JoomlArt and Piracy

[MiCCAS]

NEW EMAIL ADDRESS - piracy@joomlart.com

I've been alerted to a lot of different illegal download sites containing JoomlArt templates, and also some site's using an illegal copy. Because of this I am writing up this announcement.

To Report An Illegal Download URL
To report an illegal download URL, please send us an email to piracy@joomlart.com with the download links and the site you got them from. We will take the matter further.

To Report A Site Using An Illegal Copy
To report a site using an illegal copy of our templates, again please email us with the links.

Unlicensed Members Posting On The Forum
We have had a lot of members asking for support even though they are unlicensed. This usually means that they have obtained the template illegally, or they have 2 accounts. Remember that you can't just send a copy of the template to a friend, doing so is against the terms and conditions that you signed up upon. We cannot assist any unlicensed member with their template issues, we would ask that you subscribe in which will get you access to the private forums.

If you have any questions please reply here. I might be setting up some random awards for people who send in illegal links!

[MiCCAS]

We have a new email address to report piracy! - piracy@joomlart.com

[brendax]

I feel sorry for you giys trying to monitor all this - someone has just posted a download site for joomlart, pixelparadise etc templates on joomla.org - unfortunately I think the problem will get worse because of the misunderstandings re the gpl

[ErikThorsen]

Really? A download link on Joomla.org? Do you have the link? It seems a lot of people don't understand the GPL and what it is for and which aspects of Joomla are inflicted with this.

Well, I have reported numerous sites using illegal copies. ( and/or breakin the terms )

[brendax]

sent ito Micxas through pm - I dont think I need to post the link here

[MiCCAS]

sent ito Micxas through pm - I dont think I need to post the link here
Thank You, it's been reported now anyway.

[ErikThorsen]

Right Brendax, no need to post it here, Just wanted to make sure MiCCAS or someone else in the team got it. Thanks for reporting it!

[MiCCAS]

Right Brendax, no need to post it here, Just wanted to make sure MiCCAS or someone else in the team got it. Thanks for reporting it!
We also have the piracy@joomlart.com email address if required.

[brendax]

hmm - did you go snooping around those those links?

maybe you should get Joomla to republish the post - keyloggers would do a LOT to discourage people from messing with illegal copies in the future ... off to clean my puter now LOL

google has a big memory & a large cache

[Menalto]

This thing goes deeper than people think. To hunt piracy you need to start different, not from a link on rapidshare.

[MiCCAS]

This thing goes deeper than people think. To hunt piracy you need to start different, not from a link on rapidshare.
We ban users who distribute it as well!

[ShannonN]

We ban users who distribute it as well!

I really wonder at the point in pirating ja templates the bloody things are so cheap why would you bother?

[MiCCAS]

I really wonder at the point in pirating ja templates the bloody things are so cheap why would you bother?
Yep, you're right! Some people just don't want to pay, and some people aren't aware that it is illegal.

[Menalto]

I really wonder at the point in pirating ja templates the bloody things are so cheap why would you bother?
I guess the point is that piracy is illegal, and if you gonna use a template buy it since its so cheap:D

[bluecafe]

on the other hand ... if you have made it to the warez scene you ARE somebody worthy :D. Maybe it can even serve as a marketing campaign .. who knows ... every coin has it's two sides. According to the statistics the warez scene are mainly kids who have made a sport of it. Most of them wouldn't even be potential customers but maybe they help to make a name popular .. who knows ...

[MiCCAS]

The real reason we're upping the anty about piracy is really because some ppl don't know it's illegal and because it is purely not fair on our current customers.

[spindaily]

All I can say about piracy and Joomlart is this:

I bought Jateline from this company (joomlart) about 2 weeks ago. I have written them twice regarding the modules that come with it I cant get because I dont want to do the full install, as I already have a running Joomla site. They are not available for me to download anywhere individually. No one ever responds to my emails, so my site has been half way up now for 2 weeks. I have threatened to dispute with paypal, and no one responds to me!

So knowing all of these things, and how this company treats honest people who do care (me) and pay hard earned money instead of getting it illegally, why not support the pirates? I really hope a moderator or someone reads this and decides to help me as emails through the system get ZERO responses. If I could find pirated versions of the stuff I paid for, but did not get I would, because I feel ripped off by Joomlart at the moment. Many people posted the same complaint in the template area and still no one responds.

[Menalto]

All I can say about piracy and Joomlart is this:

I bought Jateline from this company (joomlart) about 2 weeks ago. I have written them twice regarding the modules that come with it I cant get because I dont want to do the full install, as I already have a running Joomla site. They are not available for me to download anywhere individually. No one ever responds to my emails, so my site has been half way up now for 2 weeks. I have threatened to dispute with paypal, and no one responds to me!

