Designer Thieves Options

[res8zenith]

was wondering lately i've seen designs that look very similiar to other designs so i was wondering, what is the best thing to do when you catch someone stealing your material/ideas/codes/designs or structures for their own uses or sites?

what if they are using your stuff but credit you?
what if they are using your stuff and alter the credits?
what if they are using your stuff and remove the credits?

**normally i email them or comment on the site and tell them to take it off or i'll talk to their hosting services xD that's the best i got, and if their ashamed of what they did, they put the credits up or completely change everything before next sunrise. some are rude enough to slander & object the claim when clearly the material is stolen.

[Mikeplyts]

oh, LOL. sorry Josh.



Who did "invent" the codes?

[Uronacid]

The author doesn't have to even put copyright on their work. As of April 1, 1989, it just is.

Yeah, but this is small time stuff. Do you really mean to tell me that you've never copied and pasted potions of someone's code into your own designs. Give me a break. It's part of the learning process.

oh, LOL. sorry Josh.
Who did "invent" the codes?

Yes, I am talking about people in general.

[fixtatik]

Yeah, but this is small time stuff. Do you really mean to tell me that you've never copied and pasted potions of someone's code into your own designs. Give me a break. It's part of the learning process.

There's nothing wrong with using snippets of code. For example, if you see some JavaScript effect on a site and you don't know how to do it, use it from their site. If they don't specifically say that you need to do something in return, it doesn't entirely matter, because that code could have come from anywhere. Granted, there are limitations.

As for what exactly constitutes as "stealing" a website, it depends. I like Tim Van Damme's example, with his Wall of Fame vs. his Wall of Shame. Wall of Famers used his ideas as inspiration, and in most cases offered him a link back to his site as a source of inspiration. Wall of Shamers blatantly copied his work, pixel for pixel.

Personally, I believe if you see a site that you think looks good, and want to base your own site on that, go for it. Just make it entirely different and if you do use some ideas from your inspiration, give a link back. It's only courteous.

The author doesn't have to even put copyright on their work. As of April 1, 1989, it just is.

I think it's actually March 1st, 1989, when the US joined the Berne Convention. True, it's not required, but you stand nearly no chance in a court of law if you don't include a copyright notice.

(d) Evidentiary Weight of Notice. — If a notice of copyright in the form and position specified by this section appears on the published copy or copies to which a defendant in a copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be given to such a defendant's interposition of a defense based on innocent infringement in mitigation of actual or statutory damages, except as provided in the last sentence of section 504©(2).

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap4.html#401

bo-ya!! you're awesome fixatik! i read that somewhere but i don't remember if it was 70 years or 40 years..xD oh well 70 sounds better. so all my designs i copyrighted are mine so i can go around kicking some ballz yay!

Unless you actually registered with the copyright office, there's not much you can do except ask your work to be taken down, or use some kind of "wall of shame" or similar action. Works not registered won't hold up in court.