Very Angry Person

scriptasylum

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Joined
25 Dec 2001
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I need some unofficial advice on how to proceed here.

Firstly, I run a website of javascript and DHTML scripts (http://www.scriptasylum.com) which are free for anyone to download and use. I have a notice saying the scripts are to be used as "freeware".

I found out recently that this site, http://www.popovergenerator.com, has stolen a certain script from my site, removed the credits, renamed the file, and is selling it as his own!

Does anyone know of anything I can do to this person other than simply threaten him with legal action?

popovergenerator.com link fixed it had the , in the link - Geffy
 
do you have something on your sites saying not to do this??

you can ask them to replace it with a legitimate version
You can put additional restrictions on the scripts regarding this kind of thing
You could also mention (if you have a news section of your site) that that site is not to be trusted and that he has been stealing scripts.
 
Out of curiosity, I would like to know which script it is that he has stolen.
 
ignore me... guess if I would have went to the site first I would have known...
 
if he is selling the script then I think you might have a legal leg to stand on as he is making money on something which you have intellectual rights to.
You should also try to Copyright the scripts they can still be used as freeware though it will mean that it is legally harder for someone to get away with stealing them.

I am not a lawyer of any kind, this is just my basic understanding of how it might play out
 
My FAQ page says the following (taken from the page itself):

Q: Does it cost anything to use the scripts found here?

A: No, the scripts found here are freeware and are bound by the rules governing freeware. Altering the code for private sale is prohibited.

If someone would like to donate a small token of appreciation, my mailing address can be found here. I also would ask for some type of credit back to this site somewhere on your page and/or in the script.

You would think this would be adequate.

The thief's site does not have an email address (how shady is that!), but I did write to the people who left testimonials on that site saying that they wasted their money on stolen software.

I actually had found a different guy doing the same thing yesterday, and sent the webmaster a cease-and-desist letter. He sent me back one today saying he would remove my code from his site. I did post a notice on my site telling people about the first guy, I'll add the second site on the notice later today when I get home.

I personally think javascript/HTML/DHTML are cool "net-gadgets", but not "real" software. My site is just a collection of stuff I've written and decided to share with the web community for the sake of learning and because it is fun. To have someone take code and sell it as their own is infuriating. At least they could have re-written it to be different, yet have the same effect.
 
Originally posted by Geffy
if he is selling the script then I think you might have a legal leg to stand on as he is making money on something which you have intellectual rights to.
You should also try to Copyright the scripts they can still be used as freeware though it will mean that it is legally harder for someone to get away with stealing them.

I am not a lawyer of any kind, this is just my basic understanding of how it might play out

How the heck do I copyright something? Do I just say it's copyrighted, and "poof!" it's done? I don't really want to incur any legal fees over this crap, I'd rather take the site down!

I think I need to go chill out for a while and cool down. Thanks for your responses!
 
Can't think of nothing that can help (that you havent already done), Just wanted to say its a really neat site.
 
Originally posted by Benny
Can't think of nothing that can help (that you havent already done), Just wanted to say its a really neat site.

Thanks for the help everyone. I'll post a copyright notice and hope this stops these idiots from doing this.
 
Originally posted by scriptasylum
How the heck do I copyright something? Do I just say it's copyrighted, and "poof!" it's done? I don't really want to incur any legal fees over this crap, I'd rather take the site down!

Just saying that it is copyrighted is enough. You don't have to register a copyright with any authorities like with a trade mark.
 
This 'whois?' may help in your cause...

Domain Name: POPOVERGENERATOR.COM
Registrar: BULKREGISTER, LLC.
Whois Server: whois.bulkregister.com
Referral URL: http://www.bulkregister.com
Name Server: NS1.RACKSHACK.NET
Name Server: NS2.RACKSHACK.NET
Status: ACTIVE
Updated Date: 13-apr-2003
Creation Date: 13-apr-2003
Expiration Date: 13-apr-2004
 
What ashame that something like this has happened. I've learned throughout life that if it isn't nailed down or protected by 10 feet of legal documents it will get stolen.

Perhaps, you can speak to a lawyer about this incident. Check with a lawyer referal service. You will find that many lawyers will give you an initial free consultation. Good luck, and nice site.
 
Originally posted by rushm001
Just saying that it is copyrighted is enough. You don't have to register a copyright with any authorities like with a trade mark.

Thanks!

When I got home today, I went through all my main pages (ones accessed through the menu) and added a copyright notice. I also beefed up the Terms of Use section on my FAQ page so it leaves little room for misinterpretation. Then I added the URL for both sites on my "warning" window to warn people not to buy freeware code.

