The biggest problem I've ever had with iCop has been the theft of our website copy and/or of the iCop seal.

People report unlinked seals to me all the time. I check and, sure enough, the seal has been stolen. Then, it's left to me to get it removed or allow some scum-bag thief to pretend to be an iCop member.

The website copy has also been pirated repeatedly. One jack-leg copied the entire iCop site word for word and started his own organization. Word for word! Some of them have sun-sized gonads!

Now, the question is ... Do you have the same problem? It, frankly, amazes me how many stupid, lazy, and downright lawless, people operate online. And, because the World Wide Web is so huge, it would make you gasp to know how many get away with using others people's material - and products - indefinitely.

What you write - or pay a copywriter to write - belongs to you. If other people are using it to make sales, you are losing money.

And what about your products? Products are stolen just as fast as copy. But, they'll be sold. Do not doubt - it happens every day.

Not only do these people steal money that belongs to you, if they've stolen your products, they're bound to hurt your reputation. There's certainly no reason to believe they would run an ethical business with stolen property.

Check it Out for Yourself

Take several sentences from your web site - or articles. Don't use, “See Jane run.” Use very original sentences. Put them (one at a time) in the Google window. Use quotation marks on both ends. See what comes up in Google.

Products are a little harder to find. So use key terms and phrases from your sales copy. Those will most likely be copied.

You might also check the websites of those who have bought your products. If you don't find anything today, you're one of the lucky ones. Sooner or later, nearly everyone has this theft problem.

If you do find your copyrighted copy, a product or graphic on someone else's website - what next? How do you get them to take it down? How do you get them thrown off the Web?

Well, you do what I do, and use the Intellectual Property Protection Plan software. I've used this thing so many times, I can't even count them.

I never hesitate, or think twice. As soon as I find something that belongs to me on someone else's website (without my permission) I go for their throats. I have no sympathy and I refuse to listen to piss-ant excuses. I only want one thing - take down my intellectual property! Now. No negotiation.

The Intellectual Property Protection Plan (IPPP) package consists of two parts:

• The documentation you need to protect your products at the point of sale
• Everything you need to stop those who ignore your contracts

I also want to add, I've had perfect cooperation from foreign hosting companies when I use this process. The location of the hosting company makes no difference at all.

The secret behind this is that all hosting companies are connected to a backbone that, sooner or later, ends up in the USA. They do follow our laws.

If you already have Auto Web Law Pro, you have everything you need to protect you from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If you have IPPP, you have everything you need to protect yourself from the sleeze-ball thieves who cost you money. With both, you are perfectly armed for whatever legal problem might come your way online.

You'll find much more information about the uses of IPPP at the URL below - for instance, you can protect your products BEFORE they're stolen and sold!

www.i-cop.org/ippp

Now, Pay Attention!

To READ about the Intellectual Property Protection Plan (IPPP):

www.i-cop.org/ippp

If you wish to purchase BOTH products (Auto Web Law Pro [AWLP] and the Intellectual Property Protection Plan [IPPP]) at the bundled price simply click to order, and the second product will be offered.

To PAY for Intellectual Property Protection Plan (IPPP) ONLY for $97 rather than $147:

tinyurl.com/y4h384a

That is a SPECIAL DISCOUNT offered to Trade Journal readers ONLY! This is especially important if you already own Auto Web Law Pro.

And the offer will only be good for a very short time!

Even though many in the USA seem to think we have a special privilege to be called "Americans," I acknowledge that everyone who lives in North, Central or South America is "American."

However, for the purposes of this article - and simply because it's less cumbersome to write - I am using the term "American" to define only those who live in the USA.

At the risk of being considered un-American, I have a couple of words to say about the level of online professionalism in the USA. It's sad. Not only is it sad, but the prevalent attitude of Americans that the USA is at the top of the internet pecking order - and therefore has special privileges - is downright misguided.

As citizens of the USA we had better get our heads out of the sand (or wherever else we have them) and wise up, or we'll find more than our heads buried. It is so typical of us Americans to believe that we are the be-all/end-all of everything. Such an attitude blinds us to the fact that the internet has leveled the playing field.

I realize that I am making sweeping statements in what I'm about to say. I also realize that I am going to offend some Americans. Yet, these statements need to be thought about and acted upon - not REacted TO out of some sense of unjustified superiority.

These comments certainly do not apply to all Americans. It is unfortunate that those who abuse the opportunity to work online as true professionals give the rest of us such a poor image.

Plenty of us are struggling to bring the rest up to some level of competence and professionalism. However, the pitiful fact is we are fighting this battle against our own countrymen. (Sorry Ladies, I don't know if they've come up with a non-sexist way to use that term.)

I work online with people from all over the world every day. More and more I'm finding that I prefer to work with those outside the USA. Why? Because that's where I find the most true professionalism. What a sad commentary on my own country!

It is here in the USA where online business owners refuse to give complete contact information. It's here in the USA where a legitimate business letter will be ignored. It's here in the USA where people won't bother to return a phone call. It's here in the USA where we find such pathetic customer service and the attitude of, "The proprieter is always right."

The greatest blessing of the internet is our ability to easily establish relationships with others around the world. We have an opportunity never before available to learn first-hand about - and from - those of cultures foreign to us. Why do we waste that by complaining about how they use the English language - all the while we butcher it ourselves?

Our languages are different - our sense of humor is different - the way we experience the world is different. And, certainly the way we do business is different. Why do we not celebrate this opportunity by learning all we can? Have we become too arrogant to do that?

I have begun to fear that arrogance is the exact reason why so many Americans are unprofessional. I rarely encounter this when I work with businesses outside the USA.

What I find instead are people who care about their business - who care how they present themselves - and who cooperate on a grand scale to get things done in the most courteous manner possible. What I do not find is email ignored - unreasonable demands - broken commitments - lousy attitude - and blatant dishonesty born of greed.

Outside the USA I find people who take great pride in what they do - without all the self-aggrandizement. They show that pride by the actual work they do - not by blowing their own horns.

I don't hesitate to make these statements because the few exceptions I've found are negligible compared to USA standards. Or, lack thereof.

The greatest thing the internet has to offer us isn't money. It's knowledge. It's the opportunity to learn and to finally become a true global village on this planet.

Can we do that? Not if we don't get off our high horses and admit we might have something to learn.

Meanwhile, continuing to treat those outside the USA as the second-class citizens of this global online village is bound to come back and bite us in the ol' wazoo! Tolerance and acceptance of other cultures is part of being a professional in the first place.

You can trust me on this. The USA internet glory days will most assuredly come to a close. So, just remember ...

What goes around - comes around. Every time.