So knowing all of these things, and how this company treats honest people who do care (me) and pay hard earned money instead of getting it illegally, why not support the pirates? I really hope a moderator or someone reads this and decides to help me as emails through the system get ZERO responses. If I could find pirated versions of the stuff I paid for, but did not get I would, because I feel ripped off by Joomlart at the moment. Many people posted the same complaint in the template area and still no one responds.

The modules for use in the template is in the template folder, if not you find the ja-news here:
http://www.joomlart.com/downloads/cat/joomlart_club_templates/extensions_for_ja_templates.html

[MiCCAS]

All I can say about piracy and Joomlart is this:

I bought Jateline from this company (joomlart) about 2 weeks ago. I have written them twice regarding the modules that come with it I cant get because I dont want to do the full install, as I already have a running Joomla site. They are not available for me to download anywhere individually. No one ever responds to my emails, so my site has been half way up now for 2 weeks. I have threatened to dispute with paypal, and no one responds to me!

So knowing all of these things, and how this company treats honest people who do care (me) and pay hard earned money instead of getting it illegally, why not support the pirates? I really hope a moderator or someone reads this and decides to help me as emails through the system get ZERO responses. If I could find pirated versions of the stuff I paid for, but did not get I would, because I feel ripped off by Joomlart at the moment. Many people posted the same complaint in the template area and still no one responds.
PM me your ticket ID, and I'll take a look.

[frame4]

Hi,

This is the 2nd time this guy (a known scammer, BTW) has "borrowed" heavily elements from JA templates, this time from JA Nerine -- judge for yourselves:

http://www.rejuvinet.com/

Regards,
Anthony

[mfcphil]

frame 4

you should be careful of what you are calling people or show proof of what you are claiming..

regards mfcphil

[frame4]

frame 4

you should be careful of what you are calling people or show proof of what you are claiming..

regards mfcphil

Trust me, I am not making any unfounded claims. See...

http://www.google.nl/search?hl=en&q=%2Brejuvinet+%2Bscam&meta=

... I can back up the stories ;)

[mfcphil]

wow nice man!!!

[mae82my]

we paid for it and they get free....what is this...>:(

[frame4]

we paid for it and they get free....what is this...>:(

Well, it is *not* exactly free ;) ... but I was merely highlighting the similarity between the templates, not that it is free.

[mae82my]

no i was not talking abt the site u put above...but i was saying there some other site were distributing freely...but we here as member paid for it....

[frame4]

no i was not talking abt the site u put above...but i was saying there some other site were distributing freely...but we here as member paid for it....

Oh, OK, sorry for that :-[ ... then my suggestion would be to PM/Mail the URL to the site admins, so they are aware.

[mae82my]

Oh, OK, sorry for that :-[ ... then my suggestion would be to PM/Mail the URL to the site admins, so they are aware.

;) already done...:)

[MiCCAS]

Our piracy email is piracy@joomlart.com

[fowler21]

Hi everybody.

You say that you want people to report, if they see a site using an illigal copy of a template.

To Report A Site Using An Illegal Copy
To report a site using an illegal copy of our templates, again please email us with the links.

I think this is just great.

I'am just wondering about one thing. How can I see that a copy is illigal or not just by browsing the site?

[MiCCAS]

Hi everybody.

You say that you want people to report, if they see a site using an illigal copy of a template.

To Report A Site Using An Illegal Copy
To report a site using an illegal copy of our templates, again please email us with the links.

I think this is just great.

I'am just wondering about one thing. How can I see that a copy is illigal or not just by browsing the site?
The only way is for you to email us just to make sure unfortunately. Our license server checks a lot of site's as well.

[prim]

I hope i'm posting in the right thread...

JA Avian template got pirated less than 10 minutes ago and is now available on the net. No idea who did this but maybe you could check if someone recently "carded" this.

[mae82my]

interesting issues prim...they are fast like lightning...once it been relesed in here....the minutes it is already out in warez....urmmm...

[cgc0202]

Unlicensed Members Posting On The ForumWe have had a lot of members asking for support even though they are unlicensed. This usually means that they have obtained the template illegally, or they have 2 accounts. Remember that you can't just send a copy of the template to a friend, doing so is against the terms and conditions that you signed up upon. We cannot assist any unlicensed member with their template issues, we would ask that you subscribe in which will get you access to the private forums.
!

MiCCAS,

I understand and empathize with Joomlart wanting to protect its copyright ownership. But be sure you do not go overboard in lumping people. So, please read the response below with a more open mind.

You stated:

"This usually means that they have obtained the template illegally, or they have 2 accounts."

This may not always be the case. For example, a once licensed member may become "unlicensed" the moment his/her membership expired -- unless, I misinterpreted your TOS. So please clarify.

It is true that the unlicensed person would be a bit unethical to ask for support, if no longer a member. However, It is disappointing and unfair that you will lump all those who are now unlicensed as potential pirates, by mistaking their copies of Joomlart templates were necessarily obtained through piracy.

So, please clarify the following:


How does Joomlart differentiate those who simply registered in the Joomlart Forum from those who actually bought so much time for membership to have access to the templates (three months, six months, one year, etc.); but their membership finally expired.

