How to deal with design theft

**Yoda** · 01-29-2004, 08:52 AM

I've got a pretty blatant case of design theft on my hands. I found out because the genius left the image preloader code in, so I found him through my log files. I went there, got his email address, and emailed him about it. No answer. So I posted a message on his little tagboard thing. His response? He admits it, says "so?," says he can do what he wants, it isn't copyrighted, and if I post again he'll ban me. I've since repeated my warning.

The question is: how can I best go about dealing with this? The theif in question is using GeoCities, whom I sent a quick message to about it. I didn't really sit down and explore their help area enough, so I doubt I sent it to the best place.

Any past experiences with this? Any advice is appreciated.

**Chris** · 01-29-2004, 09:15 AM

I would contact abuse@yahoo.com

**Chris** · 01-29-2004, 09:16 AM

http://help.yahoo.com/help/geo/abuse/

**incka** · 01-29-2004, 09:41 AM

If you live in the UK everything you make is instantly copyrighted. It's in the Intellectuial Property act.

**Yoda** · 01-29-2004, 12:38 PM

Originally posted by Chris
http://help.yahoo.com/help/geo/abuse/

Thanks, Chris. That's precisely the kind of thing I was looking for (like I said, wasn't very thorough about it, originally). I've found what appears to be an applicable form and filled it out.

Originally posted by incka
If you live in the UK everything you make is instantly copyrighted. It's in the Intellectuial Property act. I know a european copyright lawyer student who need some cash if your thinking of sueing, his email is w.a.hack@planet.nl - that will also work on msn. I know him through Murmurs.

Yes, I believe intellectual property laws are the same here, though even if they were not, the site's layout still had a copyright in the footer.

**incka** · 01-29-2004, 01:27 PM

Can you leave a non-link URL to the site that copied you. If he bans you we can all post on his message board. And what site did he copy?

**ozgression** · 07-19-2004, 01:39 AM

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I have recently found a blatant case of design theft myself. I have sent a "Cease & Desist" email to the owner of the offending site. I have given 14 days for the design/site to be taken down before I launch legal action.

If the person does not take the site down within 14 days, I will obviously consult a lawyer, however, since the offending person is in the US (and I am in Australia), taking legal action could cost me alot of my time and money (which I would obviously prefer to avoid).

Just wondering if I should contact the website's webhost and perhaps get them to shut it down and save me the hassle of taking legal action?

BTW, I also found the offending site through checking my logs

The person left my images, links and even banners on his site, lol

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**chromate** · 07-19-2004, 02:13 AM

Yeah, definitely. Contacting the host is the best way. From what I've seen, they normally take sites down pretty fast if they're breaching copyright.

**ozgression** · 07-20-2004, 01:06 AM

Turns out that the email address in the whois info for the owner is not correct.

I have emailed the host and am awaiting a reply.
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**Anat** · 08-27-2004, 11:51 AM

I had something similar happen to me more than a year ago. The owner claimed they didn't know it was copyrighted - that their webmaster was the theif or whatever. Anyway, one email to the host, with the owner cc'ed, was all it took. They changed the site immidiately.

**Mike** · 08-27-2004, 12:40 PM

That's the way to do it, although they shouldn't have done it in the first place. Just think how much time they will have saved by copying a design.

IMHO anyone blatantly copying someones design, should get a ban from owning a site for so long. That would cut it all out. Of course, it's never going to happen, and even if it did, people would get round it.

**AndyH** · 08-27-2004, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by ozgression

Turns out that the email address in the whois info for the owner is not correct.

You could even contact their domain registra and inform them that they are not supplying accurate contact information - which you have to do.

**Dan Grossman** · 09-11-2004, 11:04 PM

I've had websites copied twice just recently, and both times a DMCA notice sent to the web host and to the datacenter their servers are in (just look up who owns the IP the website is on), CCed to eachother, had the sites down quickly.

**James** · 09-16-2004, 10:13 PM

Ah yes, I remember that. You mentioned it on SPF.

I just wish that some day my designs are *wow* enough for someone to be tempted to steal them, but not actually do so.