Copyright infringement?

[mallorca123]

Hi guys, i have a problem with my website. .. I dont know what my Webmaster have done? But is this Copyright infringement?

please let me know!!!

 

[dbshoupe]

Look at their website's content, does it match your content almost word for word? Try going to CopyScape.com and entering a few of your URLs. Do any of their pages come back as matches? If so then whoever developed your website may have copied theirs. If that is the case then plan on going back and rewriting everything so that it is legit.

 

[maverickk3]

Yes its something like that , if its true what Vincent says , its better to do some changes in your website in order to not have problems.
Its not big deal.

 

[Hinkys]

Look at their website's content, does it match your content almost word for word? Try going to CopyScape.com and entering a few of your URLs. Do any of their pages come back as matches? If so then whoever developed your website may have copied theirs. If that is the case then plan on going back and rewriting everything so that it is legit.

This sums it up. If their site is older than yours it means that your developer has most likely screwed you over . Just to be sure, try to get a hold of him and see what he has to say about all this.

Basically it's either this or the person contacting you is a competitor / scammer but you can rule this out by checking out the mentioned web page.

In the case that the webmaster did copy that site, take yours down as soon as possible and replace ALL of your content with something new and original.

That part where he's talking about you never being able to do business online again is more or less bullsh** but you can still get in trouble so don't take this lightly.

 

[vodkaa]

It could be that your webmaster has sold the same code to multiple people also in which case who has the rights to it can be hairy if it wasn't spelled out in a contract. Always have written contracts with your developers spelling out who retains ownership of the code and digital assets produced.

 

[mallorca123]

That is the asnwer from the guy... I told him that i change sometging in the Layout.

You need to change more than a lot of things. The entire website is using the same code. Thus near everything needs changing and taken offline.! Simply sort it out and take the website down & I will take the matter no further. I suggest starting from scratch and making an original website.

 

[thehause]

I've looked at both sites, the Codes and Designs on both sites are an exact match, luckily there isin't a law that prohibits the Copying of Codes and Designs of Websites.

As for the content, i don't see any similarity anywhere so you have nothing to worry about and you can probably tell the guy to shove the letter up his ass.

 

[mallorca123]

luckily there isin't a law that prohibits the Copying of Codes and Designs of Websites.

really??? but the problem is google!!!

 

[youtalkmedia]

Soo...

It looks like your guy F**ked you over.

Took a look at their site, and it is run on a program (similar to wordpress) and is a custom made theme. It looks like youf guy went onto their pages, and copied their code (Your site does not seem to have the same engine running it).

Your site is different enough when it comes to text, but the design does need to be changes a little more.... It is currently too similar to their design. You could probably just change they layout a bit and be fine, but I would speak with someone who knows the laws there.

 

[thehause]

He needs to get a court letter confirming some kind of Infringement first before google Acts on your site.

Don't compare your case to Big movie industries and software companies that can have google take down their contents or infringing URLS since those cases are pretty much obvious and money talks.

Google won't even respond to this guy without a Court Notice. Had few experiences in similar level and even worse case than yours and google never even responded. "This a confirmed case, not from my words but from lawyers that we hire in the US and EU for such cases"

Sit back, relax, tell them you bought a readymade theme from some place and modified it to your requirements which coincidently matches their site so tell them to back off before they get hurt in a lawsuit from you and your lawyers, and please sound solid and not silly in your emails to them.

 

[vodkaa]

Lol what planet do you live on? Google has taken immediate action against sites that I had hotlinking images. The site got a DMCA complaint and the site was immediately deindexed, Adsense was banned, and luckily after that the person lost interest figuring they hurt me enough. Don't be too confident that action won't be taken right away. I would just hire someone to make more changes so that when/if the site is manually inspected it doesn't look like an intentional theft.

 

[meathead1234]

He needs to get a court letter confirming some kind of Infringement first before google Acts on your site.

Don't compare your case to Big movie industries and software companies that can have google take down their contents or infringing URLS since those cases are pretty much obvious and money talks.

Google won't even respond to this guy without a Court Notice. Had few experiences in similar level and even worse case than yours and google never even responded. "This a confirmed case, not from my words but from lawyers that we hire in the US and EU for such cases"

Sit back, relax, tell them you bought a readymade theme from some place and modified it to your requirements which coincidently matches their site so tell them to back off before they get hurt in a lawsuit from you and your lawyers, and please sound solid and not silly in your emails to them.

This is complete bullshit. Google are very responsive to DMCA notifications assuming they are sent correctly.

Stop giving stupid advice as idiots like you can get people in serious trouble. It's unlikely this would ever go anywhere but telling someone you're going to "hurt them in a lawsuit" is classic bullshit and no-one who has been in the industry more than 30 seconds would fall for it.

 

[mallorca123]

okay guys will remove the CSS & Design...Thanks for this message but im not so lucky now :-(

 

[nicofan]

ask your webmaster why the design is identical with this competitors design. If he can't give you a valid reason you should ask for your money back if this is still possible.

 

[Danny1111]

I'm no lawyer - but a copied website design is going no-where (even though its poor form by developer)
.... copied content then you may have an issue... with Google.

If anyone knows about this type of thing its MeatHead1234 so if your still worried I'd PM him.

 

[Duffers5000]

You are doing the right thing taking it down. You got a polite but earnest letter from a bricks and mortar company with a hand coded website that your webguy has decided to appropriate.

This company are serious so you can do it the easy way or the hard way.

 

[thehause]

If you know nothing about this subject then keep Shut, i've been dealing with this subject for the past 6 years and know exactly that i'm talking about.

 

[thehause]

"This is complete bullshit. Google are very responsive to DMCA notifications assuming they are sent correctly.

Stop giving stupid advice as idiots like you can get people in serious trouble. It's unlikely this would ever go anywhere but telling someone you're going to "hurt them in a lawsuit" is classic bullshit and no-one who has been in the industry more than 30 seconds would fall for it."

If you know nothing about this subject then keep Shut, i've been dealing with this subject for the past 6 years and know exactly that i'm talking about.

 

[Felitan]

Just reply back saying your outsourcers done this without your knowledge. and be polite and good luck to you