I purchased RIGHTprotect.com with the idea that a copyright and plagiarism service could be created to assist writers. I’ve witnessed all sorts of copyright and plagiarism violations over my lifetime. Usually, the response from someone in authority when the topic is discussed is that it will eventually catch up with the offending student. But I’ve said it before that it may be too late, and someone could be harmed over the long term because of this somewhat overlooked ethical breach. It is certainly overlooked in academia, with professors telling me that they take a random sampling of students work. Apparently that suppresses the urge to cut&paste in their classes. Commercial copyright, however, is another story with lucrative businesses in operation that monitor the web for issues. I know that the server I am on gets pinged by a provider of such services because I run Mobble.com, a social network that is part of a project.
When I am done with my MBA this year, I’ll more than likely launch this as a service. If you are interested in taking part, let me know.