First of all, check carefully to see what legalese you have written into
the FAQ. Granted, the assumption is that it's all copyrighted, but if it's
written explicitly you have stronger grounds for a lawsuit.
I would hire a lawyer for cheap bucks ($100? I'm not a lawyer) to write a
cease-and-desist letter. Send the letter registered with a return notice
request. There ain't nothin' like a letter from an attorney to get them to
shape up right away. Yes, a lawsuit would cost megabucks, but a letter
would not cost much at all. You may wish to check your area for a good
copyright lawyer (if not, call your local media outlets to see who they
use, since media lawyers are often copyright lawyers as well).
And as the other poster mentioned, I would come out and say what you
found, right into the FAQ. Those who read it in usenet will see your
notice, and whoever decides to lift your updated FAQ into their web site
will see it...because someone there will manually have to remove it.
I have a friend of mine who manages a FAQ that had a lot of great little
hints and tips, which mysteriously all turned up in a nationally published
guide book. He talked to some lawyers and in his case, he did not have a
good case because they only used his tips without proper credit (and used
their own words). Now he incorporates the information right into his FAQ,
saying "so and so publishing company seems to have decided to print a
lot of my tips without credit or compensation. Please consider buying
another guide book."
-------------Mama Lani's <lani@lava.net> Email Signature File--------------
ADA NOW PROTECTS MENTAL ILLNESS! Yell at your boss, blame your Prozac.
This week's read: "Dealing W/ People You Can't Stand" Brinkman & Kirschner
This address has a big Procmail file & throws out all email from advertisers.