Sex.com and The Times plagiarising my story

It's a strange thing that despite newspapers having recognised the Internet as absolutely vital to their future, the childish and laughably arrogant feeling among many print journalists is that somehow because something is on the Internet, it is less kosher and subsequently they are entitled to steal it and pretend that they came up with it all along.

This was particularly bad a few years ago. The Mail on Sunday I remember once stole an entire article of mine, republished it with barely a change and stuck its actual political editor's name on it. We (The Register) complained and were eventually paid £800 for the copy – which, very annoyingly for me, we gave to charity to make a point.

The Press Gazette chased it up and its then-editor Jean Morgan called me up to ask about it for a story. Somewhat ironically, she then wrote a piece which took the concept of original content on the Internet as lightly as the Mail had done.

She almost couldn't believe my affrontery as I accused the Mail of shoddy standards and simple, outright theft. Who did I think I was? I was just some bloke who was typing stuff into a computer and getting it published on the Internet.

To some degree that has changed thanks to news websites that frequently wipe the floor with traditional news outlets, and – of course – have started making serious money.

So it is somewhat depressing to find The Times plagiarising the article I wrote first thing this morning for The Register on the arrest of Sex.com thief Stephen Cohen.

The article, by Simon Freeman, is a Times Online piece and is clearly no more than a swift rewrite of my article. Chunks of it remain completely intact. In actual fact, it is an amalgam of my story and the LA Times story that I had linked to (and referred to as my source because I have some journalistic standards).

What a bloody cheek.

What is even more ludicrous is that when The Times launched its new tech section a few months ago, I sent not one but two emails to its new editor offering my services as a freelance IT journalist – outlining my specialities.

I didn't even receive a reply – the bare minimum of politeness you would think. And yet my stories are good enough for one of its “reporters” to steal and republish on its site.

I might ask The Register to complain. In the meantime, if The Times wants to get its news fast and original, can I suggest you simply contact me direct?

The full stories are below, but first a comparison of a para or two:

The Times: “Cohen fled across the border to Tijuana and began to siphon money from US bank accounts to offshore havens through a series of shell companies. In 2001, Cohen was officially made a fugitive from justice.”

My story: “Cohen fled across the US border to Tijuana and refused to return. He then began to illegally siphon his money from US bank accounts to offshore tax havens through a series of ingenious shell companies. In May 2001, Cohen was officially made a fugitive from justice by the US authorities.”

The Times: “In response, Mr Kremen offered a reward for his capture which was taken up by a series of bounty hunters. Cohen moved to Monte Carlo after a shoot-out outside his home in Tijuana, on the Mexico border. He has lived on-and-off in Monaco for the past five years.”

My story: “Tijuana has been used by Cohen and his associates as a base for his diverse business activities for a decade, but he fled it soon after Gary Kremen posted an award for Cohen's detention that attracted the attention of US bounty hunters, back in June 2001.”

Cohen claims a shoot-out at his house between bounty hunters and Mexican police had put his life in danger. Kremen claims the event never happened, but Cohen nonetheless bought himself a house in Monte Carlo and has been living there on and off for the past five years.”

The Times: “'Hopefully, I'll get to them before the IRS,' he said, referring to the US tax office.”

My story: “'Hopefully, I'll get to them before the IRS,' he said, referring to the US tax office.”

Those stories in full:

Porn mogul held in

$65 million sex.com feud

By Simon Freeman, The Times

After almost five years on the run, the conman who stole the most valuable domain name in the world, sex.com, was today handed over to US authorities.

The arrest of Stephen Cohen, 57, is the latest twist in the most extraordinary legal epic from the dot.com boom: a virtual tug-of-war which became a multi-million dollar feud, stretching from the bandit country of Mexico to the tax-exiles' hideaway of Monte Carlo.

In the end, its conclusion was prosaic. Cohen, who has served three prison terms for fraud, was arrested yesterday in Tijuana as he applied for a work permit.

He was turned over to agents of the US Border Patrol, according to Deputy Marshal Tania Tyler, and is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in San Diego.

Cohen is being questioned over his failure to pay $65 million to entrepreneur Gary Kremen, the original owner of the sex.com domain, in a court judgement reached in April 2001.

“I'm excited, and I'm happy to prepare for the next stage of justice,” said Mr Kremen.The convoluted and long-running legal skirmish began in the early, innocent days at the dawn of the internet.

In 1994, when domain names were given out free to the first person who asked, Mr Kremen had the foresight to register the web addresses sex.com and match.com.

As Mr Kremen busied himself building match.com into what became the world's biggest dating site, sex.com remained a simple advertising portal – hired out to pornography retailers for a monthly fee of around $60,000.

