copyright theft, need guidance.

[jooble]

hi.

ill just tell the story to begin with. any help that can be given would be greatly appreciated.

a friend of mine, 'mrs a', was starting a business. mrs a asked me to produce the print design, logo - leaflets - business cards etc.

mrs a asked someone else, mr b, to produce her website. he owns a business in website production. she paid him, and received receipt for payment. however, mr b never produced website.

i then offered to produce the website, as well as the rest of the print design. i did this without any written contract over copyright issues, however the verbal agreement was that there would be no payment however the only condition of this was to have at the bottom of the page that it was produced by myself and eventually have a link to my website.

however, this morning i found that mrs a had changed the bottom of the page, claiming that the work was produced by mr b, with a link to his website... on which he claims that he produced the graphics for her website.

i have all the original files for the website, with timestamps. someone who had seen me produce the website.

what is my course of action? can i pursue both mrs a and mr b? and what outcome should i expect?

thanks!

[fisicx]

Are you sure Mrs A made the changes or Mr B?

I'm not sure that Mrs A has any case to answer. Once you delivered the site it became her property to do with as she wishes - you have no rights over the code from which it was built. If she wants to change any part of the site including stating that the site was built by Mr B then that's her business and you can do nothing about it.

You do retain ownership of the images and will do so for 70 years after your death. However, you cannot prevent Mrs A using those images in any way that she chooses, including selling them on. The problem lies therefore in the false claims made by Mr B. That's who you need to get your solicitors to right to.

Please note I'm not a lawyer, so this advice shopuld not be taken as fact - consult your solicitor.

[jooble]

hey thanks!

its not necessarily a case of me wanting to kick any ass on this, i jus find it annoying that someone would do this.

i dont think she has sold them on, she is still using them herself. i believe that mr b would have changed them on her say so. i think i will go to citizens advice as i cant really afford a solicitor.what would happen if she claims to have sold them on to mr b, what then? am i still the owner?

[jooble]

thanks!

what would happen if she claims to have sold the images to him?

[jooble]

hey thanks.

i believe mr b would have changed it on mrs as say so. what happens if she claims to have sold the images on to mr b? im guessing he still cant claim to have made em?

[Eagle]

Originally Posted by fisicx

I'm not sure that Mrs A has any case to answer. Once you delivered the site it became her property to do with as she wishes - you have no rights over the code from which it was built.

I disagree there. No rights over the code perhaps but the way in which the site is constructed they most certainly do. I don't own copyright on the English language - but if I write a novel, the copyright in the work is mine, all mine.

A website is technically a literary and artistic work - just because someone has been given something to use, it doesn't mean they own the copyright - even if they paid for the site. Assignment of copyright must be made in writing or the originator owns all.

You do retain ownership of the images and will do so for 70 years after your death.

That depends. What images did they use? Clipart? They don't belong to them and neither can they sign them over to the client. Same with stock photography; only the originator owns copyright unless that itself was purchased together with the image. The originator is not permitted to pass rights on to the client.

However, you cannot prevent Mrs A using those images in any way that she chooses, including selling them on.

Again, I have to disagree. Usually, a 'usage licence' for the image is assigned to the originator in order to create the site in this case. The supposed new 'owner' of the site is not allowed to use those images for any other purpose than that supplied by the originator (because they haven't purchased a licence).

The problem lies therefore in the false claims made by Mr B. That's who you need to get your solicitors to right to.

But you said they have no claim over the site whatsoever - so where's that course of action going to get them?

Please note I'm not a lawyer, so this advice shopuld not be taken as fact - consult your solicitor.

Indeed!

[fisicx]

Good points (and more accurate than my initial assessment)

It's the code issue that can be a sticking point. I agree that it the use of that code that produces a design. But to say that because they are in breach of copywrite because they have copyed the raw HTML would be difficult to prove. If they copied the HTML, CSS and images then you have a stonger case.

The issue here seems not so much the copywrite issue but the false claims made by Mr B (with or without the knowledge of Mrs A).

[BusinessMax]

Hi,
I have come up with a business idea, however I do not know how to copyright my product. Does anyone know of a cheap and easy way of doing this?
Thanks

[fisicx]

It's not that difficult to find information: http://copyrightservice.co.uk/