hi!

I wonder why it´s illegal to sell TM as a package?

I don´t understand the TM copyright policy but it seems to be unfair.

If I purchase a tm,it means that the design is mine not theirs or am I wrong?
If I change the whole look of the TM plate inclusive the pictures so it doesn´t look like a TM, is still a TMor not?

What about create a website inspired by a TM?
EXTREMELY inspired.doesnt make you a ripper. Now it seems lot of web designers look at Tm as a source of inspiration.

Before I started this discussion I found this site on the net:

http://rippedtemplate.50megs.com/photo.html

You can create a website from scratch using a TM and does it mean you are ripping off..
I´ve seen most of the website offer designs, looks like a TM kind of "modified" just to hide some features.

Just my simple opinion!

So the 90 you were trying to sell yesterday for $49 that you said were not TM, you modified them all? :eek:

Yes I have modified all of them so I can sell them even more expensive :-)

Originally posted by traffictest
[B]hi!

I wonder why it´s illegal to sell TM as a package?

I don´t understand the TM copyright policy but it seems to be unfair.

If I purchase a tm,it means that the design is mine not theirs or am I wrong?

If you purchase anything that is in any way prohibited to be resold by the seller's terms of sale, by purchasing you are agreeing to comply to those terms. So legally, if you are buying something under such terms you have agreed not to resell them.

A seller has a right to sell under his own terms, and the buyer has an obligation to comply to those terms.

As for modifying - if any resemblence with the original can be proven (even the resemblence of certain lines of code), you are basically a sitting duck waiting for a lawsuit to fall upon you. It can happen, doesn't have to, but you never know when the 500$-per-hour-lawyer might knock on your door.

Or 'knock' on your ISP's abuse, asking for your site to be closed down. And this *does* happen often, and it should happen often.

Especially when you start showing off around public forums using remarks as this one:

Yes I have modified all of them so I can sell them even more expensive :-)

What about create a website inspired by a TM?
EXTREMELY inspired.doesnt make you a ripper. Now it seems lot of web designers look at Tm as a source of inspiration.


There is a big difference between 'being inspired by' and 'modifying to resell'.

Bottomline: If you consider TM's policies to be unfair or unsuitable for you in any way, don't purchase templates from them and - most of all - don't complain around. It is their basic trading right to sell under any term they find useful to protect their products.

And it is yours and everybody else's obligation to respect and comply to those terms.

A seller has a right to sell under his own terms, and the buyer has an obligation to comply to those terms.

don´t believe many of them comply those terms,see for yourself most of the nicest web designs are "inspired by TM".

TM has not the coyright but the designer

Will I hold the copyright to my finished web site?
Q: Will I hold the copyright to my finished web site?

A: The initial design copyright remains with the original template designer. If royalty-free images are used within the template, the copyright for those images remains with the original photographer or illustrator. Any text and original images which you include o_n your pages belong exclusively to you and you hold the copyright o_n those items.

Interesting,the problem is that most of the designers portfolio has a "sense of TM" ..so they are infringed the law?

I am also of the opinion that the current situation is unfair to TM, they have spend large amount of efforts creating great looking templates only to be copied and modified into similar templates but without their copyrights anymore. I would strongly advise TM to start taking actions to protect their copyright and blast the infringements to hell

Lot of design agencies purchase these templates and they take credit for it.. they do not reveal or show "copyright-templates monster.com" text policy..

Lot of design agencies purchase these templates and they take credit for it.. they do not reveal or show "copyright-templates monster.com" text policy..
Yes, many websites don't show the copyright at all....

However if you take a TM and modify a substantial portion of it (usually 75% to 80%) you create what is effectively a new work of art.
And in that case, *you* own the copyright to it and can then licence it yourself as you see lot of web design agencies use this method to own a TM... so there is not such illegal activity if you modify a Tm and sell it as yours..

Do you believe a web design agency uses a purchased template TM (bizness)only just once,and then throw it away?

I would feel that if you think TM copyright policy is unfair, simply stop using them, design a brand new one yourself. Why modify 75% to 80% of a template?

I´ve changed my mind I think the TM policies is not unfair but stupid, Well, according to TM's rules if you buy a template and use it for a site and *then* want to use it again for another site, you have to pay them an extra licence fee (ie buy it a second time for the second site).

Who pays an extra license honestly?
:emlaugh: :emlaugh: the design agencies just laugh about these rules!!:cool:

Well I guess it is time to give an official point here.
Buying a template by regular price gives you one time usage license, which means that you can use one design on one domain name.

Buying a template by unique price gives customer unlimited time usage license and allows him to integrate the design into software, site builders etc.

In both cases, you get a license but not copyright ownership. Therefore, you cannot resell them modified or unmodified.

This “stupid” policy is in fact the industry standard. Most digital goods vendors use such policy including Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia and others. We have special department checking and controlling the execution of licensing conditions.

We work with many design agencies this way and they respect our license conditions and always buy additional licenses for their clients. Because it is much easier to spend, additional $50 and feel safe then save 50 bucks and put your reputation under the risk.

P.S. I guess you have chosen wrong community here. WHT was always the place for honest and lawful, who respect copyright laws and protect their rights.

I completely agree.

I think it's horrible that I can't sell Microsoft Windows, Adope Photoshop, 3DStudio Max, and Dreamweaver! I bought them, doesn't that mean I own them and can sell off as many copies as I want?

Template Monster is completely out of line here. You must have spent at least $50 on each of those templates!

</sarcasm>

I think its unfair to redesign and rip someone else's creation. But you might have seen a lot of people are selling TMs templates as one pack, makign a ZIP and selling 200-300 templates for $40-$50. This is quite unfair, and I have personally contacted TM to stop those people, and their reply is "We will take this into consideration", I ask WHEN ?.

If a company like TM cannot stop those people then I think its far more difficult for small companies to stop them. Here is an example of a person who is ripping all of TM flash templates and recreating in another software, and still their affiliate, and they ar eaware of this, but they cannot even take him outa affiliates. LOL.. see this site (http://www.swishsource.com).. TM should take action against such people..

Originally posted by traffictest
Do you believe a web design agency uses a purchased template TM (bizness)only just once,and then throw it away?

Yes. A reputable design agency, if approached to modify a customer's template, will do just that. They will not lay claim to the result as an 'original work' and resell it. The customer who owns the template would be unhappy, and I doubt they'd remain quiet about the situation. Reputable design agencies won't risk their reputation ripping a $50 template. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by traffictest
Who pays an extra license honestly?
:emlaugh: :emlaugh: the design agencies just laugh about these rules!!:cool:

I would honestly pay the extra license. If I disagreed with that term, I wouldn't have bought the template in the first place. Because I'm honest and ethical. You seem to have confused the term 'design agency' with the term 'ripper'.

I have found that most professional designers would not dare laugh at another designer's copyright, or their decision to sell via TM. Call it respect, or call it the 'golden rule' -- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The 'golden rule' for licensing agreements: If you disagree, walk away. Don't try to justify your violation of the agreement by calling it 'unfair' or any other lame argument. Your only legal method of disagreeing involves not using the item or service in question. That'll show 'em, ripping won't.

To be honest, there isn't much you can do about it. They are all over illegal sites.

Originally posted by traffictest
However if you take a TM and modify a substantial portion of it (usually 75% to 80%) you create what is effectively a new work of art.

Exactly. If I got one for my own site, I would never leave a TM looking just the way I bought it.