fadetoblack has stolen my table! (RESOLVED)

[bonusbetting]

My site: bonusbetting.co.uk
Their site: bigfreebet.com

It is a very obvious rip off. I'm not a happy bunny.

What should I be doing about this?

I have emailed them to ask for it to be removed, any other ideas?

[fadetoblack]

My site: bonusbetting.co.uk
Their site: bigfreebet.com

It is a very obvious rip off. I'm not a happy bunny.

What should I be doing about this?

I have emailed them to ask for it to be removed, any other ideas?

Hello, this is Harry from bigfreebet. Sorry, I didn't receive any email from you.

Regarding the table, I saw your table and asked my designer to make a similar sortable table. The moo tools javascript code he used is open source and not stolen at all.

I made all the images except the stars and ticks/crosses. Did you make those? If he got them from your site, I apologize.

Other than that I don't know what I can change. As I said, he made a table based on yours. A table can't be copyrighted as they are used all over the web. My designer used moo tools to make it sortable. Please let me know if there is anything you want me to change.

[bonusbetting]

Harry, I emailed you via the contact form on your site.

It is not a 'similar table'.

The code, graphics, layout and colours have been copied from my site, with minor changes. I had this custom made.
Although it is based on an open source script, you have copied my customizations.

This is completely unethical and I'm surprised you are trying to defend it.
It contravenes the GPWA code of conduct and I am reporting it to them.

You didn't even change the colour of the table header, which doesn't fit your site at all.
I would be surprised if anyone would believe you innocently had this re-created separately.

What you can do is remove it as soon as possible.

Screenshot of the offending page for future reference of GPWA staff/members: http://bonusbetting.co.uk/copy.gif

[fadetoblack]

Harry, I emailed you via the contact form on your site.

It is not a 'similar table'.

The code, graphics, layout and colours have been copied from my site, with minor changes. I had this custom made.
Although it is based on an open source script, you have copied my customizations.

This is completely unethical and I'm surprised you are trying to defend it.
It contravenes the GPWA code of conduct and I am reporting it to them.

What you can do is remove it as soon as possible.

Hi Ben, I'm not trying to defend it. I am telling you what I did. I paid a designer to make a sortable table for me based on moo tools.

Let me know which customizations are yours so I can get my designer to modify them.

If he has taken any images that are owed by you please let me know.

[bonusbetting]

Making slight modifications to my work is not acceptable. Please remove the table.

And yes, those are my images.

[bonusbetting]

Paying a designer to copy my work is not acceptable either, but in this case that is not what has happened. It is very clear that my code was copied and then minor modifications were made.

If you're standing by your claim then you can take it up with your designer, but I want it taken down frpm the site.

I am now contacting your host and affiliate managers.

You can resolve this by apologizing and removing it.

[fadetoblack]

Making slight modifications to my work is not acceptable. Please remove the table.

And yes, those are my images.

Ben, I paid to have this table made. The concept of a table and it being sortable are not copyrighted. Please let me know what design aspects you would like me to modify.

Also, please let me know which images are yours. There are several being used on a number of sites on the web.

[bonusbetting]

Unacceptable. If you paid for this, then seek redress from your designer.

Please take it down as soon as possible. I will be doing everything in my power to ensure you do.

I am not going to tell you how I can prove it's my work - I will do so to AMs, your host, and the GPWA.

[fadetoblack]

Unacceptable. If you paid for this, then seek redress from your designer.

Please take it down as soon as possible. I will be doing everything in my power to ensure you do.

Ben, I am trying to sort this out with you but you are not letting me.

Having a sortable table on my site isn't infringing any type of copyright. I am trying to ask you which parts you think copy yours. Please let me know so I can get my designer to change them.

[SlotsAff]

I have to say I agree fully with bonusbetting here - the table has clearly been copied/ripped off.

Whilst it is a compliment to BonusBetting.co.uk's table, fadetoblack should have changed a lot of the table and come up with his own version.

Being inspired by other people's work is natural and will happen but you should apply your own look, feel and ideas and develop the table further with your stamp on it.

As it stands, the tables are very similar which I can understand angers bonusbetting.

Just my opinion

[bonusbetting]

Having a sortable table would not infringe copyright; having MY sortable table does.

I am giving you every opportunity to resolve the situation. Take it down.

If I copied your website and then told you I would change it a bit, would you be happy?

[fadetoblack]

Having a sortable table would not infringe copyright; having MY sortable table does.

I am giving you every opportunity to resolve the situation. Take it down.

If I copied your website and then told you I would change it a bit, would you be happy?

Hi Ben, I am asking you which bits are yours so we can solve this. I have contacted my designer. I am not able to change anything until later as I am away from work. In 5 minutes I won't have access to the Internet until later.

If I take it down I am only going to make another sortable table, so I need to know which bits you are regarding as your own. Images made by you/other design features.

