Selasa, 12 Mei 2015

Edith Chong Pei See: A Thief?

Some readers share my recipes on their blogs, such as here, here and here. The bloggers in these examples rewrite the instructions, in their own words. I am flattered and happy that they share my recipes with their readers.

Sadly, not all bloggers are honest. Some people just copy and paste from my blog.

Copying word for word, or almost word for word, is an infringement of copyright, even when the original author is credited. If it weren't, we can all upload best selling books and make loads of money, right?

When I find unscrupulous bloggers who steal my posts, I leave this message on their blog:
Dear Thief

Copying and pasting from my blog is an infringement of copyright. Delete the text you have stolen, you despicable, low-down thief!
When the thieves get the message, all of them delete not only the stolen text but their entire post. There is, however, one exception: Edith Chong Pei See.

Edith Chong Pei See has an old blog, Precious Moments, and a current blog, Rumbling Tummy. The latter has this message, in red, on its home page:



SO CALLED stolen recipes? So the recipes on Precious Moments aren't REALLY stolen?

I am the blogger Rumbling Tummy refers to. Let me set the record straight.

Here is what's published on my post for sambal udang:
Cut dried chillies, red chillies, shallots and buah keras into small pieces. Pound or grind till smooth. Fry in vegetable oil over medium-low to low heat till medium brown. Add belachan and stir through. Add sugar, salt and tamarind water. Simmer till thick and oil separates. Add prawns and heat till just cooked, stirring and turning as necessary to cook evenly . . . . Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
This is a screenshot of what's on Precious Moments on 6 May 2015, before it's edited:



Precious Moments' text is the same as mine, word for word. That's a flagrant violation of copyright.

Edith Chong Pei See copied another recipe, dry chicken curry, almost word for word. This is a screenshot of the recipe on Precious Moments as on 6 May 2015, before it's edited:




Using my writing without my permission is stealing. If a person steals, she's a thief. If she's a thief, she's pond scum. Don't you agree?

Have you also had stuff stolen from your blog? Are you also a victim of copyright violation? What do you do? Do you just grin and bear it?