping off articles from other places without giving any sort of credit.

Original article: http://news.digitaltrends.com/article11486.html
Their article: http://www.duplicatorguide.com/index.ph ... 6&Itemid=2

Original article: http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20061011A6026.html
Their article: http://www.duplicatorguide.com/index.ph ... 9&Itemid=2

Wow.. that whole website is full of articles and reviews "borrowed" from other places.

CDRInfo is at it again.

They have copied the exact wording from a Financial Times article without crediting the source. No link back at all! This type of behavior is unbelievable.

Source article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ec364e08-b490-11db-b707-0000779e2340.html
Plagiarism in action: http://cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=19648

These CDRInfo guys never stop plagiarizing, and the shitty part is, their plagiarized article got picked up by some major tech news sites like Engadget, etc.

CDRInfo plagiarizes Nichia Laser Diode article:
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/De ... wsId=19792

Original author:
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NE ... 21/128007/

I guess CDRInfo can't read???

NikkeiBP wrote:Copyright © 1995-2007 Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. All editorial content and graphics on this Web site may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the copyright owner.

It's not that they can't read.. its just that they don't care.

It's pretty sad too considering news sources like Engadget eat up that plaguerized shit when people like you (Wes) do actual research and reporting and they totally ignore it.

Yeah, any acts of plagiarism just seem to "sting" when you are a news reporter and content writer.

Hey Wes, you're gonna love this one. I don't know what's worse.. the fact that they're ripping off another tech site (a well known one at that) or that Toshiba came out last week and said this was a load of bullshit.

Original article - http://www.tgdaily.com/2007/02/27/hddvd_51gb_disc/

Their article - http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/De ... wsId=19891

Sort of OT, not about burning, etc. (maybe should even be in the Garden), but since this thread is about plagiarizing, check this out, a poster on the ESPN football boards caught an article by a Boston writer that took word for word sections of an article by a Seahawks beat writer. Long story short, the Boston sportswriter got suspended for 2 months

http://boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb? ... 5317&lid=0

I think the Boston Globe did the right thing by suspending him. Unfortunately, a lot of web publications don't take responsibility for the action of their news reporters.

Ian wrote:I think the Boston Globe did the right thing by suspending him. Unfortunately, a lot of web publications don't take responsibility for the action of their news reporters.

I totally agree. You just know if he did this once, he has done it in the past, the only difference is that he got caught this time. I think that he will be a little more careful once he gets back to work.

Ian wrote:Hey Wes, you're gonna love this one. I don't know what's worse.. the fact that they're ripping off another tech site (a well known one at that) or that Toshiba came out last week and said this was a load of bullshit.

Original article - http://www.tgdaily.com/2007/02/27/hddvd_51gb_disc/

Their article - http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/De ... wsId=19891

Great Scott! They are ripping off TGDaily now too???

The worst part is definitely the plagiarism, but the only thing that's worse than a plagiarized article is a plagiarized article that is completely inaccurate.

They just don't get it. Switching around a few words doesn't make it your own.

Original: http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20070309PD202.html

Theirs: http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/De ... wsId=19934

They're still at it. Now they're borrowing from blog posts.

Original - http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/004150.html

Theirs - http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/De ... wsId=20244

As I've said in the past.. changing a few words does not make it your own.

This is getting a bit ridiculous..

Original - http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews ... 4920070424

Theirs - http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/De ... wsId=20277

I only check their optical storage headlines but you gotta wonder how much of their other news is "borrowed" from other places.

I can't believe how much content CDRInfo steals.

If they start ripping off ebaums then we know they're striving for new depths

They're getting better at switching around the words..

Original - http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/archive/ ... 45312.aspx

Theirs - http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/De ... wsId=20464