In light of today’s digital culture, intellectual property (IP) is the most valuable currency of them all—especially as it pertains to online content.

Here’s how it works: you take a few hours crafting a funny, engaging short story, and you publish it on your site or blog. It begins to see traffic, and you’re elated at the potential for selling it out in ads. Then, a week later, your traffic tanks dramatically. In surprise, you Google your story—and to your dismay, discover it has been copied and posted to several other sites without your approval.

It’s not that everyone has stopped reading your story; it’s that now they’re reading it somewhere else. Those other websites are stealing your traffic and your opportunity to make money off of your original work.

Unfortunately, this is a too common a fate for Nigerian bloggers and online content providers. And that’s the very reason that we compiled this guide—for bloggers, graphic designers, musicians, illustrators, and other content providers beset by the nagging problem of online content theft.

We’re not guessing—we’ve been there. As a website providing legal information on various topics in Nigeria, we’ve fallen victim to online content theft many times. In response, we developed a procedure to handle it effectively. We’ve used this procedure over 1,000 times with a 100% success rate, and now we’re passing it on to you.

Step 1: Check if Your Content Has Been Stolen

The first step is to find out if your content has been copied.

• Text: Copy a sentence or two from your content and search it on Google.
• Images: Use Google’s “Search by Image” feature.
• Music: Search by the name of the song or distinctive lyrics.

 

Step 2: Identify the Infringing Websites

Once you discover unauthorized copies, take note of:

• The URLs of the offending websites or blogs.
• The date your content was published on those sites.
• The author’s name (if given).

Step 3: Save the Evidence

Record everything.

Capture a screenshot to save the infringing material. This stops the infringer from merely deleting the post and claiming it never happened. This evidence is crucial if you choose to claim compensation or go to court.

Step 4: Find the Individual Behind the Site

Do a WHOIS search to determine the owner of the domain name. This can yield an email address or contact information for the owner of the site.

Step 5: Send a Cease-and-Desist Letter

Write an email or letter declaring:

• You are the rightful owner of the material.
• Your rights have been infringed.
• You require the removal of your material immediately.

Attach:

• A link to your original material.
• A link to the stolen material.

Most thieves of content remove the content at this point.

Step 6: Contact the Web Host

If you don’t receive a response, perform a web host lookup to see where the site is being hosted (this is not WHOIS). Identify the hoster when you find it, and send a takedown notice stating that their client is infringing your IP rights and that the host can be liable if the site remains up.

Most web hosts take this seriously and will act quickly.

Step 7: Consider Asking for Payment

If the infringer benefited significantly from your work—perhaps through ads or by gaining followers—consider sending a money request. You can also threaten legal action if the infringement was serious or ongoing.

Step 8: File an Action in Court

Going to court should only be a final option. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and often unnecessary for small-scale infringements. In our experience, most issues are resolved by Step 5, with a few reaching Step 6. We’ve never had to escalate to Step 7 or 8—compliance usually happens long before that.

Content theft is frustrating, but with the right steps, it can be tackled effectively. If you’re a Nigerian blogger, musician, writer, or creative, this guide is your starting point to protect what’s rightfully yours.