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Stop Thief!

by Vicki Jeffels on July 5, 2012

I’m livid.

Yesterday I tweeted something I thought was quite witty. It was a bit of a throw away line about the CERN discovery of the G particle, otherwise known as the Higgs Boson. I tweeted:

It was obviously a popular tweet because it got some replies (as you can see). I continued on joking in this vein talking with tweeps about the OMG (particle) and thought nothing much of it. Until a nice guy based in Mumbai (that would be across the world in India) pointed out that someone had retweeted my original tweet without attributing it to me at all.

And sure enough here is that tweet from a 20 year old model from Mumbai Poonam Pandey -

Notice the time signature and that her tweet was retweeted 64 times!

I complained online and felt pissed off but didn’t think anything more about it until today when my man in Mumbai alerted me to this article in the Hindustan Times:

Not only did our delightful model friend nick my tweet but she retweeted it as her own and it even made the sodding paper!

Does it matter?

Yes. It. Bloody. Does!!

I know I’m not a working comedienne but if I were I would be able to point to theft of copyright, but more than that isn’t it the principle of the matter? Yes this is social media, but shouldn’t the principle be credit where credit is due?

Should Poonam really be getting the kudos for something her brain didn’t figure out for herself? For something she stole from me? I’ve tried to tweet the Hindustan Times on Twitter but haven’t managed to raise a response and wonder if I should do anything further.

What say you?

Tweets are there for the taking? There are bigger fish to fry? Forgeddabout it?

What would you do if someone stole something you wrote, or tweeted? Be really interested to hear your thoughts below.

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Tagged as: breach of copyright, stolen tweet, Twitter

  • uniquenique01

    Ugh I hate it when people cannot come up with an original thought and it is even more depressing when they get the credit that should be yours. I wonder that no one called her out on it have you seen her other tweets? surely people can spot the difference.

    • vegemitevix

      What’s even worse is that it’s made more than one newspaper in India…but a number.

      *
      *

  • ChaoticallyMe

    Oh I am so angry for you! I’d be furious if this happened to me and you have every right to be pissed!

    • vegemitevix

      Thanks, I am still pretty angry I’ll confess. I have a blog post in draft based on this very tweet and don’t feel I can blog it now.

  • ToniHargis

    Just because you put it on Twitter doesn’t mean it’s not copyrighted. As soon as you write something original it’s copyrighted; same as your blog. Other than getting the paper and perhaps the thief to acknowledge the theft and your ownership of said Tweet, there’s not a lot more you can do about it because presumably she hasn’t gained anything financially from it, and you haven’t therefore lost any money. If it starts getting printed on a t-shirt that sells world-wide though, that’s a different matter and you should start lawyering-up!

    • vegemitevix

      Thanks Toni, it raises an interesting question in this social media age doesn’t it. Thing is, she’s been made aware that it was my tweet, as have the papers but no-one has got back to me to apologise or credit me. The annoying thing is that I was working on a blog post about it and don’t think I can now.

      Obviously, I can’t point to financial loss, it would be too difficult to prove and too costly to fight.

  • http://twitter.com/wes3sm Wesley Miller

    It’s been said: ‘Steal any good idea and call it your own…unless the originator is in the room’ The rub here is, you were in the room. I’ll bet big money (depending on the daily xchangerate) that it happens ALL the time. I hope when you’re not as angry, you’ll be a little flattered.

    • vegemitevix

      They do say it’s the sincerest form of flattery I know. Thanks for pointing that out.

  • http://www.wheresmyglow.com Glowless

    Duuude, she made the paper?! Bugger. I’ve had my stuff ripped off all the time. I stopped checking on the person who was doing it all because it was just so depressing. I wasn’t the only one and I wasn’t the one she stole from most, not by a long shot, but it’s still not a nice feeling.

    I’d keep tweeting the paper, link them this. Maybe they’ll write a story about it?

    • vegemitevix

      Arrrrrgh. I’ve tweeted the papers involved and the Indian girl. No reply. I suspect there won’t be, but I’m still gutted.

  • http://twitter.com/PerthWife PerthWife

    I feel really quite angry on your behalf. What a suckful situation to be in. :(

    • vegemitevix

      Thanks. I appreciate your support.

  • henri pretty

    it would really annoy me, but i’d suggest twitter is not the medium for your best work. x

    • vegemitevix

      Aww thanks hun interesting comment, what do you think my best medium is, if not Twitter? I’m curious. :)

  • veryboredincatalunya

    Well I hope you called her out about it on twitter and tweeted the paper involved. Hell I doubt that’s even a picture of her, if she can’t write original tweets she’s bound to have stolen that picture…

    • vegemitevix

      I have done and I tweeted her but no reply. Sad thing is its more than a couple if papers.

  • http://bloggertropolis.blogspot.com/ Steve

    You have moral copyright if not actual, I’m sure. I’d be emailing the newspaper in question and bursting that young girl’s bubble.

    • vegemitevix

      I have replied to them in a tweet, not sure whether I should take it any further. Someone did say it was a bit of a popular joke, so maybe I am making a mountain out of a mole hill. On the other hand though she did nick it verbatim.

  • http://mummaandthekiddo.blogspot.co.nz/ Michelle

    Grrrrr I would be so angry. Will you share your post on the comment section of the Hindu Times? Maybe the next article will be ‘Poonam Pandey – tweet thief’ :D x

    • vegemitevix

      I have tweeted them, but haven’t had a reply.

  • Mrs Woog

    Grrrrr. That is outrageous! What a dill that lass must be. GO get em tiger xx

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