Buyers who don't care about junk revisited...
I recently provided my perspective on those content buyers who don't care one way or another about using plagiarized content and some related concerns. Today, Jonathan, who operates a great site about plagiarism issues, Plagiarism Today, responded to my remarks.
He noted that those who either don't care about plagiarized content or who are willing to "look the other way" when they should be making sure the material used is "clean," do have a reason to care about the issue. Jonathan mentioned a reason that should be present for anyone, regardless of their level of ethics: self-preservation.
The potential cost to someone using plagiarized content is not found exclusively in lower relative traffic numbers due to a duplicate content filter penalty. The potential cost is a great deal more due to the potential for legal action arising from the misappropriation.
Using stolen material might result in a simple "cease and desist" letter. It could also lead to a DMCA complaint, notification to the offending party's ISP, and attendant hassles. It could also lead to a lawsuit and all of the risks and costs associated with legal actions. Copyright infringement is a criminal undertaking and the risks associated with can be significant.