This site is selling someones copyrighted themes...

Involved Joined: Feb 03, 2006 Posts: 269

Hi

I was just browsing the web looking for decent themes when i stumbled across all-themes.com

and after browsing there forums i came across a moderator with the name Comp Killaz.

any way to cut a long story short he has since been removed as a moderator of all-themes.com because he openly sells DestineDesigns themes !!

you can visit the thread i challanged him on http://all-themes.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=35

Ive also opened a thread on DD http://destinedesigns.com/home/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=832

its a sad day for graphic designers when idiots rip and sell there hard work for peanuts plese show your support and post in http://www.comp-killaz-inc.com/ forums as ive been banned !!

registered · Site Admin Joined: Jun 04, 2004 Posts: 6437

No need to advertise the site for them...most of the people I've seen here are smart enough not to buy themes from a third party when they can download for free from the designer...

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:35 am

totally agree, but it still doesnt stop idiots like Comp Killaz selling someones hard work and design skills for peanuts...

please show your support here

registered · Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 2:17 pm

This has been discussed a number of times. With out knowing all the facts, its hard to say for sure. But if they are just redistrubing a theme, then there is nothing wrong with that. It does not violate anything. Unless particular things are done, the theme fall under GPL. Which means that if they did not violate the GPL license then there is nothing wrong with what they are doing.

See:
http://www.ravenphpscripts.com/posts8424-highlight-.html

Its a tuff pill for people to swallow, and it makes themers mad, but that does not make it untrue.

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 2:29 pm

ok i just read that, and it states under the GPL that for a theme your allowed to redistribute the files i.e theme.php header.php under GPL but your still not allowed to redistribute the graphics. ( so there is no point really)

Quote:

graphic examples

* I design a theme for someone and he pays me $100 for it. The theme.php is GPL but the images are not since the images can work properly without nuke. In this case i am free to release the theme.php and *.html files but not the images.

so i understand its a very tricky subject but surely if he was selling destine designs themes its Illegal under that rule above ?

I dont to techinical stuff ... Wink

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 2:45 pm

If the theme is sent out with the graphics and not place holders then the gfx become GPL. Sorry. If he is not "selling" the theme but you are paying for the ability to download it then thats not a violation.

So here is an example. I pay DD $xxx for a theme. If what I receive is a package with the theme ready to go, it has the gfx, etc. And no wrapper is used. Then I am well with in my rights to redistibute the theme for free. Or make people pay for the ability to download it. I can also change the theme, as long as I dont change the copyrights, or violate GPL in any other fashion. I could also toss it into Evo, if I wanted.

Now that doesnt mean I would, because there is a difference between respect and copyrights. But I could and there isnt much anyone could do about it.

Now if I got the theme and the gfx are in another package, with a different license, or a different wrapper is used, then that changes everything.

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:05 pm

Thats bizzare so if i made a theme and sent it in 2 files one with the files and one with the images and place a copyright in with the images then its covered.

as far as i see from your comments then the individual above is doing nothing wrong?

that is so wrong, and what is the point of decent designers making decent themes for nuke users?

thats bad and i wish every one was a lets say "respectfull" as you and I.

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:32 pm

I would agree!
Sadly it is one of those life experiences that are not too pleasant.

It would seem that the basic "test" to see if something falls within nukes GPL is "if it requires phpNuke to work then it is GPL".

I suppose it could be argued that an image has a copyright of its own and does NOT require phpnuke to 'work' but in the sense that the image is included within the theme, then the image needs the theme to 'work' and as the theme requires nuke to work it all gets gobbled up by GPL.

The only way to avoid grey area's and confusion is to bundle the images seperately.

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:42 pm

GPL/GNU was not setup to make people rich. I am sorry I know most themers are very upset when they learn this. But that does not make it any less of the truth.

Now I dont know what the other person was doing, and I dont have all the facts. But it looks like they are doing nothing wrong, from what I see.

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:32 am

thanks for all the responces on this issue !!

the individual was selling all of destine design themes for $10 each on his site, if you read the first link there is some screenies.

i was going to try and make a nuke theme or two, but after this discussion im not going to waste my time !!

Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:48 am

Again, there are ways to do it, if you follow the license. Sure it does make it harder, but no one ever said life is easy.

