You have your copyright notice clearly visible on your home page so it should be pretty obvious it is your design. There are many templates out there with some being very similar to yours. I didn't see this until just now so I didn't see any of the changes he made. Since he is making changes pretty quick now I think it's a pretty good indication he's guilty.
It is amazing to me that so many people completely disregard copyrights.
Your work is better but the site design is pretty crap anyway. Far below the quality of work you are displaying.
Even though you don't have to and it does not answer the copyright issue I would change your site for a better one.
Give the guy some grief and i am sure he will change his and that should be a good lesson for him. As you said he already is. People will try to avoid confrontation.
Another example is where studio58 copied Sarah McGregor's website and they are both based in Hobart.
Again in this case Sarah is a vastly better photographer but it's really bad form to copy as you say.
I have done a lot of web development and it looks like he copied your site but he didn't copy and paste your source code. He basically looked at what the site looks like and made his own html with it (which explains some of the minor differences).
Of course this is assuming that you created your website from scratch (and didn't get a template from somewhere, etc.).
Dan Paik wrote:
I have done a lot of web development and it looks like he copied your site but he didn't copy and paste your source code. He basically looked at what the site looks like and made his own html with it (which explains some of the minor differences).
Of course this is assuming that you created your website from scratch (and didn't get a template from somewhere, etc.).
Dan.
Yeah, I designed it using dreamweaver, not a template. My site is so simple, I didn't need a template.
I dunno, personally I think everyone is so litigious. You know how much money it takes to contact a lawyer, take this to court? issue a cease and desist? for what?
And on what grounds? Can you prove that by his site 'imitating' yours yours, that you lost business? Playing devils advocate here. So say his site was LAFotoPros.com
then maybe you can argue people will be confused, you tell people to go to LAPhoto.com and they see his site, it's very similar to yours etc. However his name is completely different. He has his own client base, target market. It's really just boils down to competition. Guy saw your design, liked it. imitated some of the layout elements. His pricing model..yeah it looks just like yours. Price $x, followed by the industry standard rate. Well your honor, here's exhibit A, B and C. ten other photography sites that contain essentially the same text. really think you have nothing to stand on. But what do I know, I'm no lawyer. Don't get me wrong, I think it sucks. But c'mon. Unless he physically took food off of your plate in doing this. It's a non issue.
By all means take him to court for everything it is worth, have fun. Personally I know it's not fun, far from it and worth avoiding if at all possible.
I'm not sure what it looked like 3 hours ago but as it is now and being a very simple design I wouldn't worry about it myself. It's not like he is trying to pass himself off as you. Let your work and it's presentation speak for itself. I don't think it's a concern, it wouldn't be for me if I were in your shoes.
I'd have to agree with Dan that he may have used your site as a template but he coded his site from scratch as well. Your site does look better though.
You may want to validate your html though, there are some easily changeable errors like meta tags in the wrong place and missing closing div tags. By fixing the meta tag placement this will allow your site to have the correct description when pulling it up in Google, if you care about that.
Qranc wrote:
By all means take him to court for everything it is worth, have fun. Personally I know it's not fun, far from it and worth avoiding if at all possible.
I'm not sure what it looked like 3 hours ago but as it is now and being a very simple design I wouldn't worry about it myself. It's not like he is trying to pass himself off as you. Let your work and it's presentation speak for itself. I don't think it's a concern, it wouldn't be for me if I were in your shoes.
kdlanejr wrote:
Gotta love how the right-click copyright info is word for word identical...
Interesting, I hadn't noticed that before. Looks like he's changed it now. I'm sure he must be aware of this thread by now seeing where all the traffic to his site is coming from.
I guess I would not be that worried about someone else copying my site. If it was a huge site that took tons of hours to create and it was very unique to the photography industry I might feel differently, but honestly I think you could probably go around the web and find a lot of sites that have a very similar look to your site as well.
Honestly I think if anybody happens to go to your site and then his site I really don't think that there is a question of quality, so focus on something that can make your website better for you.
The fact that the copycat has changed his site since the OP contacted him indicates to me that there is at the very least some guilt involved. From a legal standpoint, the cost and agrivation to reach some form of satisfaction would probably be prohibitive. Had he also "borrowed" the OP's images, I would nail his butt to the wall. In this case, the OP has already done about all that is cost effective and while it is frustrating, I don't think ther can be much gained to persue it further. Good catch though, this type of situation goes on all too frequently and with the myriad of sites out there, very difficult to police.
a) some people were suggesting contacting a lawyer, I may have in error assumed lawsuit. Lawyers and lawsuits are not fun and almost in all cases a headache worth avoiding.
b) some elements of the two sites were similar but different enough in terms of web I personally wouldn't consider a "copy". Furthermore the OP's site had better images and better presentation imo.
I have attempted to make my comments clear. If you still don't understand please be more specific as "huh" doesn't help other than note your confusion.
yup, blatent rip off attempt...F*C# people who do this! They call themselves creative...but cant even come up with an original idea for a website!
In regards to being flattered becuase he "looks up to you so much, he is immitating you" well thats bullsh!!T too....THIS IS COMPETITION...HE IS TAKING FOOD OUT OF YOUR FAMILYS MOUTH. Not literally, but he is trying to look like a cheaper version of you..that can make you lose some accounts.
shawnstarr03 wrote:
yup, blatent rip off attempt...F*C# people who do this! They call themselves creative...but cant even come up with an original idea for a website!
You mean sort of like photographers that buy a template for their site?
in regards to your template comment...Anyone can put thier own creative spin on a template...look at bludomain...they make the templates flexible enough to be customized by each person who buys them.
If you make your site to look exactly like everyone elses then what does it say to a bride who is looking for creative images? how does that look in her eyes.
Do you copy your ads too? why dont we all just put out one ad that looks the same or make the same exact business cards? Qranc, dont ever twist my words,
