Hi, I've discovered a site that is illegally selling php scripts (one of mine is there and I have reason to believe more will appear soon). They don't have the rights to any of the scripts they're selling and most of the scripts they sell are pirated versions. Is there any way to combat this? For example, try and get the site shut down? It seems the owner of this site is hosting it on his own server - how can I find out who actually owns the server? Thanks in advance for your help.
If it is their own server then either it is their home computer used as a server etc ... contact their ISP or it is a rented server ... contact the company who rents out the server. Other than that you may want to look into ways to protect your scripts in a way you can tell where they are been used. I wish you luck in solving the situation. vagrant
welcome to the Internet, you can't do anything about it. the d.c would rather have the guy who pays them !! or they would be turning off 90 % of their servers if they start listening to any one who comes to them with complaints. it is only in serous cases like CP or spam mails or ddos that the d.c's will take action . as vagrant said you might look into ways to protect your scrpts in a better way.
Send a DMCA request to the site and copy the host they are using. They will either remove the content or if they are in a country that does not respect copyright law they will just ignore it. There really isn't much more that you can do... Look at encrypting the files (ioncube) or locking down the files with a license keygen.
This is really a big issue , It is very difficult to controls those things ,there should be a good way to protect your code ( Like encrypting some piece of code etc)
Thanks for all the advice. I choose not to encrypt my scripts as I know customers prefer to be able to edit the code and make adjustments to scripts. But I do use a licensing system and a few files in each script are encrypted to protect the scripts. Those with knowledge of either the system or PHP, however, can probably remove the restrictions; I can't afford complex custom protection of my scripts. Anyway, I've discovered who owns the server the site is on and am attempting to make contact with them about the issue. I'm also looking into ways I can take direct action against the person illegally selling my scripts (and many other peoples). Thanks again to those who have responded, and further input is welcomed.
Ive faced this issue, and there is not much one can do if your scripts are on private servers. If on RS for ex you can complain and they will take it down. Not much can be done other wise. Software piracy simply cannot be stopped. Maybe offer a SaaS mixup with your server , this way pirated scripts never work.
if they are in Off-shore Hosting... you wont be able to do much Legally..! But if they are in INdia or USa servers.. then Bum..! You can screw them easily..!
those who sell the stuff or use it illegally do it on offshore servers and most of the time common person can't do anything to stop them my advice: hire a hacker
May be you can sue them on the court, if it is in your country.... But if no, hmmm i don't know... maybe there is international court??
try sending a letter to there isp containing your full rights over script and demand them to remove your copyrighted meterial from that site
Go to DMCA.com we can help with this. No problem. We do it all day long. We can get the content removed from the infringing websites or you pay nothing. I can't believe how much bad advice is going around on here (yikes!) Some of these ideas will just make your problem worse. I promise.