How do you deal with Skin Thieves?
 

I often browse other people's forums... just to get ideas of the aesthetics of my own forums... But I was browsing through some forums of people responding on the Video-Directory mod when I realised that one of these forums had blatantly stolen one of my forum skins! Didn't even do it right, it looks ugly... and didn't even give my website any credit either.

My Forum: http://www.8wayrun.com/index.php?styleid=4
Stolen Skin: *** Removed ***
User: *** Removed ***

So how do you deal with something like this? This guy was emailing two weeks ago, asking if he could use my skin and if I would send him the PSDs. But I turned him down... yet he stole my skin anyways.

Was it a custom skin made by you?

The Skin on your site is made by ShenYu as stated in your footer.

If it was a skin customised just for you and was paid for then generally the skin designer can't really sell it on, but if you simply used there skin for free then normally you will find other sites that will use it to

have you been in touch with the skin designer to see if they've released it to anyone else??? :confused:

ShenYu is a member of my forums... its a skin he made custom just for us... he has not released it anywhere else. He simply made the mockup PSD; I'm the one who cut all the images and coded the skin... so he doesn't even have the data to release it elsewhere. Not to mention, a lot of the stuff on the skin right now wasn't even in his original PSD; a lot I customized myself.

Then honestly, how could he steal your skin?

umm... download the images/CSS off my page? the same way anyone steals any website design.

maybe you should watermark your skin to atleast make it less desireable to others.

All i can recommend is that you formally ask them to remove that skin from their site, You really should also have a skin copyright on your forum also.

Failing that then perhaps a complaint to their web host, saying that legal action could be taken against the site and the host also.

I wouldn't build your hopes up too much in that department, but never the less good luck ;)

Well I've been PMing him...

I would still email his host, keep up us upto date with this as i'm sure idiots like him effect us all at one stage or another.

Good Luck :up: