LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI • Hacker News Board

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#101

Post by meerita » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:41 PM UTC

ajross wrote: post #23

bencevans wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flat UI ( http://designmodo.github.com/Flat-UI/ ) in an open source project along the same lines as Twitter Bootstrap. or another bootstrappable interface framework. LayerVault ( https://layervault.com/ ) are a company that provide a version control system for design work.

Thanks. This isn't directed at you personally, more at the community mindpool: And did Flat UI derive artwork from LayerVault? Is there a connection between the developers? Did they work with the same artist? Certainly some of the icons on the two sites look similar, though I don't see any obvious duplication. A critically important step in any hot blooded DMCA freakout is verifying whether or not infringement took p…

They're just claming to be the owners of the style, colors of his work. Meaning you cannot do something with Avenir and Helvetica font, combined with non-glassy graphycs. Something totally absurd, like saying I cannot make a framework inspired on X design movement.

Check what the framework developer said: https://github.com/github/dmca/commit/735e17614cca63102b8414...

"he said that he: "I am the exclusive rights holder for the artwork contained within Flat UI". Liar!."

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#102

Post by beseku » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:42 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #95

beseku wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 'old DN icon' ... http://thenounproject.com/noun/newspaper/#icon-No6346

Huh? Not the same.

Now I don't know what icon is in the Flat UI pack, but to cite the DMCA's icon as being 'kinda lifted' from theirs[1] when it is so similar to a number of CC-licenced icons on The Noun Project seems like a poor argument in my eyes.

[1] http://imgur.com/3zoKuvH

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#103

Post by jgj » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:43 PM UTC

mrmaddog wrote: post #87

And here's a reply from Allan: https://news.layervault.com/stories/1992-layervault-whats-up... Looks like the pitchforks are out over on HN. It was pretty straightforward. Our reaction was "Cool, a flat UI theme" to "Wait, this looks familiar" to "Wait, are those our illustrations?". I contacted the designmodo people over email, because that's the right way to handle this. The owner was being stubborn at first and re…

A really good way to coerce the pitchforks back into their sheds is to provide proof, especially when your DMCA is vague and posted on a ridiculously public platform.

Allan has done neither, and still hasn't done so in his tweets or this post over on his bubbly walled garden. A few simple side-by-side screenshots would have sufficed and put the court of public opinion squarely on his side. He may be completely in the right but his approach left him open to the "pitchforks" he's so dismissively bemoaning.

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#104

Post by tptacek » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:44 PM UTC

beseku wrote: post #102

tptacek wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh? Not the same.

Now I don't know what icon is in the Flat UI pack, but to cite the DMCA's icon as being 'kinda lifted' from theirs[1] when it is so similar to a number of CC-licenced icons on The Noun Project seems like a poor argument in my eyes. [1] http://imgur.com/3zoKuvH

If the Flat UI icon is as different from the Noun Project icon as DN's is, Alan at LayerVault will be equally wrong.

They just aren't the same icon. The visual metaphor all these icons rely on is decades old. It's the details that matter.

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#105

Post by TillE » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:45 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #95

beseku wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 'old DN icon' ... http://thenounproject.com/noun/newspaper/#icon-No6346

Huh? Not the same.

Yeah, that's a pretty strange claim. Same concept, but completely different details.

There might be some ground for trademark infringement if the original icon was important, but no way is that a copyright issue.

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#106

Post by justjimmy » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:45 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #95

beseku wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 'old DN icon' ... http://thenounproject.com/noun/newspaper/#icon-No6346

Huh? Not the same.

That's the point…

'He kinda copied it, so we slapped him with DMCA. We kinda copied a free icon, but it's okay.'

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#107

Post by Guillaume86 » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:45 PM UTC

beseku wrote: post #93

mrmaddog wrote: post #87

And here's a reply from Allan: https://news.layervault.com/stories/1992-layervault-whats-up... Looks like the pitchforks are out over on HN. It was pretty straightforward. Our reaction was "Cool, a flat UI theme" to "Wait, this looks familiar" to "Wait, are those our illustrations?". I contacted the designmodo people over email, because that's the right way to handle this. The owner was being stubborn at first and re…

The 'old DN icon' ... http://thenounproject.com/noun/newspaper/#icon-No6346

If it's the best example he found to justify the takedown notice, it was really not a smart move...

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#108

Post by alexwright » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:45 PM UTC

recoiledsnake wrote: post #96

Someone please lend LayerVault some contrast. http://i.imgur.com/jfSuxcK.png http://i.imgur.com/cMO4lxA.png http://i.imgur.com/JnaZdN7.png I cannot believe a "top notch" design house can get this so wrong. Edit: Designer News seems to suffer from the same affliction. https://news.layervault.com/ A lot of sites that are HN these days seem to lack contrast, what's up with that?

Eyes that aren't bleeding are so overrated.

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#109

Post by drharris » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:46 PM UTC

HeyImAlex wrote: post #98

I have the old pre-dmca Flat UI gitgub page from yesterday open in another window, and designmodo has apparently made a few changes since then. Just based on that, I'm going to guess that the problem was stemming from these. http://i.imgur.com/xDDULcG.png

This is the most helpful post here. Nobody else seemed to have tracked down what they were specifically talking about.

Re: LayerVault Sends DMCA Takedown Letter re Flat-UI

#110

Post by dzlobin » Wed, Mar 06, 2013, 5:46 PM UTC

aviraldg wrote: post #60

Why don't we, as a community, collectively agree to boycott copyright trolls? (and teach them a lesson in the process) esp. when the target audience consists of developers/designers EDIT: I tried to cross-post this on Designer News, but it turns out they're invite-only. Can someone do me the honour?

I'd be much happier if we as a community learned to read, research and formulate opinions before picking up pitchforks.