I got some pretty good info from this site about copyrights: http://www.whatiscopyright.org

Thanks for the whois Teddy. It doesn't give his email addy so I can't rant at him though. I'll try writing the host for his site, maybe they have some policies against that sort of thing.

Hopefully there won't be too many suckers that fall for his scheme. It would be a shame to see people waste money like that.
 
Originally posted by SnookBooger
What ashame that something like this has happened. I've learned throughout life that if it isn't nailed down or protected by 10 feet of legal documents it will get stolen.

Perhaps, you can speak to a lawyer about this incident. Check with a lawyer referal service. You will find that many lawyers will give you an initial free consultation. Good luck, and nice site.

To tell you the truth, I don't have much faith in our justice system. Everyday you hear about some crazy lawsuit that wins (like the lady with the hot McDonalds coffee she was stupid enough to put between her legs :rolleyes: ). What happened to common sense and basic decency??

Thanks Snook. I'll check my yellow pages in a while. First I'll just try to "scare" him by email into pulling the code off his site. I doubt that will work though.
 
Suggestion: Be very tactful and diplomatic in the way you communicate with him or he may try to turn the table on you.
 
Hey... give this a try! armand@gogenerator.com

The link at the bottom of the page is to the company that supposedly created it. He has a bunch of apps. This is what you get when you try to "Contact Us"

Good luck dewd!
 
Just wanna add my 2 penn'orth;
Plaguerism sucks in any way shape or form and I feel for ya scriptasylum.
I was ripped off similarly with a shop sign fascia design when I was at college.
At the time the only advice I could obtain (pre-google days lol) was to make a duplicate of the work before submission to a client, and post it to yourself. (Use an envelope that can't be opened without tearing it first)
When the mail arrives, just keep that letter unopened somewhere safe.
This will stand in a U.K. court of law as date-stamped evidence of your creation, and can be opened in court as proof (Can't speak for U.S. law though m8.)
Obviously in the case of your scripts/code this wont be easy to replicate....sure you could print all your scripts and mail them to yourself, but this would be time consuming and ultimately will leave you out of pocket as you develop new scripts.

Maybe someone here knows of a tamper-proof way to do this digitally. It may not help scriptasylum with the aforementioned script but would certainly help prove ownership of any future endeavours.

Good Luck with giving that thief what he deserves ;)
 
So i geuss i am not the only one getting my scripts stolen.

My script was a free PHP script i developed for someone, and it had my copyright on it, but i gave the guy permission to show the source, but in no way was anyone allowed to use it like it was.

So then i surf some sites, and i come across my script, copyright removed, but it still had my email addy as the support adress =). Stupid person, sent him a email, and he removed it.

Anyways, the way i could prove it was mine was the email addy, but another way was that i always pack all my scripts up in a tar.gz and save it somewhere on my server where noone will touch it, and i forget about it unless i need to prove something, i also email it to myself and i send it to my uncle who then keeps it safe with the time stamp on it.

Works good.

About your working being stolen like that, i suggest sending a cease and desist letter, and if that doesnt work email rackshack, they could probably be able to help you.


If it has some sort of copyright notice in the script, they are doing something illegal.
 
Originally posted by X-Istence
So i geuss i am not the only one getting my scripts stolen.

My script was a free PHP script i developed for someone, and it had my copyright on it, but i gave the guy permission to show the source, but in no way was anyone allowed to use it like it was.

So then i surf some sites, and i come across my script, copyright removed, but it still had my email addy as the support adress =). Stupid person, sent him a email, and he removed it.

Anyways, the way i could prove it was mine was the email addy, but another way was that i always pack all my scripts up in a tar.gz and save it somewhere on my server where noone will touch it, and i forget about it unless i need to prove something, i also email it to myself and i send it to my uncle who then keeps it safe with the time stamp on it.

Works good.

About your working being stolen like that, i suggest sending a cease and desist letter, and if that doesnt work email rackshack, they could probably be able to help you.


If it has some sort of copyright notice in the script, they are doing something illegal.

Unfortunately, my scripts are client-based javascript/DHTML, therefore making a tarball won't help much. My scripts are free! I don't require money, it's just something I do for fun. The whole idea for my site is so aspiring webmasters can learn stuff and get some free code... as long as they leave the credits intact. I suppose I could encode the javascript, but that defeats the site's purpose. Plus, it's quite easy to decode.

I had my name/URL, release info, version number, etc in the js script file and the guy removed it. I still know it's mine because there are few people who have developed the windows I designed, plus I can tell my code by the way I write. I even keep old versions and I compared his and he was using an older version. He's just a jack@$$.

Oh well.

You mentioned to email rackshack, who is rackshack? The rackshack is some type of kayak reseller.
 

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Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
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