View Full Version : layout stolen
Ganon of Evil
10-08-2002, 10:03 PM
a site stole my layout and wont take it down.
do you have any copyright stuff on your site? it sounds like what they did was illegal - what is your site and their site? What have you said to them? more information could help - we could all email them telling them to take it down :P
ishnid
10-09-2002, 06:47 AM
We could have a 'trial by message board' and the guilty shall be harassed into complying with the court's decision!;)
Ganon of Evil
10-09-2002, 05:08 PM
there is no copyright on it and i sent emails asking them to take it down around 2 weeks ago, no response.
I think that copyright exists for anything you make/create - if you make something you automatically recieve copyright - you would have to make sure though :P. I sujest you send them another email, and if they still dont reply then give them one last warning (getting harsher) and if they still dont reply then start taking action yourself, getting people to email them also telling them to take it down, maby even reporting it to their web host and asking them if they could help you out.
Ganon of Evil
10-10-2002, 05:11 PM
k ill send another email and give them 7 days before i report them to their host. the persons site is illegal anyways (emulation site) and is on geocities, so it wont be hard to get them removed.
Horus_Kol
10-11-2002, 04:29 AM
Mage is correct
copyright is inherent of any material created by you. the exceptions to this is where an agreement is signed with another party (ie, at work, the company owns what I do in the office - at uni, I had to share 50:50 with the uni).
copyright is protected by international law - but it is up to the rights holder to police it - there is no body or organisation that will search for violations.
Geocities will probably shut the guy down if you can prove that the material was stolen from you. Or else you could shop him for the site content :devil:
kdjoergensen
10-11-2002, 08:46 AM
Just one warning:
- while it may seem incredible, it is not illegal for anyone to 'think of the same idea' as you thought off. This is the fundemental principel of reverse engineering. If someone "know the end result" it does not take much effort to recreate it themselves. THey can easily be 'inspired' by your work, and unless it is 100% equal to yours it can be very hard to proove that they stole/copied and was not just inspired.
- you would have to proove that YOU got the idea first (and that it is not you who stole from them).. may sound stupid, but if you do take legal action make sure you have proof of this (may be difficult to obtain)
- YOU must proove that they stole your idea and that they were not only inspired. depending on how close to your layout/colors/fonts/graphics this could be dififcult. If they downloaded and used your graphics did you have your copyright notices imbedded in the grapics files (can be done with modern graphic editors today).
finally you risk that they counter sue you for slander if you publizise this too much without proper proof.
Just something to keep in mind.
I am not in favor of stealing, but please remember that the burden is (unfortunately) on YOU to provide the proof.
Horus_Kol
10-11-2002, 08:56 AM
one of the best recognised ways of dating a creation is to post it to yourself.
The date on the postmark is then evidence of when you created the material. So long as you don't get too excited at getting a letter and open it :D
and the burden of proof is always on the accuser (at least in Western law) no matter what the case is - that is why you are innocent until proven guilty.
Ganon of Evil
10-11-2002, 05:10 PM
it would be very easy to prove they stole it, most of the graphics were kept in and the stats4all counter is in it too (called egnetwork), which should be enough proof. what gets me mad though is he is claiming it to be his (in an update he says "I am almost finished with the layout").
You could just ignore the whole layout part and tell their host and the company who makes the things he is emulating and they would most likley do everything for you lol
entimp
10-26-2002, 10:31 PM
Is it possible for us to view the "stolen" url and yours...
Any graphics that you created would be the best way to approach breach of copyright. Any copied graphics would prove beyond doubt that the work is yours if identical and used in the same fashion.
The points already mentioned are all correct tho... tread carefully.
kevin
10-26-2002, 10:46 PM
sincerest advice....
get over it and forget about it. Your site is nothing particularly new or imaginative looking and looks like a million other websites, in fact its a basic three column layout that sure likes like many php nuke generated sites.
Unless they have stolen your content there is nothing you can do about the layout similarity, or maybe the lack of dissimilarity.
entimp
10-27-2002, 12:19 AM
I would have to disagree with you Kev... Sorry.
Haven't compared the sites, but if original art/graphics have been taken does matter how original the art or graphics are...
HTML and Web concepts are a different matter... if this is all it is about then Kev might be right. But I stand by him if it is image related.
KWJams
10-27-2002, 01:32 AM
WHAT IS NOT PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT?
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:
Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded)
Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration
Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO SECURE A COPYRIGHT
Copyright Secured Automatically upon Creation
The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. (See following Note.) There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration. See "Copyright Registration."
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. "Copies" are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm. "Phonorecords" are material objects embodying fixations of sounds (excluding, by statutory definition, motion picture soundtracks), such as cassette tapes, CDs, or LPs. Thus, for example, a song (the "work") can be fixed in sheet music (" copies") or in phonograph disks (" phonorecords"), or both.
If a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a particular date constitutes the created work as of that date.
kevin
10-27-2002, 01:42 AM
Originally posted by entimp
I would have to disagree with you Kev... Sorry.
Haven't compared the sites, but if original art/graphics have been taken does matter how original the art or graphics are...
HTML and Web concepts are a different matter... if this is all it is about then Kev might be right. But I stand by him if it is image related.
No need to apologize :)
I see nothing original about this website besides maybe the graphic at the top, and if anyone wants to steal that graphic and use it they must really be hurting because it is not a well done graphic. I would consider it a compliment that someone thought this site was worth copying/stealing/whatever.
But that is just my opinion, if the poster wishes to pursue the matter than he should because I realize it is a personal decision.
entimp
10-27-2002, 12:47 PM
Fiar enough... and in the most part agreed.=:O
May I ask what you were doing in an illegal emulation site in the first place?
Michael
10-30-2002, 06:24 PM
so can I see the site who steals your layout? Ganon of Evil?
And I am not sure if I am right or not, but I had seen a VERY VERY similar template on some template sites, I think maybe you download the template somewhere else and modified it..... (I am not sure)
Anyway, I think no one have the right to claim a template or something, because they are just merely HTML codes, the copyright of these templates should belong to those who created (or perhap INVENTED HTML)
...
Ganon of Evil
11-04-2002, 05:17 PM
its not my site's layout which was stolen, but a friend's. he paid to get it designed too. the person took down the layout (no response though). he probably stole another layout :) . BTW this is the link to the layout which was stolen
http://dmcu.elite-gaming.com (enter the site)
and this is the link to the site that stole it.
http://www.geocities.com/bio_fx
BTW kevin i know my layout sucks, i wouldn't care if someone stole it.
I'm sorry, but I feel that this posting has been a bit of a waste of time, please next time give us more information to start with, otherwise we cant really do much to help you etc. And also answering any questions we have, we asked for the URLs right at the start and didnt get them among other things.
karidee
02-20-2003, 06:17 PM
I don't see any similarity at all.
Kevinnaia
02-20-2003, 08:32 PM
Neither Did I!
Read up a bit, they say they took it down
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