Regarding IPB's smilies copyright
 

There has been many issues with the current smilies that I'm using on my vBulletin board and so I have got a few questions regarding the use of IPB smilies on vBulletin boards. The smilies which I'm using can be found right here and as you can see for yourself, they are quite looking like the yellow ones which was made by you guys - the IPS team. Here are a few examples:

http://forums.adventchildren.net/ima...lies/smile.gif http://forums.adventchildren.net/ima...ies/tongue.gif http://forums.adventchildren.net/images/smilies/lol.gif http://forums.adventchildren.net/ima...ilies/wink.gif

Anyway, that site had just to change it's color to blue and fix the background to transparent so it should work fine on all dark skins. That is all, nothing more to it. I have received a few complains from their staff that it is known as "plagiarism" because of their smilies that are being used on my forums. I thought there was no need for their permission because the smilies were actually and originally made by IPB and that they aren't even running on IPB. Also I thought those smilies can be freely used and distributed to all. And on top of that, didn't they had to contact IPS and have the permission first whether they are allowed to modify the smilies to their liking or not?

Any answers from the IPS team or others is greatly appreciated!

A forum's list of smilies is not a list of images for you to take for your own. Nowhere on that page does it say 'help yourself to our art'.

So I am not allowed to use their smilies without their permission? Is that what you're trying to say here? :p

Basically, you really shouldn't use any site's images without their permission. In practice, most people don't follow this rule. But, if the image owner yelps, I'd just stop using their images or try to work out some sort of agreement to let you use it.

Quite a lot of the custom IPB Smilies were not created by IPB themselves, but by many different IPB users over time. So it's a funny one really.

I once visted an IPB forum ages ago were they were asking members to upload there IPB smilies they had created in a thread for sharing, and I spotted that some of them were the popular custom ones that I personally thought IPB had created.

Are you kidding me? Those smilies were officially made by IPS and their customers so they had no right to use them on their vBulletin board not until they HAVE permission from IPS which they will not agree to it. However, I have contacted them already but I didn't get a reply yet so I'd to post it on their community forums. Almost most of them are saying that they had no right to do that and since they never had a IPB license, I think they are going against their ToS.

This whole using graphics from other sites really annoys me at times. I look at it this way, if they don't want you to use there graphics (don't post them all over the bloody web were they can be downloaded at will by anybody, or at least watermark them for protection). Put that brain into first gear!

It's alright saying you should respect other peoples work, but when you see an image on a site you want to use. How do you know that site has not taken it from another site itself. Or they took multiple images they used to create a new one from other sites.

Lets get things in perspective here, there just god dam smilies (no big deal). It's not as though you just robbed the bank of england. LOL

Do you think vBulletin would complain if they saw an IPB site using there smilies, My guess is, I doubt it! They would probably be flattered they choose to use them over the IPB ones.

I can't believe were arguing over smilies!

Oh yes, watermark all your smileys. Problem solved. :rolleyes: If you don't want your car stolen, don't buy a car! Put that brain into first gear!

Come on, it's nobody's right to take other's work without permission. It doesn't matter if it's large or small, the fact is something put time and possibly money into making it. It's irresponsible and self-centered to claim that you should be allowed to steal something because the person who created the work "didn't stop you" properly with a watermark or by not publishing them at all. Anything else is just an attempt to justify your own theft.

I ask every single time and if I don't get permission, I don't use. I've even gotten free use of copyrighted paid-for images because I had sufficient respect to ask, perhaps because they were so surprised to find someone who doesn't believe theft is a right via the internet.

Well I'll just drop my wallet on the drive after near the main road with £100 quid hanging out of it, my guess is everybody will respect it's on my property and not take it. Yeah right!

I'll also leave my car door wide open with the keys in the ignition running, people will respect me and not take the car. Yeah right!

Thats what you should have said.

If you class taking some smilies as theft in your eyes, well what can I say. Except were all criminals then and we should be locked up and the key thrown away! LOL

Actually, I believe the IP.Board 2.x images were created by James Mathias of 1Lotus Design.

Maybe the defaults one were, I would'nt know. But a few years ago I was browsing an IPB site, and the owner was asking members to upload there very own IPB smilies that they had created themselves for use with IPB boards. Don't ask me now what the site was, I just don't know. Too long ago.

But at the time, some of the smilies created by the members were just like the default IPB smilies, animated one's and all that which are quite common today and used on many IPB boards.

In fact, I'm not even sure if it was a thread created on the offical IPB board itself at the time. But there were pages after pages of the IPB custom smilies that members created. Not IPB themselves, or another artist working for them.

I think the "core" emoticons (the standard happy, sad, etc.) were created by James Mathias, whereas many of the other ones (ones that wave signs, etc.) were fan-made.

that's right. even if you drop your wallet with ?100000 in it, anyone found it "should" return it to you, or bring it to a police station, to return it to you.
Anyone attempts to take it, is doing illegal thing.

if the owner claim their right, and if it's their work/product, it's their. You dont expect to see someone taking your car, driving in front of you, and you dont have any legal right to take it back, do you?

re. the smilies, if they dont want you to use it, just use vB smilies, or if you like IPB smilies that much, make a deal with them, or create ones that look similar, with your own differences.

If only your view of things was shared by everybody else in the world. Sadly that's just not the case.

Your speaking for yourself and your own point of view, which means nothing to me really, while many others would pick up the wallet up and steal the car without thinking twice. As well as the smilies.

I dont think you quite get the point mtha was making. Would you be mad if I copied your site design, and all your content and stole your forum members? You put work into your site and you dont want people taking away the value of your site by using your hard work. Your right they may be smilies, but someone spent time editing each and every smilie. They put work into that. If they want to keep them for personal use on there site only, then let it be. Do not steal there hard work. Go make your own. These are ethics. If you were an experienced designer or programmer, you would understand this better. This is the best I can explain this, if you still dont understand then there is no hope.

I do get the point, I just think it's a bit over the top really. If a persons custom skin he'd paid good money for had been ripped off. I could relate to that.

But were talking about smilies, forums all over the net just download and use smilies for there boards regardless of who created them. I just don't think it's a big deal thats all.

Well, I have contacted IPS regarding this and here's a little respond from them...

I think you guys still don't get it. It's not like THEY were the ones who ORIGINALLY made the smilies. They were from IPB so the only thing they had to do was change its color and background transparency. Nothing more.