Themes and ripping

[MightyDucksJosh]

Themes will always contain copyright material, nobody can make every single graphic themselves, this is pretty pathetic, it's not like SMF would be the ones that get sued by the "theme creator" anyway if the themes are free and you ain't making money off them, how is this person who has the "original" going to sue?

If a themes free, copy it because theres nothing anybody can do about it. if it's free it's free.

And whos the kid drinking the beer in his avatar, your so hardcore man

[Deaks]

There is a difference between using material that is allowed and that is not allowed.

With the default theme and many other themes (not all) you can use the graphics freely within another smf forum (it is advised to get the authors permission if you want this to save hassle) what is being said in this post is people have been using codng and graphics from other forum software companies. 

The other software companies are rivals but we respect there work and there software and we do not want any hassle to arrise from people using there images or coding on a theme that is available on smf.

Also we have been recieving deliberate ports of themes from other software without the consent of the original author.  This is why this thread was started.

[Dannii]

Themes will always contain copyright material, nobody can make every single graphic themselves,

Um... yes they can.

anyway if the themes are free and you ain't making money off them, how is this person who has the "original" going to sue?

If a themes free, copy it because theres nothing anybody can do about it. if it's free it's free.

You're right that they're unlikely to sue. They're far more likely to contact your host, DMCA style.
And besides, its the nice moral thing to do. I'm all for Free Culture, but with your attitude, you won't get many friends.

[anna.young]

For Free Culture to 'work' it requires Respect for others and their work and this has very little to do with courts.  Basic Integrity is another necessity.

Themes will always contain copyright material, nobody can make every single graphic themselves, this is pretty pathetic, it's not like SMF would be the ones that get sued by the "theme creator" anyway if the themes are free and you ain't making money off them, how is this person who has the "original" going to sue?

If a themes free, copy it because theres nothing anybody can do about it. if it's free it's free.

There is lots of graphics in the public domain if you are not capable of creating your own or are not willing to ask for necessary permissions...

Anna

[MightyDucksJosh]

this topic could go on and on and on, everybody has their own opinions, and nobody is right or wrong.

I still stand by what i say, if somethings free use it, even if you put a little "Original theme by blah blah" in it, who cares, i doubt the author of the original does anyway. in fact i would be privileged, the people who make themes and then get all whiney about it because they didn't ask permission should just grow up, when will people learn everything on the Internet's free....

I'm not saying i agree with it, don't get me wrong, but that's what it's about. Nobody cares / respects copyright on the internet, and i highly doubt anybody will.

Well, apart from the people like ichbin who look's like hes on SMF 24/7 helping people, other than that the people just using SMF and other people on other sites just don't care.

[Dannii]

Big claims, got anything to support them?

[Deaks]

Lets put a stop on this before it gets bigger, I dont think anyone wants this locked.

The point of matter is simple to save any hassle if we find copyrighted material or direct ports from other software etc without written consent then the theme you have submitted onto the theme site will be rejected if you cannot prove the permission.

To make it easier on everyone we have released the Theme Approval Guidlines and the staff who do the checks are checking the themes coding and graphics more.  The discision is simply to stop any hassle arrising from the copyright owners.

[Rumbaar]

Nobody cares / respects copyright on the internet, and i highly doubt anybody will.

I have to say that's just a silly statement .... and without merit.  A lot of people care about copyright and a lot of people respect peoples copyright.  But there are a minority that like to take hard worked code/images/ content and claim it for their own.  I've had created themes and custom content for many of my sites and have had them ripped, it's  not a good feeling and most times they destroy the work ... which annoys me more.  It's people with that lack of respect for that hard working person on the other end, that ruin it for the rest.  When a talented person sees their work ripped/ruined they can just give up ... which deny the rest of the community their talent.

... other than that the people just using SMF and other people on other sites just don't care.

People do care, put your heart and sole into a piece of work.  Then have it usurped by someone else ... see how you feel then.  I guess from your statements you've never been in that situation before.

[MightyDucksJosh]

Rum i said the people that own the work would probably care so what are you on about? i just mean the users who are using the stuff, must of them i don't think really see the big idea about Copyright, and just remove it when they can.

I also said i don't think it's right, but it's the truth.

