5 ms·

Am I understanding this right; that LayerVault is trying to claim that they are the sole owners of the flat UI trend? I'm sorry Allan, I've been a fan of yours

by mnicole 14y ago

Am I understanding this right; that LayerVault is trying to claim that they are the sole owners of the flat UI trend? I'm sorry Allan, I've been a fan of yours since before LayerVault was even launched, but this is really low. And if I'm remembering correctly, this isn't the first time you guys have harassed someone about using "your" aesthetic.

iconfinder 14y ago
Layervault are going after Microsoft now with their "Metro style"... those copycats!
JCB_K 14y ago
What he said is that he is "the exclusive rights holder for the artwork contained within Flat UI". Presumably he's referring to Flat UI the UI Kit, not Flat UI the general trend.
- sergiotapia 14y ago
  _BUT_ as mentioned in the Github thread, FlatUI framework does NOT use any artwork from LayerVault. All of their assets were created in-house by DesginModo's designers..
  - drharris 14y ago
    Well, that remains to be seen. Looking at both websites, it's difficult to tell what they are talking about. Flat-UI doesn't seem to have any assets that mirror anything on LayerVault's. They need to be more specific.
    - tobyjsullivan 14y ago
      > Flat-UI doesn't seem to have any assets that mirror anything on LayerVault's. I would say that is the issue in a nutshell. LayerVault is claiming they are the exclusive rights-holders, yet absolutely nothing in Flat-UI is the same as anything on LayerVault's public site. The only possible angle remaining would be if LayerVault had a bunch of these elements behind their paywall... something tells me that's not the case. Edit: Alright, I admit the colour Turquoise is used on both pages. Still, I'm fairly confident turquoise boxes (of differing shapes!) are not copyrightable.
- mnicole 14y ago
  TIL solid colors constitute artwork now. Please excuse me, I've got some baseless, reputation-damaging takedown notices to file. Maybe next they can go after everyone that participated in http://dribbble.com/shots/911303-Designer-News-App-Icon-Playoffs?list=playoffs http://dribbble.com/shots/911303-Designer-News-App-Icon-Play...
  - malandrew 14y ago
    Yup, like T-Mobile, who owns the trademark on Magenta in Europe.
    - arrrg 14y ago
      Trademark, exactly. Not copyright.
Geee 14y ago
It's not about the flat UI trend. If you look at Layervault, their design is really unique and top notch. Flat UI-framework is heavily inspired by Layervault's design. There's no doubt about it. Same roundings, paddings, pastel color scheme, etc. They look visually extremely similar. LayerVault is obviously pissed that a design similar to their unique design will be used by amateur Bootstrappers all over the web.
- justjimmy 14y ago
  I think we're all upset more about the attitude and approach of how LV went about this. You can't patent Colors / Helvetica Neue / Rounded Corner Squares. It just reeks of tactics similar to patent trolls. I think a while back there was blog theme used that was similar to Svbtle, but there was no take down notice or such nonsense. It generated a decent discussion and conversations about something that's too close in style. Look at @layervault on Twitter, they are just getting destroyed right now. Even by designers, their main target audience. If they went along the lines like 'Hey, this is pretty similar to our design. We think it's cool we inspired you but can you deviate it from us a bit more or re-name the project to like Layervault Bootstrap?' I mean why not - have your name in the same conversation as Twitter Bootstrap! A total botched and missed opportunity.
- jmduke 14y ago
  I really really like LayerVault's style a lot and there's no doubt that Flat-UI is influenced by it, but it's not as if LV created this in a vaccuum. Dribbble (which is my main way of watching design trends) has had this stuff pretty common over the past three years. They look visually similar. As well as dozens of other pieces/sites.
- bluepanda_ 14y ago
  Oh dear. Now I have to stick with Twitter Bootstrap.
- iyulaev 14y ago
  "Heavily inspired" != copyright infringement. Sorry. Patent infringement would be closer but it is not copyright infringement.

by mnicole 14y ago

iconfinder 14y ago

Layervault are going after Microsoft now with their "Metro style"... those copycats!

JCB_K 14y ago

What he said is that he is "the exclusive rights holder for the artwork contained within Flat UI". Presumably he's referring to Flat UI the UI Kit, not Flat UI the general trend.

sergiotapia 14y ago
_BUT_ as mentioned in the Github thread, FlatUI framework does NOT use any artwork from LayerVault. All of their assets were created in-house by DesginModo's designers..
- drharris 14y ago
  Well, that remains to be seen. Looking at both websites, it's difficult to tell what they are talking about. Flat-UI doesn't seem to have any assets that mirror anything on LayerVault's. They need to be more specific.
  - tobyjsullivan 14y ago
    > Flat-UI doesn't seem to have any assets that mirror anything on LayerVault's. I would say that is the issue in a nutshell. LayerVault is claiming they are the exclusive rights-holders, yet absolutely nothing in Flat-UI is the same as anything on LayerVault's public site. The only possible angle remaining would be if LayerVault had a bunch of these elements behind their paywall... something tells me that's not the case. Edit: Alright, I admit the colour Turquoise is used on both pages. Still, I'm fairly confident turquoise boxes (of differing shapes!) are not copyrightable.
mnicole 14y ago
TIL solid colors constitute artwork now. Please excuse me, I've got some baseless, reputation-damaging takedown notices to file. Maybe next they can go after everyone that participated in http://dribbble.com/shots/911303-Designer-News-App-Icon-Playoffs?list=playoffs http://dribbble.com/shots/911303-Designer-News-App-Icon-Play...
- malandrew 14y ago
  Yup, like T-Mobile, who owns the trademark on Magenta in Europe.
  - arrrg 14y ago
    Trademark, exactly. Not copyright.

Geee 14y ago

It's not about the flat UI trend. If you look at Layervault, their design is really unique and top notch. Flat UI-framework is heavily inspired by Layervault's design. There's no doubt about it. Same roundings, paddings, pastel color scheme, etc. They look visually extremely similar. LayerVault is obviously pissed that a design similar to their unique design will be used by amateur Bootstrappers all over the web.

justjimmy 14y ago
I think we're all upset more about the attitude and approach of how LV went about this. You can't patent Colors / Helvetica Neue / Rounded Corner Squares. It just reeks of tactics similar to patent trolls. I think a while back there was blog theme used that was similar to Svbtle, but there was no take down notice or such nonsense. It generated a decent discussion and conversations about something that's too close in style. Look at @layervault on Twitter, they are just getting destroyed right now. Even by designers, their main target audience. If they went along the lines like 'Hey, this is pretty similar to our design. We think it's cool we inspired you but can you deviate it from us a bit more or re-name the project to like Layervault Bootstrap?' I mean why not - have your name in the same conversation as Twitter Bootstrap! A total botched and missed opportunity.
jmduke 14y ago
I really really like LayerVault's style a lot and there's no doubt that Flat-UI is influenced by it, but it's not as if LV created this in a vaccuum. Dribbble (which is my main way of watching design trends) has had this stuff pretty common over the past three years. They look visually similar. As well as dozens of other pieces/sites.
bluepanda_ 14y ago
Oh dear. Now I have to stick with Twitter Bootstrap.
iyulaev 14y ago
"Heavily inspired" != copyright infringement. Sorry. Patent infringement would be closer but it is not copyright infringement.