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Stop, thief!
WE web designers have a tendency to get pretty angry when it comes down to cyber crime. Especially if we’re the ones being ripped off! Every web designer has a recurring nightmare — that of design theft. Who would want their design, on which they worked so hard, stolen? I know I wouldn’t. Thank God, it has never happened to me. But, unfortunately, it has happened to a lot of web designers over the years and it just keeps getting worse.
They say prevention is usually better than cure. But disabling right-click, encrypting source codes, placing transparent images over actual images are a few of the widely used, yet somewhat useless, anti-design theft practices. Contrary to popular belief, none of these methods can really protect your design from a relentless design thief. Disabling the right-click function will only encourage thieves to learn exactly what it is that you’re hiding. So, labeling one’s work with suitable copyright disclaimers and trademarks is the most sensible thing to do. It’s a great idea to have a “legal notice” page on your website, informing everyone that copying someone’s work is a violation of the international copyright laws, and they will be prosecuted, if they use your work without your written consent. Publishing this warning certainly puts off the would-be design thieves.
But what if it’s too late? Your design has been copied. What now?
Once you find out who the offending party is, you, as the original designer, are likely to be quite aggravated. Don’t worry though; no one blames you for being angry at someone who’s stolen all your hard work. But a good technique would be to stay calm. Don’t make hasty decisions while you are angry. I know it sounds difficult, but try to stay calm anyway during the process. Count to ten. Or better yet, get a punching bag.
Once you have calmed down, get some basic information about the website that has illegally reproduced your work. Drop by your preferred domain name registration service and search for the domain name, the “ripper” is using. If you receive a message that the information is unavailable, access the WHOIS
In many cases, the owner of the offending site may not even know they are using an illegally copied design. For example, they may have received it from someone else who ripped the design. This is the most opportune moment for the owners to act, if they want a resolution that benefits, both, themselves and the copyright owner. Finding the webmaster’s email shouldn’t be hard — just look for the site’s “Contact Us” page, or something similar to that.
Make sure the first email isn’t full of legal jargon. Keep the tone pleasant and civil. Being as friendly as you can, explain to the webmaster why it would benefit them to take the design down.
In most cases, this opening email will resolve most copyright issues. However, there will be times when the webmaster won’t cooperate right away. In that case, you should send a formal (yes, you can include legal jargon in this one) email to explain that you will press charges, if they don’t remove the design. It always helps to drop a few names. Also, mention that if prompt action isn’t taken (give them 24 hours or so), you will contact the host provider about the issue, which would result in their hosting account being suspended.
If two emails to the ripper don’t fix the situation, go ahead and do the needful, that is, contact the hosting provider. Remember the place where you got details of the site’s name server? Go there and if your search returns a page that doesn’t look like the page of a hosting provider, try the domain name only (no sub-domains). After you find out who hosts the site, look for their “abuse” email address, which is usually on the contact or support pages. Drop them an email, informing them about the abuse of your site’s design and copyright. Again, try to keep things in perspective and highlight why it is best for them to remove the offending site from their servers.
Persuade the host to remove the site. Send as many emails as you feel are necessary. Large corporations tend to respond quickly, while small reselling businesses may not be so quick about throwing their clients out in the rain. If a hosting provider has an abuse phone number, feel free to give them a call. If you are persistent enough, they will, in all likelihood, be willing to work with you.
Following these steps will do the trick most of the time, as web hosts aren’t too fond of the idea of being dragged to court, just because one of their users violated the law. It would be easier for them to throw the user-in-question out the back door. That way, they save themselves, and your rights are fulfilled. Everyone is happy that way… except the design-thief, that is.
The writer
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