I have written before that we use CopySentry to find and monitor occurrences of copy theft and infringement regarding content on our site. Today, I discovered a story on TechCrunch about a company called Attributor which offers a service very similar to CopySentry but with many added features.
Attributor, which is a startup in Redwood City, California, says it can monitor the Web for copied content no matter where it may be, help publishers and media companies track it all, and provide them more options about how to handle it. I am already intrigued.
Founded in 2005, Attributor has raised $10 million so far in venture capital from Sigma Partners, Selby Ventures, Draper Richards, First Round Capital and Amicus.
The enterprise version of its service launches today even though it has used Reuters and the Associate Press as guinea pigs for the last six months. The cost of this enterprise service is a bit prohibitive if you are a small to medium sized business (SMBs) – anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. However, a more limited self-serve version for smaller publishers could cost as little as $6 or $7 per month, and will launch sometime in 2008.
So what are some of the highlights of this new product and how does it compare to CopySentry?
- While Attributor currently only handles textual content (like CopySentry), images are in beta and video matching is planned for the near future.
- Like CopySentry, Attributor ingests all your content and comes up with matches that it find on the web. However, Attributor takes the process a step further and differentiates sites that are cases of extreme copying and minor copying.
- Attributor shows which sites have linked back to the original content and which have not.
- Attributor also shows which sites generate the most traffic, which are supported by ads, and which ad networks are making the most money off of your content across the Web.
Sounds to me like CopySentry has some competition. CopySentry does separate themselves from Attributor in that they offer a free version of their product. However, if you have any significant amount of content, you either need CopySentry’s premium version so you can track an unlimited amount of pages or the more robust Attributor product so you can gather even more details about each site that is copying your content and how they are using it. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the launch a version that is more cost effective for SMBs.
Check out TechCrunch for more details including several screen shots.