Regular Joined: Jun 15, 2005 Posts: 78 Location: AR

Excuse me Raven but. That is Bullsh!t technocrat. The rules state that if FB (the creator) allows themes to be sold, hold their own copyright, and such then so be it.

Quote:

Hello;

You hyave complete right over your themes and you can sell them as you wish. If you distribute them (or sell them) using the GPL license, then, anyone can take your themes and re-distribute for free or for a fee, but if you use a propietary license is "up to you" to take the actions to stop piracy.

Regards,

Francisco Burzi

On 1/8/07, Tyler Presley <tjpresley@hotmail.com> wrote:

I just wanted a response from the author of why can't PHPNuke themes be sold. If you didn't intend on the theme to be included in the core GPL then please let me know... I just don't understand it. If you are willing to make a club and you are wanting to spread nuke farther. Then you need to make it clear that developers can keep their own copyrights intact. Did you not create the ability to attach a copyright file to a module??? Why would you do that if the creator's copyright was meaningless? Just help me understand why my themes are being spread across the internet and there is nothing I can do about it.

Thank You,

TJ

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:38 pm

Here we go again.

Well unfortunately it would appear that FB doesn't understand the conditions of the license he is using!

There's a whole post on this topic covering the GPL license: http://www.ravenphpscripts.com/posts8424-highlight-gpl+licence+license.html

I believe this is based on advice from the OSF lawyers.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 4:41 pm

First of all taking FB's word as the all knowing on this issue is rather naive. I looked through the entire FAQ and I don't see where the creator is allowed to change the GPL license. Perhaps I am not seeing it or their is a part in the language that is not apart of the FAQ for it. I am not a lawyer and I am not going to read the entire license looking for it, when really I have no reason to.

But if you read what I said, and the link I posted (http://www.ravenphpscripts.com/posts8424-highlight-.html) it matches pretty close to what FB response is. You CAN sell themes under a different license, if you follow the rules of GPL. Which means you CANNOT release a theme with original images as part of the package. Basically the structure of the theme is free, and they are paying for the images. Unless you use a wrapper or something else that removes the required use of Nuke. Which I think in the case of themes is going to be hard, if not impossible.

Also I believe that you cannot repackage a theme that has already been released under the GPL license (rather you thought it was or wasn't) and release it under a different license.

As I have said many times GPL is an ugly monster of a license. It takes over everything that it touches. It's was meant for Open Source software.

I am sorry you don't like my answer, but that doesn't make it any less the truth. I am not a lawyer and perhaps DJMaze and I are misunderstanding the way GPL is written. But I have read a ton of information on this and have seen other discussions about it. To the best of my understanding what I am saying is true.

Really I can understand your frustration. I know it must be hard. But to be blunt follow the rules of the license, or theme for a different product that doesn't use GPL.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:09 pm

Nuke falls under the GPL just like Drupal... Read up.

http://jeff.viapositiva.net/archives/2006/02/drupal_and_the_gpl_as_i_understa.html

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:12 pm

Best stated here:
The CSS file, because it is a free-standing independent file that is used by the web browser rather than executed by the engine, isn't hit by the same licensing clause. Photographs as well. The files that can be GPLed are the ones called on directly from the core.

Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:47 pm

Some random Dupal person really doesn't make me feel I am wrong. For the most part they are saying almost the same thing.

GPL states that anything that is called and required to run on a GPL system must be under the GPL license. Images are required but you can put in place holders and then sell them the "real" if you would like. But if you include them in your package as one complete item they get eaten up.

Quote:

If you develop software that only works with a gpl application, like php-nuke, and you supply graphics with it instead of just place holders, the source code and the graphics are now gpl, at least in that release.
A good example here is themes, which consist of many images.

To keep the graphics proprietary under your own license, you must follow these rules

1. The theme must be released with "place holders". This are fake graphics that replace your copyrighted graphics.
2. The copyrighted graphics must be released seperatly, and may never be released combined with source code.
3. Instructions how to merge the theme and graphics is license-free
4. In case of an updated release to split the proprietary graphics from the GPL, the graphics are still owned by the general public.

NOTE: Someone may ask you to develop code for him to use in his nuke and pay you for that. This is completely legal but the code remains GPL so both, the client and the developer, may decide to release it for free to the public or not. In this case make a good agreement between both parties.

Again I could be wrong, I am more than willing to state that if you find something more definitive. You can always contact GNU http://www.gnu.org/contact/