So it really didn't take long for our design to get ripped!

original: http://www.idologic.com/
rip:http://www.hostingx.net/

Of course to date I have no response from spikez202. So for anyone doing business with them... beware!

Definitely inspired but I wouldn't say ripped.

Originally posted by NetXL
Definitely inspired but I wouldn't say ripped.

You're joking, right? The CSS tags are identical! We took out the graphic at a later stage (not that graphic there though). There's tags in there were don't use and they're still in the HTML.

I've contacted the designer to post here.

There are huge similarities. Just look at your external stylesheet references. Same filename and all.

alot of your html and css is almost identical.

Not sure if it's a rip or not, it is damn close though.

Well, some of the text is identical to the comp.... Well, I've contacted both the designer and them, so see what they say.

Originally posted by idologic_dh
You're joking, right? The CSS tags are identical! We took out the graphic at a later stage (not that graphic there though). There's tags in there were don't use and they're still in the HTML.

I've contacted the designer to post here.

Sorry I didn't check that carefully.

Visually they look similar, and I'm sure had an image been positioned in the same place on your website this similarity would be reinforced. It is still quite a standard format/layout however.

Originally posted by NetXL
Sorry I didn't check that carefully.


No worries :)


Their layout/text is exactly like our comp. I also have an idea on how they obtained it, but will let the designer (Graphicism)
give their opinion on that.

edit: I'm not implying the designer gave it to them.

Just wanted to add that we've heard from hostingX and hopefully will be able to work things out with them.

Well I certainly didn't authorize, sell or even get contacted by the guy who ripped it. I am not sure how you can say it's not ripped NetXL, if you can show me another site exactly like it to back up your phony claim using this 'standard layout' I'll believe you.

Thank you for posting Graphicism. Graphicism made the design and we're the only authorised party to use it.

I've contacted hostingx.net and so far they've been cooperative, which is appreciated. They haven't been able to provide proof of purchase though, so we have given them 72 hours to remove the infringing design.

Yeah, that's definitely ripped. It's completely the same, with different graphics and text. The architecture is identical, including the CSS!

Just to let you know that spikez202 has been amicable and we're resolving this.

Thanks!

Hello all,

Well unfortunately this does seem to be a ripped design which is quite embarrassing on our part. We are unable to find the information from the person who sold it to us, due to lack of - well rememberance (we didn't think it would cause this much trouble). But we are working out a plan to resolve this issue.

So lesson to all buying websites:

Research before you buy!!!!

and keep the contact info too!

<<Signature to be setup in your profile>>

Final update, we've agreed on a period of no longer than 2 weeks for hostingx.net to obtain a new unique design.

I just wanted to stress that spikez202 was amicable during all of this and we wish him the best of luck in his business endeavours.

See now, this is one of those few times where I'll totally buy into the "our designer screwed us over" excuse. This time, it appears that's the legitimate issue, and I'm glad the two of you were able to resolve everything and move forward. It gives me hope!

Congrats to you both. :)

Well - not too much congrats for us here - we now have to find a new design and spend more money on it.

Oh well - I like to do things the right way.

Originally posted by spikez202
Well - not too much congrats for us here - we now have to find a new design and spend more money on it.

Oh well - I like to do things the right way. True, but you handled it like a gentleman, which goes a long way for your reputation here, and in exchange, you were given two weeks to keep a ripped design up while you make things right. That bit of generosity on idologic's part says a lot about you in a positive way.

You both have my respect.

Originally posted by the_pm
You both have my respect.

Thanks :) As long as there's communication things can be resolved, which is what happened here.

Amazing :)

You are not alone.

http://www.pirated-sites.com/

I would like to congratulate both parties here. Both acted like true businessmen and are good promise for the future. There was none of this "He said, she said" business which is just childish and lame.

I also hate the "it was my designer's fault" excuse, but, in this situation, I will make an exception as this really seems to be valid and genuine reason why this incident occured.

So, good on ya idologic_dh and spikez202, I wish you both the best of luck in your endevours.

Looks like they just pasted the HTML into Dreamweaver, changed a few words, and uploaded!

I remember this design template being sold on WHT a few weeks (if not months) back. So who's who??

Couple of months back. Graphicism is the designer and we have full rights :)

Tomorrow is the deadline for the site to come down. The site is still up, they have made text additions to the site... I wouldn't of given them 2 weeks myself. I offered them a design 2 weeks ago and I was told he had bought one... but I don't see it?

http://www.hostingx.net/ STOP STEALING!

Thanks for the reminder. I will contact them now to see what's up. They've committed to removing it on this forum, so WHT can make up their mind about them if they don't remove it.

Hello, tomorrow will be 2 weeks from the 21st, we'll try to get the new design up by either the end of today or by tomorrow. We ran into some troubles with the design we had bought previously. We thank everyone for the understanding.