Following his release from his third prison sentence for fraud and forgery in October 1995, Cohen realised the potential of the site which  he considered to be under-exploited.

Accounts vary of exactly how he pulled off the elaborate hijack. Some reports suggest that he embarked on a relationship with one of the clerks at Network Solutions, the company which then administrated all dot.coms.

Others suggest that he forged a letter to the domain-name registrar saying that Mr Kremen had been fired. The name was handed over without even cursory checks.

When, some months later, Mr Kremen discovered his profitable sideline had been swiped he contacted Network Solutions; but with no legislation to cover virtual theft the company said it was powerless to intervene.

Mr Kremen sued Cohen, whose lawyers fought back with such ferocity that the federal judge on the case ordered Cohen's arrest for contempt of court. By this time, the rejuvenated sex.com was bringing in tens of millions of dollars and attracting 25 million hits a day.

After five years of litigation, a judge ruled that Cohen had obtained the domain illegally and ordered him to hand it back. The following year he awarded Mr Kremen $65 million in damages and lost revenue. With interest, the amount is now $82 million.Cohen fled across the border to Tijuana and began to siphon money from US bank accounts to offshore havens through a series of shell companies. In 2001, Cohen was officially made a fugitive from justice.

In response, Mr Kremen offered a reward for his capture which was taken up by a series of bounty hunters. Cohen moved to Monte Carlo after a shoot-out outside his home in Tijuana, on the Mexico border. He has lived on-and-off in Monaco for the past five years.Reports suggest that he was applying for a work permit in Mexico when he was apprehended yesterday.

The warrant orders Cohen to remain imprisoned until he returns $25 million that the judge said was illegally transferred out of the country.

Through the courts, Mr Kremen has seized several of Cohen's properties, including a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, a San Diego suburb. He told the LA Times that he now hopes to be able to claim back more of Cohen's assets.

“Hopefully, I'll get to them before the IRS,” he said, referring to the US tax office.

A representative for Cohen, who served three years in federal prison in 1993 after he was convicted of bankruptcy fraud in San Diego, did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Sex.com thief arrested

By Kieren McCarthy, The Register

The con-man who stole the most valuable domain name in the world, Sex.com, has been arrested by Mexican police and handed over to US agents after nearly six years on the run.

Stephen Michael Cohen was arrested on an immigration violation by Mexican authorities and turned over to the US border patrol yesterday, the LA Times has reported. Cohen is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego, according to deputy marshal Tania Tyler of the US immigration service.

Cohen is wanted in the US for failure to pay $65m in a court judgement reached in April 2001. The judgement was the result of a five-year court battle by the original owner of the domain, Gary Kremen, which nearly bankrupted the entrepreneur and founder of the net's biggest dating site, Match.com.

Kremen was awarded the sum in compensation after Cohen stole Sex.com in October 1995 through an elaborate scam. Cohen then ran the site at an estimated $100m profit until the domain was finally handed back to Kremen by the court in November 2000.

As soon as he lost the case however, Cohen fled across the US border to Tijuana and refused to return. He then began to illegally siphon his money from US bank accounts to offshore tax havens through a series of ingenious shell companies. In May 2001, Cohen was officially made a fugitive from justice by the US authorities.

It was in Tijuana, sat right on the US border and where Cohen was reportedly living in a mansion, that he was arrested by the Mexican authorities. Tijuana has been used by Cohen and his associates as a base for his diverse business activities for a decade, but he fled it soon after Gary Kremen posted an award for Cohen's detention that attracted the attention of US bounty hunters, back in June 2001.

Cohen claims a shoot-out at his house between bounty hunters and Mexican police had put his life in danger. Kremen claims the event never happened, but Cohen nonetheless bought himself a house in Monte Carlo and has been living there on and off for the past five years.

Kremen has never recouped any money from Cohen but did manage to seize control of two of his houses – a shack perched on the US side of the Mexican border, and a mansion in the exclusive Santa Fe resort in San Diego.

A second court case brought by Kremen against the-then administrator of all dotcoms, Network Solutions, resulted in out-of-court settlement in April 2004 thought to be worth up to $20m.

It is unclear whether that judgement will allow Kremen to chase Cohen for the remainder of the $65m (now increased to $82m with interest). Kremen told the LA Times he hopes to get more of Cohen's assets. “I'm excited, and I'm happy to prepare for the next stage of justice. Hopefully, I'll get to them before the IRS,” he said, referring to the US tax office.During the long court case with Cohen, it was revealed that Cohen had paid almost no tax on his multi-million-dollar annual earnings over 20 years.