There is an undeniable fact about doing business online, especially if you deal in information product sales. Thieves will do everything they can to steal your product and distribute it illegally. So, the question being put forth in this article is a simple one. How much time should you spend going after thieves? The question may be simple but the answer is anything but. Keep reading if you want this marketer’s honest opinion on this subject.

First of all, if you have any idea of how much theft goes on over the Internet, it would make your hair stand on end. Just do a search for just about any product you can think of and you’ll find somebody giving it away. This is the nature of the business. However, that doesn’t mean we have to sit back and take it. We can fight back with several options, one being a cease and desist, or a C & D. If it’s just one or two people involved, this is easy enough to do and won’t take much time.

But what if you’re finding that your product is being distributed on dozens of sites all over the Internet? When this happens, the course of action isn’t so clear. For starters, there are only so many hours in your day. How many of them do you want to spend chasing after thieves and how many do you want to spend actually working on your business?

Also, there is something else to consider. Many of these sites are located in third world countries. If they get ordered to take down your material by their hosting company or even shut down, they still have your product. And it’s a matter of hours before they are back up and running with a new host and a new URL. Some of these sites fly so under the radar that it’s almost impossible to track them down.

Eventually, you reach a point of diminishing returns where it doesn’t pay to do more than what you’ve already done. The question is, how do you determine when that point comes? For me, it’s simple. I sit down and estimate how much income I earn per hour of work. I then figure out how many hours per day I’d have to work on this problem and then, how much money I’m really losing on these illegal downloads. If the expense is greater than the income, then it just doesn’t make sense to spend excessive time on the problem.

This doesn’t mean you just allow it to happen. You do what’s REASONABLE in an attempt to fight it, including getting download protection software. No, it’s not fool proof. Anybody who buys your product legally, if they’re intent on giving it away, they’ll do it. But this will prevent many people from going through the trouble of outright theft of your product.

It’s a problem that’s not going to go away. All we can do is take measures and steps to prevent against the problem.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of getting your stuff stolen? Check out my review of the best digital protection software ever made at http://dlguardprotection.blogspot.com/2008/09/protecting-your-business-download.html and stop thieves dead in their tracks TODAY!