What is taking so long to get the new design up? If I found out that a design of mine was pirated, I would try to fix is as soon as possible, probably within a week. I'll keep checking on hostingx.net to make sure they change.

I complimented everyone a couple weeks ago on how well you all handled this situation. I would remind spikez202 that idologic_dh was extraordinarily generous in allowing you to keep your pirated design online for a grace period, and if you are not able to meet that period, your reputation hangs in the balance if you do not immediately take the current design offline until the new one is ready.

FWIW, while it's obvious the ripped design was suppose to look just like the original, it was engineered very poorly - for one, it falls apart in Opera. But that shouldn't matter, because in a day, it should no longer exist, right?

Yes, the grace period was very generous, but I being the one to redesign had a set back as I had to go to surgery last Thursday - and I was out of commission for a while. The period ends tomorrow, not today - we have full intentions of removing the site, why is everyone bashing now before the time period has elapsed?

That's correct, the deadline is tomorrow, so as I said, we'll deal with it then if necessary.

Spikez, however, has confirmed he will remove it either today or by the deadline.

You're not being bashed. People are simply making it clear they're aware of the situation and we're hoping a whole new round of problems don't come of this. It's a friendly reminder that this is a matter of public interest, and when you cut deadlines close, it makes people nervous, that's all.

If you had any decency you would just take the design down, and replace it with a splash page... company details, contact, support etc. Just do that for now, and get your new web site on line at a later date.

I'm curious as to what the new design will look like...

Well, the stolen design has been taken down, so that's good :)

Yes, I took down the design this morning. The new site design will be up hopefully by later tonite. Keep checking back if anyone would like to see the new design - I'd like to receive some feedback.

On a different note - I was almost disgraced at Graphicism for the libel he produced.

Let me set a few things straight:

1. I had been given a 2 weeks (14 days) to get a new design up.
2. On day 13 Graphicism stated that it was already time for the new design - and that I should stop stealing. (He later edited it to show the new design was due a day later, after I posted the correct date it was due).
--- People were then pushing me to change it when my deadline wasn't even up.
--- I was given the written consent of Idologic, to keep the design up for 2 weeks - so I was NOT stealing.
3. Graphicism said I made text additions to the site, which is an outright lie, as I have not made any modifications whatsoever to the website in this period.

Graphicism then went on to say, "If you had any decency you would just take the design down, and replace it with a splash page... company details, contact, support etc. Just do that for now, and get your new web site on line at a later date."

Who is he to say, that I have no decency? There was a period of 2 weeks to which both parties agreed to. There is no need for further comment on his part. To further add, if I had taken the site down, that would mean I would lose customers, and this is my only source of income - it was just not a feasable action.

Yes, around a week and a half ago I had already bought a new design, but I was not able to work on it for about a week later, because I was getting surgery and I was out of commision for about a week.

I have taken the design down before the set deadline, (5pm on 1/4/05) and there should be no problem.

I was considering doing business with him in the future, but now I have lost all respect as he has been an uneccessary thorn in my side.


To end this:

We have done the neccessary to rectify the issue, and after the agreements there were no infringements made.

Again, this was amicably resolved, and I appreciate the generosity of Idologic - I'm sure they run a fine business and organization.

Regards,
Anthony Martin
HostingX.net

Martin, please remove these as well:

http://www.hostingx.net/web_hosting/index.html

Thank you for taking down the design.

There are no links to that page - the design is no longer in use.

Originally posted by spikez202
There are no links to that page - the design is no longer in use.

Sure, but you have no right to keep those files. Please remove them.

thanks!

Will do - all gone...

PS - your website seems to be down

Originally posted by spikez202
PS - your website seems to be down

Yes, am aware of that.

Good to see that things have worked out for the best. :)

Originally posted by spikez202 On a different note - I was almost disgraced at Graphicism for the libel he produced.

Then my work here is done. Thank's for taking the site down. :)

Our new site is up now -- any comments appreciated.


Oh and graphicism - I will never consider you for any job anymore.
In addition - why are you thanking me? You had no rights to the website anyways...

I think it looks nice. :)

very nice.... the comp seems to have a wee bit better font up top (I think it's set to crisp vs. strong).

http://www.abdagic.com/portfolio_files/current/Hosting6/
http://www.hostingx.net/index.html


Nice nonetheless!

Originally posted by idologic_dh
very nice.... the comp seems to have a wee bit better font up top (I think it's set to crisp vs. strong).

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that

Originally posted by spikez202
I'm not quite sure what you mean by that

It's real minor, if you look in the comp (i.e. the layout with "fake" data) you see that font used in the flash is a bit cleaner, i.e. in photoshop it'd be "crisp" vs "strong".