getting paid for website question??!! - HTML Forums

nthammer · 02-01-2009, 11:21 PM

alright so i made this website for this guy its got a lot of php and html and a forum im getting paid really low but im fine with that, what im not fine with is that the guy took my code for his ONE website and copied it EXACTLY to create two other websites and just changed some colors, he has never said anything about these websites but i found them on his "portfolio" website (hes a business guy).

so im wondering if he is doing nething illegal or do i just have to ask him for my extra money and just hope he gives it to me??

if anyone needs links to look pm me and ill give them to you

THANKS a lot for any responses im not sure if this is the right section but o well

Pegasus · 02-01-2009, 11:30 PM

Technically, I don't think you can get him for copyright infringement. There's only so many ways HTML and CSS can be put together to create a site. It's a finite list with the exception of changing the colour scheme.

I'd ask for the extra cash, given that he's taken your design for two more sites, but I wouldn't hold my breath that you'd get them. Personally? I'd finish the jobs he's given me and not have anything to do with him after that. He may not be illegal, but I'd consider him extremely unethical.

Horus_Kol · 02-01-2009, 11:47 PM

hmm... what was your agreement with the guy?

it could be a misunderstanding - if he thinks that he has bought all of the rights to your work, then he can reproduce it as he likes.

on the other hand, if he wasn't up front about that, you could ask for more money.

but if the pay was low to start with, then you're probably not going to see more, and it won't be worth the legal costs of pursuing.

either way, your first step is to write a polite email or letter, stating that you have seen that he has copied your original work for the first site and that this was not what you originally agreed, and ask if he could either change those sites or pay you for the use of your work.

it is important to be polite in these matters, as if you do go on to legal proceedings and he produces a page of invective, then you lose points in the case...

nthammer · 02-02-2009, 02:23 PM

thanks for the responses, your both right, im just going to email him and not be a *fool* about it.

amatocianmonk · 02-03-2009, 04:35 PM

If you do plan on going through any type of legal process due to this, i would recommend that you take screen shots of his copied sites before he changes them. The internet archive might not have them picked up yet.

Btw, it is not hard to add a few lines to php scripts to prevent them from being run on other servers.

However you should keep anything legal as a last resort

RunnerRob · 02-17-2009, 07:13 PM

if you confront the dude he will prob say you never told him he couldn't use the code for other site. plus if you were paid for the code it no longer belongs to you and he is free to do what he wants with it. you have to think of these types of sits up front and draw up a contract.

Rob

Horus_Kol · 02-17-2009, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunnerRob

if you were paid for the code it no longer belongs to you and he is free to do what he wants with it.

That is not entirely accurate - although sometimes the client can take complete ownership of the code, most development contracts/agreements are for a single site only - and while the client is free to make modifications to the code after they have paid for it, they are not generally allowed to re-use or resell that code without explicit permission from the original developer.