You come across another agent's site, and are shocked to find that it is an exact copy of your custom site that you spent thousands of dollars creating. Only the contact information and names have been changed. Is there anything you can do about your site being used as a template for other free-loading agents?

Realtor Debbie Ferrari was surprised to find herself being cloned on the Net. Her husband and web site developer, Bill Koelzer contacted the other agent, pointed out the duplicity, and the agent promptly changed the site features.

Koelzer didn't forget about it, though. He periodically visited the other agent's site and found that the agent was back to his old copycat ways, and had gone so far as to add Debbie's awards and quotes that she and Bill had written that were posted on her site.

Koelzer has kept a record of the other agent's shenanigans for the last four years. Additional strongly worded letters have produced only temporary results. The couple has since sent Mr. Kimball a cease and desist letter, and say that they plan to file suit if the site theft continues. That seems to have done the trick, at least for now.

Theft of copyrighted web sites is serious business. Realtor Alice Held posts a stern warning on her site to other Realtors to think before they take her site ideas for their own. She retains the services of a copyright attorney and will not hesitate to take someone to court who fails to cease and desist.

Realtor and public speaker Sharon Marsh is a former systems analyst well versed in site theft. She says that most of the time, the theft is done out of ignorance. "The Internet is so out there that many people don't realize that it isn't free," explains Marsh.

If you find that another agent has taken the content that made your site an original, approach nicely at first, advises Marsh, then do the following:

1. Document everything. Go to Register.com and find out who owns the domain name. "This is public information," says Marsh. "It gives the name, business address, phone number, email, fax number, and the domain of the actual server the web site sits on."
2. Contact your own ISP (Internet service provider). "They may have back up copies of when your page(s) first existed," suggests Marsh. "You can use this to prove you have had the page longer."
3. Print out every page. "When I do my site, I print out every page, mail it to myself and leave the envelope unopened. That way I can also prove that my pages existed at least since that postage date."
4. Research copyright infringement laws. Search through a search engine and then print out what you find and add it to your collection.
5. Review the Realtor Code of Ethics. See Realtor.com and print what you find about how you should treat another colleague. Add it to the growing pile of evidence.
6. Contact the offending agent. "Don't forget that this is a colleague," says Marsh. "You want to show your nice side, but let them see that you have collected ammunition. That should do it."

What if the thief won't stop?

"Have a copyright attorney prepare a cease and desist and copy your ISP, the agent's ISP, both your local and state board, the agent's local and state board, their broker of record," advises Marsh. "Before you send this out, I would handwrite a note and courier it (or use certified mail) to that agent and explain what you are about to do. Write "As a colleague, I know we can work this out. Please let me know your intentions." You have to show them that it is far easier to take the pages down. They don't want to go to court."

The bottom line is that you may have to go to arbitration or to court. "You do have rights," says Marsh, "because the other agent is a licensed professional."

Editor's note: Be sure to ask the other agent to remove the offending pages from their server as well as from their web site, as search engines can still pick up the pages otherwise. Another suggestion is to copyright every page of your web site and to trademark your URL, so that you will have additional grounds for complaint.

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