And why would this topic get locked? it's merely a convo, nobody is arguing or anything.

[SolidSnake2003]

Ive got a question about this

What about creating a theme based off of the Babylon theme, and using like the sizes of the original images as a baseline for creating my own graphics, and only use it for my site, is that fine?

[Deaks]

that is allowed... alot of themes are bnased off themes included in the smf package

[1MileCrash]

I found a theme that ripped just about everything from a paid vb theme..the original was made by someone i've come to know no less (from being a customer of his really)

First thing i did was got the theme deleted; no mercy.

Ripping and stealing other peoples work and spreading around like it's yours, acting as if you did nothing wrong makes me sick to my stomach. It's wrong, and no matter how people try to justify it, it's still wrong.

[SolidSnake2003]

Is it alright that I created my own theme, and combined the different themes that came with the smf package?  Is it alright to put on the theme for my site that it was designed by me?

Plus can i still use some of the original forum graphics that came with cause for must buttons, I was able to create one, but for stuff like the normal topics, etc  I cant think of a way to customize it to my site?

[Gary]

You can use the images in the three themes that come in the SMF install as you wish in a theme.

[DookieXer]

I couldn't find the answer anywhere so I think this would be a good topic to ask in. Are we able to modify pre existing themes that we download from the theme site, or is the only theme we can edit the default one?

[Dannii]

You can modify them only if you get the theme authors' permission.

[Deaks]

You can modify them only if you get the theme authors' permission.

Thats not entirley true

If you download a theme from theme site you can modify it to suit your site, however if you wish to add your modified version to the themesite you need to ask the permission from the author.  But to get your theme accepted it must follow the guidlines abd you must prove that you have permission on request.

[Dannii]

Oh yeah of course you can always modify it for your own site. But in the context of this thread and releasing new themes, you have to get permission

[wirestyler]

*wonders*
what if you copied the graphical layout of a user submitted theme from another system, like FUD and used only the graphics from the theme to give a current smf layout the same 'feel' and permission for free use of the graphical contents are given, in the original theme. Would you require new permission or would the original permissions copy be sufficient in that case.
ofc due credit would need to be given for the graphics...  would this be enough to sate the permissions needed for submissions.
I know alot of themes that have moved from application to application have such permission given though may not be copied.

Also what about an 'inspired theme' that is recreated to mimic a theme?

And finally,

Why is this so important? Well, for one thing, SMF itself can be held responsible for those thefts - because they are indeed thefts - by merely housing the themes. Another issue is the display of disrespect for other peoples work. The net seems like such a vast and unlimited source to just be used whenever needed, but there are certain rules that apply there too. And protecting peoples work from being used without permission is one of the most important ones.

If permission was not given and the use of these scripts and/or graphics is known you are still required to report the use or be held liable as if you yourself used them.


As long a credit is given where it is due in a lot of cases is sufficient, however to completely steal someone else's scripts and graphics whether the general populous "doesn't really care" or not only serves to proliferate the 'if it's on the Internet it's free' mentality. We all as an online community need to do what we can to self-maintain courtesy or lose all privacy as we see happening more and more.

I myself use digi-marking for graphics so i can track their use across the internet. Its interesting to see where some simple graphics have made it. From given free for use as avatars to being claimed as original deviantart to being sold as mobile phone graphics is a short step. So why would a professional design a free GUI for a free forums? Simply, to gain the needed reputation in the industry. this why they are free with the 'layout by..'. Self promotion. This draws in revenue for other things, whether its from a Imaginary Force design contract or whatever.

So the point, MightyDucksJosh, is that use of these scripts and/or graphics, no matter how innocent, results in a direct loss in revenue there for they do have a value to their original designers.
So the message is, take the time to create a nice theme yes, by all means recreate an other theme, just be sure to get the permissions you require.

[Dannii]

what if you copied the graphical layout of a user submitted theme from another system, like FUD and used only the graphics from the theme to give a current smf layout the same 'feel' and permission for free use of the graphical contents are given, in the original theme. Would you require new permission or would the original permissions copy be sufficient in that case.
ofc due credit would need to be given for the graphics...  would this be enough to sate the permissions needed for submissions.

Depends what "free use" really means. And... not all licences require credit be given.