Copyscape

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Copyscape is an online service that aims to detect plagiarism of website texts. It is operated by Indigo Stream Technologies, Ltd.

functionality

After providing the address of the original content, the Copyscape website returns a list of websites that contain copies of the original or parts of the original. Normally the program detects repetitions of more than three words in a text, whereby proper names and proverbial idioms should be tolerated. It works quite reliably, as professional web authors can find out, whose texts are checked by clients and text agencies using Copyscape. How reliably the program works in view of the high redundancy in the Internet, however, is difficult to determine.

The Copyscape Premium service checks the web daily for copies of a registered website and sends the registered website operator a notification if copies are found. The paid service Copyscape Premium enables the search for offline content. Texts can be entered on the website using copy and paste and copies can be searched for. The offer is intended for authors and editors who can use it to ensure the authenticity of their publication.

Website operators can include the Copyscape banner on their websites to warn of copyright infringements. Copyscape provides a forum primarily intended for discussions about intellectual property .

Cases uncovered by Copyscape

The use of Copyscape has already led to the detection of online plagiarism of websites in several cases:

  • On 6 April 2005, the Norwegian web designer Arve Bersvendsen Copyscape used to copy one written by him CSS - Tutorials at one of Apple Computer track operated site. Shortly after Bersvendsen asserted its copyright, the content was removed from the website.
  • On 9 December 2005 could ZDNet - blogger Richard Stiennon track six sites where a business plan he designed was copied for Internet service providers and republished.

construction

The search mask of the Copyscape website is based on the Google Web API . Copyscape can track down copied text from websites, but not media such as graphics. Special algorithms can even recognize slightly modified texts. Naturally, it cannot be determined whether a copy was made with or without the permission of the author.

history

Copyscape was developed in 2004 by Indigo Stream Technologies, Inc. , which was founded the year before by Gideon Greenspan.

Web links