vBulletin has been a bitch...they revoked my license and told me to stop using their software but i never feel i have violating their terms of service. Now if let's say I changed some of the site scripts to strip their license, but then I still use their software, would they be able to file a case against me? It's like buying a bed then remove the old brand and rebrand it with your brand, in real world it happens all the time. Keep in mind Im located in SE Asia...
I did pay for a license, I even have paid for vB 4.0 license but then they revoked my license telling me I have violated their terms. I have tried to explain and I'm sure I don't violate their terms but they don't want to listen to me and they still revoked my license. The question is, if I do what I write above (i strip their license and change the site layout a bit so it doesn't look like using vB), can they file a case against me despite I still use their software but I code it so I strip their license from the php pages?
Just switch to invision power board. Your not supposed to remove the copyright from the forum software. Most likely the people from VB would contact your hosting provider, and leave it to them to shut your site down. What did you do to get your license revolked?
But I can't move to invision power board because I have coded vBulletin to its core. I have coded vBulletin core scripts so it can do things that normal forums can't do. If I switch software, 100% it will break down the scripts because I have incompatibilities here and there (i even never upgraded my vB software anymore because of this reason) They also can't let my hosting provider shut down my site because I will move the host to Sweden and it'll be on my friend's dedicated server so he won't let it shut down. I got my license revoked because I let my users to add forum by themselves in my site while actually they never become admin of those forums, just like they automatically suggest forums to me and I moderate those suggestions.
Sure they can stop you from using it. They revoked his license, because he choose to violate their licensing agreement. Enough said. I highly doubt that is the reason Vb decided to revoke your license. It probably had something to do with removing their copyright notice and altering the code (which I'm guessing is against their licensing agreements). And here you go: All copies of the Software made hereunder must contain the same proprietary notices that appear on and in the Software, including all Software copyright notices embedded in any design template which must remain unaltered from the original and visible at all times. vBulletin is a trademark of Jelsoft Enterprises Limited ("Jelsoft") in the U.K. vBulletinâ„¢ is a trademark of vBulletin Solutions, Inc. in the U.S., with registration pending. Jelsoft and vBulletin Solutions are subsidiaries of Internet Brands, Inc..
Dude, you can say anything you want but I know what's happening to me. I never removed their copyright notice, after all I have paid for branding free removal, $150 is just a piece of cake for me. I told you why I was revoked, and they even stated it clearly in their mail by copy-pasting the rules about leasing, distributing, renting bla bla their license.... so it must be because of that reason. My question is, what will happen if I choose to continue using their software but then I strip all of vBulletin related names in all the codes
Of course they are able to sue you. Striping the vBulletin related names just give them more proof that you violated their TOS and you would certainly be found guilty. If they sue you, it would be up to the court to decide if they terminated your license for a valid reason or not. I would suggest working it out with them or moving to an entirely different software as altering their software and continuing to use it isn't legal.
Why don't you buy another license? That way you could save yourself from moving to another forum software. Also you wont have to worry about legal issues.
I suggest you call them or ask on the forum. Did you get your money back? I know now in version 4.0 they will get more strict against copyright.
Ok, I have something to say - none of your story adds up. Your vb license is not going to be revoked for letting members add forum sections. Hymoo is doing their same exact thing, and they are still up and running - http://www.hymoo.com/ Everything that is suggested to you, you want to argue with. If you know everything, "why" are you here asking questions. Your not worried about your server being shut down because you can move it to sweden. You have plenty of money to buy the brand free option, but for some reason you want to strip the license off the vbulletin software? Whats your vbulletin.org and vbulletin.com username? I want to see some of your post over there. My username at vbulletin.com is ~kev~ and my vbulletin.org username is kevcj. Send me a private message on either site, I want to see what you have posted in the vbulletin forums. If you are a legit vbulletin user, you will not mind providing that information.
Your case is strange but I really don't advise doing this (stripping vB of their name) as essentially, you are still using vB. Either you work it out with them or just move to an open source script like SMF or phpBB. If you have done a lot of coding as you said you did, surely you can do the same for any open source forum and won't face copyright issues ever, since they are open source anyway and you can modify it however you want?
I haven't used vBulletin in a while but I'm sure they have plugin functionality built in. In which case you could build up a similar functioning forum in a short time. But something doesn't seem right here and I seriously wonder whether you're just using an illegal warez version. If you are then they are more than entitled to come after you for stealing their product and they will.
sounds a bit fishy...i'm sure they have explained what you have vilated int he tos..care to share what it was..
I know this guy and I know how he set it up. I think based on their TOS it's a challenge for Vbulletin if they try to sew Wokaka. If it comes to a court I would suggest you go to court in the U.S.A. so the money they will have to pay is in the millions. I know how it has been setup and based on their terms its allowed!!!!!!
You obviously don't know anything about the US court system (or how to spell "sue") so don't post crap about "paying millions" over a license termination for a TOS violation.
You made a choice to do this and this breaks their terms of service. They exercised their rights that you agreed to when you made the purchase. You brought this all on yourself.
Go ahead move it to sweden, give vbulletin more evidence to use against you. All your doing is digging your hole even deeper for yourself. Incase you don't realise all they have to do is a simple whois, print that out, put it in a briefcase & carry that along with them to court & present that to the judge.