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I’m Tired Of Companies Ripping off our site, So I’m Calling Them Out

andresmax.com

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Re: I’m Tired Of Companies Ripping off our site, So I’m Calling Them Out

#211

Post by amorphid »

corwinstephen wrote: post #125
tensafefrogs wrote: post #81

While I agree that these other sites have "ripped you off," I don't think you should spend any more time worrying about it or "fighting" them. From a quick glance, these sites appear to be tiny "companies" that probably saw a nice site and decided to copy it rather than think up something great for themselves. They are probably not taking away any measurable business from you via their copies sites, so any time you s…

I think in this day and age, people who take the high road often get squashed. The "nice guys finish last" adage has never been more applicable.

I like to think nice guys finish in a race of sufficient length. This is idealistic thinking on my part, but it helps me keep my thinking positive.

Re: I’m Tired Of Companies Ripping off our site, So I’m Calling Them Out

#212

Post by [deleted] »

corwinstephen wrote: post #125
tensafefrogs wrote: post #81

While I agree that these other sites have "ripped you off," I don't think you should spend any more time worrying about it or "fighting" them. From a quick glance, these sites appear to be tiny "companies" that probably saw a nice site and decided to copy it rather than think up something great for themselves. They are probably not taking away any measurable business from you via their copies sites, so any time you s…

I think in this day and age, people who take the high road often get squashed. The "nice guys finish last" adage has never been more applicable.

[deleted]

Re: I’m Tired Of Companies Ripping off our site, So I’m Calling Them Out

#213

Post by javajosh »

On a purely technical basis, how can we tell that andres is not ripping off one of these other sites? My gut tells me he isn't, but in the age of perfect digital copies, assuming that justice was cheap and easy to obtain here (and it clearly isn't) how would you establish primacy?

Re: I’m Tired Of Companies Ripping off our site, So I’m Calling Them Out

#214

Post by alexqgb »

robomartin wrote: post #168
mijustin wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. I don't agree with this response at all. "Allow them to use the design for a small fee"? The original site design was the product of careful branding, long hours of coding, and probably countless revisions: the point of all this work is to create something that uniquely represents the company. Responding to piracy by "homogenizing" an original design isn't the answer. The rest of the business world is definitely…

The OP is a design house. Is this particular design the last drop of creative juice they have? I would think they can certainly evolve their site into another equally interesting design. It's almost like what happens to Mercedes Benz. Companies like Mitsubishi shamelessly copy MBZ designs. They've been doing it for years. MBZ's answer is to continuously innovate. Obsolete you own product.

Really? They can "evolve" their site? At what cost? Specifically, do you think it's a cost that's equal to or lower than the cost of simply waiting for others to do the hard work, then copying their advances? If you do, I can understand why you'd see your approach as a viable one. But if it turns out that origination is vastly more time and resource intensive than duplication (which, duh, it is), you'll find that the effort to stay a step ahead of the pirates becomes uneconomical very swiftly.

That's the whole point of patent and copyright law. They're defenses against locusts. The fact that these laws have been abused and need reform should not obscure their underlying value and purpose, which is actually becoming clearer than ever.

Re: I’m Tired Of Companies Ripping off our site, So I’m Calling Them Out

#215

Post by alexqgb »

bandithouse wrote: post #208
robomartin wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The OP is a design house. Is this particular design the last drop of creative juice they have? I would think they can certainly evolve their site into another equally interesting design. It's almost like what happens to Mercedes Benz. Companies like Mitsubishi shamelessly copy MBZ designs. They've been doing it for years. MBZ's answer is to continuously innovate. Obsolete you own product.

so now you're saying they should change/evolve their design because other companies have blatantly ripped them off? it's not just "some design", it's their brand. if Mitsubishi put a MBZ logo on their car MBZ wouldn't "continuously innovate" on their logo.

Bingo.

Also, there's a legal concept called trade dress, which protects the signature elements of a product. Mitusibusi copies Mercedes, but only to point. And that point is defined by law. This law explains why the imitations are so pale, and why the markets for Mitsubishis and Mercedes have so little overlap.

That doesn't mean that Mercedes can stagnate. It's a design icon, after all, and has to fit within a larger sphere that is always changing. But protection for its brand does mean can move at a more considered and deliberate pace (good conditions for thoughtful, lasting design), then it could if competitors could make perfect copies with no appreciable latency.

Slow moving design is a feature, not a bug. You'll note that cars that hit on a relatively unchanging design that doesn't date itself quickly have higher resale values than those that don't (like, ahem, Mitsubishi).

Re: I’m Tired Of Companies Ripping off our site, So I’m Calling Them Out

#216

Post by greendot »

http://www.capta360.com/ doesn't really look like a copy of your site. Neither does http://www.creativegerms.com/ or http://pearlwebstudio.com/.

Granted, a lot of those do copy your design but if you're trying to claim the above three do, you're a little overzealous.

Re: I’m Tired Of Companies Ripping off our site, So I’m Calling Them Out

#217

Post by anatari »

ricardobeat wrote: post #203
neya wrote: post #190

Hi all, I'm a designer and I have been under a similar situation - I have been, many, many times as a designer, asked to design something exactly like what my client has showed me, which most of the times was, another site. I haven't accepted a single offer from such clients, but I know how exactly they all work. Here's how it works: 1) The client keeps stalking a particular site he likes, which is usually a competit…

What? You are going to - break your CSS by making it dependent on javascript - use inefficient compression, easily reversible, to "obfuscate" javascript - both of these slowing your page loading time That's like the worst of DRM badly emulated in a browser. You do realize that the script which checks the URL can also be modified by the copycat? Minifying CSS+HTML+JS as usual already gets you the most benefits, while…

What? You are going to add a lock to your door that is going to

  - break your door by making it dependent on a key

  - use a easily reversible locking mechanism

  - slow the time it takes to enter your home
You do realize that any locksmith can open your lock in less than a minute? Closing your door already gives you most of the benefits.

Only half kidding, but I get tired of people dismissing clever tricks because it's not fool proof. Stealing is usually a function of reward/effort.

Re: I’m Tired Of Companies Ripping off our site, So I’m Calling Them Out

#218

Post by guilloiguaran »

greendot wrote: post #216

http://www.capta360.com/ doesn't really look like a copy of your site. Neither does http://www.creativegerms.com/ or http://pearlwebstudio.com/ . Granted, a lot of those do copy your design but if you're trying to claim the above three do, you're a little overzealous.

http://www.creativegerms.com/about and http://pearlwebstudio.com are copying the text messages

http://www.capta360.com/ copied the background photo

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