[bonusbetting]

You are very welcome to build your own table, but I am not going to detail all my customizations so that you can just change those parts.
Stealing my work is not acceptable, whether it was you or your designer.

EDIT: I am angry about this and I'm going to go away and calm down. I would appreciate hearing what other people think of this situation.

[LuckyBettors - Jamie]

Fadetoblack

From what I can see, The images have been copied, tables have been copied and wording as well. It is obvious the table has been copied.

One of the terms of being a private member here at gpwa is, you can not use copied content from other members. It would be in your best interest to remove the table totally and have your designer make one from scratch, NOT copied or partially copied from another site.

[xecutable]

There's a lot that can be done in this situation. Obviously the most sophisticated approach is if both webmasters can work out the issue on itself. However, if things cannot be resolved, there things that can be done:

1. Bringing this to the attention of the GPWA staff. Once they get involved, the copier can potentially lose his/her membership, if proven to be guilty.

2. DMCA with Google to get the page with the copied material off Google's search results.

3. DMCA with the hosting company, to bring down the website.

While the last two seem very drastic and do take time to be executed, hosting companies, Google and we the webmasters as a community take stealing content very seriously.

I hope you guys find a common language and resolve this issue.

[harold]

I also have to fully agree with the topic starter here but I also fully agree with this:

Obviously the most sophisticated approach is if both webmasters can work out the issue on itself.

I hope it works out without the more drastic steps

[bonusbetting]

Right, I have had some time to think about this and get some advice - I'm very grateful to those who have helped.
This is time that I should have been spending on my site and I am far from happy.

When I emailed I expected to get a quick apology and the table taken down.
I am disappointed that the response has been to try to justify it, and to even explicitly say that a designer was hired to produce the table based on my site.
Whether this is true or not, it is very obvious that it has been directly lifted from my site.

The defence seems to be that copying my code, layout, images, text, colours etc is fine as long as a few minor changes have been made.
I don't accept this, and I am completely satisfied that it constitutes copyright infringement.

I have already pointed this out to GPWA staff and a few other people.

I am going to ask again that you do the right thing and remove the table completely.
This is the only acceptable outcome for me.

If you don't do this today, I will be forced to issue one DMCA to Google and another to your host.
I have already filed DMCAs today for http://bettingbonuses.org and http://zalozi24.com.
I have another one written out and ready to go.

Potential consequences of this include being de-listed by Google and having your site taken down by your host.
I will also point out that copyright infringement is against the terms of most affiliate programs and could result in losing your accounts.

I don't want to have to destroy anyone's hard work, but I WILL make sure I defend my own.

[fadetoblack]

Hi Ben, I'm not the sort of person that copies content and I have never had this happen before to me. I apologise that I have made you feel this way.

As I said before, I asked my designer to make me a sortable table and pointed him to your site bonusbetting as an example of the type of thing I wanted.

He has used the moo tools javascript code and based the design on what is seen on your site. I do agree with you that it looks very similar. In light of this I am going to get him to design a different version for me, but a table is a table. You need to tell me what parts you think my designer took directly from your site so that we can resolve this.

I've checked the html code and the css and that's is different.

The content is definitely unique because I wrote it myself.

So the only thing remaining is the look and colour scheme of the table.

As I said, this is something that I have paid to have done. I agree, it does look very similar to your table. My designer seems to have gone too far and infact produced a replica design rather than just the functionality. However any site comparing bookmakers is going to have similar content in displaying free bet, odds, rating etc...

I really need you to tell me which parts are yours so I can get the table redesigned without them.

[bonusbetting]

The whole thing was lifted directly from my site and then some minor modifications were made.
Even the text descriptions are barely different to my own.
I suggest you get your designer to start again from scratch without using my code.

Obviously, the parts that were open source are open source.
However, you won't know which parts are, because it is a combination of several open source scripts as well as custom modifications.
I'm not going to help you work out which bits are my copyright and which bits aren't.

It needs to come down today.

EDIT: I am getting angry again now. You are even using my images, how dare you claim this is original content?
Your next post had better be that you are taking this down, I have been more than patient enough.

[fadetoblack]

The whole thing was lifted directly from my site and then some minor modifications were made.
Even the text descriptions are barely different to my own.
I suggest you get your designer to start again from scratch without using my code.

Obviously, the parts that were open source are open source.
However, you won't know which parts are, because it is a combination of several open source scripts as well as custom modifications.
I'm not going to help you work out which bits are my copyright and which bits aren't.

It needs to come down today.

Hi Ben, the html and css are custom written. From what I can see it's the colour scheme and maybe some images (still not sure), however I got the info for the descriptions from the bookmakers sites themselves. They are bound to be similar as we are advertising the same bookmakers.

I am going to get my designer to redo the table, but as I said before, a table is a table. You have to help me with the parts that you think are the problem so we don't have any issues in the future.