Hi all, A little while ago I had received an e-mail from the owner of iphoneunlocking.org.uk he had seen my website unlock.exthus-iphone.com and e-mailed me saying that if my website ever saw the light of day, he would take legal actions. I thought well, hang on... about what? So i emailed him back, asking why he wanted to take legal action against me, and it turns out he felt that I copied his web site design. A few e-mails later I asked him what aspect/aspects of the design he felt I had infringed on, and if he was reasonable I would make a few changes to make the sites look less simular than they already do. He ignored this e-mail, and every other e-mail I sent him afterwards. Now, a couple of months later, I have sold the website, and Mark (the owner of iphoneunlocking.org.uk) must of known about this, as he emailed the new owner, stating that the reason I sold the website was due to his "legal issues" which wasn't true at all, so I've been back in touch with Mark and now he's sure he's going to be taking me to court and suing me for losses or something? My website design was not adapted or stolen in any way shape or form from iphoneunlocking.org.uk but Mark wont have that. The actual design I used on unlock.exthus-iphone.com originated from the iphoneunlocknow.com PSD's, also done by me! As far as I can see, the only things his website and my website have in common are the grey and blue colours (which are even different shades), and i'm sure he can't copyright a colour I hope someone on here can give me some insight, and just let me know what to expect, surely there's nothing he can do? I'm not guilty of what he's accusing me of! Thanking you in advance
The two sites aint similar at all... so dont worry about it and let him sue ya if he wants to... lol...
Hello. Anyone should be able to see that the websites are quite similar. It is the PERCEIVED importance of the copied content rather than simply the quantity that counts. You may think it is only the color but that is not the case here. I would get some advice from a professional. If they are seriously going to go ahead with this, you will need more than just a word from a random guy on here. Good luck.
You know, you sound just like the guy Mark who owns iphoneunlocking.org.uk You still haven't told me exactly what the copied content is? You keep insisting that I have stolen something from your website in some way, but you still actually haven't told me which item / items you feel it is I have stolen. Anyone else think that this guy will have a case?
It depends. The sites do have the same feel even if some aspects of the site are different. While you have the original PSD's it will be the layout that's in question. Being that you both are competitors the owner of iphoneunlocking.org.uk have reason to be concerned. In order for the owner to claim copyright infringement he'll have to prove somehow that you copied the source of the layout in part of whole. If he did not register his work he'll have the burden of proof that he or his business suffered damages. If he did register his work prior to your encounter with him then he will have an advantage as it will be up to the court to decide if his copyright was infringed upon.
Your domain is older then his domain, you could use this as a really strong corner stone of your defense, and even use it to say he copied your design. Especially since you say you've got PSDs for your original work. http://whois.domaintools.com/exthus-iphone.com Created 2007-10-31 http://whois.domaintools.com/iphoneunlocking.org.uk Created Less then 2 months ago
Fightrice you are wrong. Domain name age would not have an aspect about this as you could go back into archive org and check which design not domain was done first.
Yeah domain age isn't going to help, he did have his design up before mine too which doesn't help! He's started the 'legal proceedings' now, so I'll have to see what happens Cheers for the info