4 ms·

Ask HN: Themeforest let another author steal my design. Any advice?

• olalonde 13y ago
  Both of your themes also look similar to Metronic Theme in my opinion (especially the Discussion box). http://www.keenthemes.com/preview/index.php?theme=metronic_admin&page=index.html http://www.keenthemes.com/preview/index.php?theme=metronic_a...
• almost 13y ago
  Have you contacted themeforest yet, what do they say? Looking at them side by side they look very similar but not the same. Unless they've actually ripped off your HTML or CSS I can't imagine you're going to get very far. I could be totally wrong though.
• tptacek 13y ago
  Could he actually have "stolen" it? Don't you both continue to have use of the theme? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say that he shared it? My advice is to let it spread as far as it can go, and make your money selling t-shirts or support contracts.
  • icebraining 13y ago
    -1, Troll
  • dylangs1030 13y ago
    Themeforest wants to be free. http://xkcd.com/1228/ http://xkcd.com/1228/
• webbruce 13y ago
  Hire a lawyer if you think it'll be worth $400 or more.
• richbradshaw 13y ago
  I don't think it looks much the same, and the code doesn't look similar either… I was going to compare some of the CSS class names, but can't even find components that are the same. The demos have different structure, and the components are different in style. The only real similarities I could spot are the use of "Statistics and more" at the top, and a similar background. Other than that you are both just using similar things that all admin panels themes have. You use d3, he uses flot. You use backbone, he doesn't. In fact, not sure there is much in common at all. Do you have any specific examples?
  • PhilipDaineko 13y ago
    Right, the most common part is design. Don't you find them similar? That was the point
    • deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
    • true_religion 13y ago
      They don't seem at all similar to me. The only thing they have in common is that they're both dashboards.
  • dmak 13y ago
    Also, the background, did OP create it? or did OP find a free one on subtlepatterns.com?
• dmak 13y ago
  No offense, but I think the other one is way better. The fonts, the search bar, and the spacing of everything is much more well thought out. I think the "stolen" one is actually more clean and less busy than yours. There are similarities, but I don't think he/she stole your design. For example, look at the login screen: OP's (PhilipDaineko): http://demo.okendoken.com/login.html http://demo.okendoken.com/login.html Other person's: http://www.sean-theme.com/admetro/login.html http://www.sean-theme.com/admetro/login.html
  • cliveowen 13y ago
    Second that, I think "inspired" is a more apt term than "stole" and is a common practice in webdesign/apps.
  • PhilipDaineko 13y ago
    Yep, I was thinking about it too. I probably lacked those little tweaks to get my item approved on themeforest. At least I see now what had to be done :)
• glazskunrukitis 13y ago
  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
• deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
• officialjunk 13y ago
  not sure what you can do. perhaps there's a mechanism to contact theme forest. but, how do we (or anyone) know which is original? it's very similar, but it's not identical; icons and colors are different, there are additional widgets in admetro...etc also, fyi, i notice in your preview, there's overflow of content in the feed widget.
• lutusp 13y ago
  > Any advice? Under what license was the original published? If it was an open-source license, and if the copy includes your copyright notice, then there's no wrongdoing and nothing you can do. If it was an open-source license and your copyright notice is not present, and if there is any line-by-line copying from your original to the copy, you should be able to prove that the copier simply copied and pasted your code. This kind of copying can be proven using textual matching and the mathematical improbability of an inadvertent exact copy. If the work was published under anything other than an open-source license, it shouldn't have been published in any way that could be copied (i.e. in source-code form). In this case, any substantial copying is a violation, but you would have a very hard time pursuing a legal remedy. > I am not sure about html-part, but in terms of design it's copy. If we're talking about design, not code copying, things become more difficult. Ask yourself how obvious to a practitioner of the art the layout and functions are. To pursue a legal remedy, you would have to show something unique about your design that sets it apart, and you would have to show that someone copied your specific work as opposed to copying the general design principles of similar programs.
  • deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
• aniketpant 13y ago
  First I was under the impression that I will see a clone but to be frank it doesn't look like an almost copy. The only similarity I see in both the designs is the layout. Other than that, there are so many differences even in the subtleties. You might want to report it to them but I am not sure if any action will be taken because they can't be distinguished very clearly.
• gosukiwi 13y ago
  It looks similar but not the same, I don't know...
• philliphaydon 13y ago
  If the design is stolen, then he stole it and made it better... IMO...
• eps 13y ago
  They are pretty close, but at the same time they are different enough not to be considered a rip of one another. General look and feel is very similar, but then it is also similar to a lot of other designs.
• dwild 13y ago
  It look like you won. The theme is no longer on themeforest.
  • philliphaydon 13y ago
    That's a real shame, I wanted to buy the themeforest one :(