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

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

#261

Post by jiggy2011 »

alexqgb wrote: post #258
jiggy2011 wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose design is like fashion. Whatever you do will be emulated and plain ripped off pretty quickly so if you want to be seen as the hip trendsetter who gets to charge the highest prices you need to be constantly reinventing yourself to stay ahead of the curve.

The similarities are superficial at best. Fashion, almost by definition, is ephemeral. Design, on the other hand, strives for permanence. "Constantly reinvention" is just total bullshit when you start talking about salt and pepper shakers. And so is the idea of "staying ahead of the curve" when doing so means a non-stop torrent of additions to landfills everywhere. Good designers get this. They're actually very resou…

There are remarkably few web designs that have much permanence. Sites that were designed 5 years ago can look very dated today.

Since the web is a place where things are very easily copied, it stands to reason that good ideas will be emulated and this is to be expected.

It would seem quite contrary to the idea of the web to give a single entity a monopoly on laying out a page in a particular way.

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

#262

Post by [deleted] »

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.

[deleted]

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

#263

Post by anglebracket »

anatari wrote: post #217
ricardobeat wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 n…

If minification and obfuscation were the only things being done, then your analogy would be sound, but tricks like this also have the effect of degrading the experience for legitimate users with javascript disabled.

Adding a dependency on javascript for static content doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

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

#264

Post by markdown »

kyro wrote: post #154

This post is pretty childish. Competition and copycats have existed for centuries and will continue to exist long after you're gone. You think calling them out is going to cause them to have a sudden change of heart after they presumably ripped off your design? Probably not. And I'm almost certain it won't affect any of their future business. You've not only placed yourself in an antagonistic position, but are now op…

> This post is pretty childish.

How is it childish to call out bad behaviour?

Calling out bad behaviour like this is a pretty good deterrent.

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

#265

Post by novaleaf »

robomartin wrote: post #99

I think you might just be taking the wrong approach. Shaming them is a bad idea, at least as a first move. Seek-out and contact the owners of these businesses. Point out what you have discovered. There's an outside possibility that they have no clue that their web designers have done this. They might actually feel rather embarrassed to learn so. If I couldn't code my own sites and had to rely on designers who took th…

i've caught one of my design employees copying stock stuff and claiming it was his own work (and fired him for it), so yes it's very much possible for the owners/managers to not know that the site is a copy.

i'm not sure your other suggestions are that great, and probably public critisism isn't that big of a deal actually (as expresed by PT barnum, all news is good news, or in this case, good SEO)

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

#266

Post by vacri »

mijustin wrote: post #136
robomartin wrote: post #99

I think you might just be taking the wrong approach. Shaming them is a bad idea, at least as a first move. Seek-out and contact the owners of these businesses. Point out what you have discovered. There's an outside possibility that they have no clue that their web designers have done this. They might actually feel rather embarrassed to learn so. If I couldn't code my own sites and had to rely on designers who took th…

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…

trust me: if you steal an image from Getty Images, they don't let you get away with paying a "small fee"

That's because the product of Getty Images is the image. You're not infringing on their branding, you're taking their actual product. Apples and oranges.

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

#267

Post by alexqgb »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #261
alexqgb wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The similarities are superficial at best. Fashion, almost by definition, is ephemeral. Design, on the other hand, strives for permanence. "Constantly reinvention" is just total bullshit when you start talking about salt and pepper shakers. And so is the idea of "staying ahead of the curve" when doing so means a non-stop torrent of additions to landfills everywhere. Good designers get this. They're actually very resou…

There are remarkably few web designs that have much permanence. Sites that were designed 5 years ago can look very dated today. Since the web is a place where things are very easily copied, it stands to reason that good ideas will be emulated and this is to be expected. It would seem quite contrary to the idea of the web to give a single entity a monopoly on laying out a page in a particular way.

It's true that websites and sofas have different refresh rates, but I'm guessing you didn't read the OP, check out the site in question, or click through to any of the examples he provided.

If you do, you'll see that we're not talking about general conventions here (e.g. the similar layouts of YouTube and Kickstarter pages). Nor is this "emulation" in many cases. It's just unvarnished theft (i.e. using the same copyright protected photos as backgrounds).

Best thing to do is to send the owner a Cease & Desist letter, and if they're based in the US, a threat to have the site pulled by the webhost under the DMCA in the event that the owner refuses to comply. It's diplomatic to give the owner a way to save face be acknowledging that that may also be getting victimized by an unscrupulous third party who is passing off the work of others as their own. But also note that this doesn't change the facts of the matter, and state that, one way or another, the site must come down immediately.

You shouldn't say or offer anything else until they call you back and offer you a chance to gauge their demeanor. Chances are good, they're going to be angry. Question is, at who? If it's with you (for ruining their day) then fuck 'em. They're not the kind of people you want anything to do with. Just tell them they have 24 hours to comply or you'll have the site pulled for violating copyrights, and that you won't release the claim unless they pay you several thousand dollars. However, if they're reasonable, they'll be angry with their vendor, apologetic with you, and then you can turn the exchange into a sales call.

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

#268

Post by ricardobeat »

anatari wrote: post #217
ricardobeat wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 n…

A better analogy would be wrapping plastic tape with "no trespassing" written on it around your front door, or greasing your door handle.

It's the opposite of being fool-proof: having near zero utility while degrading the experience for everyone.

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

#270

Post by PagingCraig »

kyro wrote: post #154

This post is pretty childish. Competition and copycats have existed for centuries and will continue to exist long after you're gone. You think calling them out is going to cause them to have a sudden change of heart after they presumably ripped off your design? Probably not. And I'm almost certain it won't affect any of their future business. You've not only placed yourself in an antagonistic position, but are now op…

No reason to just be passive and do nothing.
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