Are all the Moderators of the Joomlart Forum part owners or employers of Joomlart?

If not, does Joomlart provide the Moderators of the Forum access to the list of existing and former customers -- so that you can actually differentiate who has bought a license or not?


Moderators who are not employees of Joomlart, if they are not given access to such private information will not really be able to ascertain exactly who had previoously had legitimate access to Joomlart templates. But, if Joomlart is sharing customer information to non-employees,then that is a greater ethical as well as risky legal problem that could become very costly to Joomlart, as a company; if it turned out that one of the Moderators made a false accusation, and the aggrieved individual decided to sue Joomlart (on top of the accussers).

I am not sure if the owners of Joomlart are aware of this potentially more costly possibility -- that could even bankrupt Joomlart if the companyis found guilty of false accusation. -- especially if the one accused happen to be well heeled and could afford expensive lawyers, plus, determined enough to seek redress. Or God forbid, a lawyer him(her)self, like the one in California. I forgot now if the guy sought US$65M, for a few dollars of pants that was misplaced.


Cornelio

[cgc0202]

Unlicensed Members Posting On The ForumWe have had a lot of members asking for support even though they are unlicensed. !

I address this issue after the above, because it can be easily enforce through technology that is already a feature of the vBulletin software, and for that matter many forum softwares. If I am not mistaken, it is possible to do the following with vBulletin software:


Allow the public to view but not post in the forum.
This is mainly for security reasons. A company that will completely make its Forum completely private is not likely to survive or gain many customers.

Allow groups of registered members to view and post in designated forums.
This is mainly for security reasons.

Allow only a specific groups of registered members to view but not post in "restricted forums" not accessible to the public.
If Joomlart is magnanimous and have great foresight with an eye on the bottom line -- profit, it will allow former licensed members to be in this category.

If you want to restrict those who registered but have never bought a license, that is a company policy. Personally, I consider such a move as bad business policy.

Allow only a specific groups of registered members to view and post in "restricted forums" not accessible to the public.
The forum sites refered to here will be your "templates" forums. The permissions to post in this forum may be reserved for active licensed members.

This technical solution would solve your concern:
Unlicensed Members Posting On The ForumWe have had a lot of members asking for support even though they are unlicensed. !


I checked quickly and Joomlart and its Moderators are just not implementing this capability of the vBulletin software to solve the issue you mentioned above.

I hope this gets corrected the next time I visit.

If I am mistaken about then vBulletin software, I have seen other Forum sites of commercial companies that could do this. If not, there are many good software programmers associated with Joomlart, to create a more refined software.

There is a reason why Microsoft dominated the OS for computers and not Apple -- even if it was Apple that had the great ideas when the personal computers started. Bill Gates was more shrewed as a businessman. The owners of Joomlart may not be in the same category as Gates and Steve Jobs, but as purveyors of commercial products, Jommlart can learn from their history.

Cornelio

[MiCCAS]

Unlicensed users have no access to the private forums at all
Support is provided during your subscription time, no less no more.
If you require support after your subscription is ended, you are required to send us an email.

Allowing moderators access to our customer database is not what we want to do. If you still need help send me an email personally, and I will verify you have the appropriate licensing.

[jayblaq]

piracy and illegal file sharing really does hurt our business, but I will say a couple of things about it

#1 You guys shouldn't complain. I've done the math - add up your REPORTED total paid users for a week - a month - a year and you guys are millionaires now.

Is this a lie? Have you not made over 1 million dollars since your inception? Are your stats deciving?

#2 A leak or two of the products really does help to let new people know about you.

#3 If your really worried just flood your templates out there as you release them but with all sorts of errors and missing code... Forcing people to come to Joomlart and see if it worked here and then maybe buy.

#4 People that don't pay the subscription fee and download your templates from illegal sites knowingly are LOSERS! This is a great resource and far worth the small fees!

Long Live Joomlart!

[elfenwald]

piracy and illegal file sharing really does hurt our business,

this is a general myth & misconception and usually comes with the kind of maths that we call "milk maid's accounting" in Germany... this way of thinking has been fuelled a lot by the music industry and their spin doctors, but it still has not much to do with reality...


anyone who is stupid or poor enough to use pirated scripts or templates on a production site would never have paid for it anyways. So NO loss, just one more website out there showcasing your templates, and most likely still with a backlink to your site. I mean - hey - your adsense account is gone in seconds if the script or template makers complain, and there are many other ways to hurt a site that uses pirated stuff... no serious webmaster would take the risk if the site has any worth at all...
number of pirated copies out there multiplied with your price is NOT your loss. As stated above: 90% of the pirates would never buy anyways, but while using your products illegally, they still do advertizing for you.
Companies are usually fighting piracy (and fail gloriously), instead of putting it to good use. I have seen marketing "gurus" leaking their own products to warez forums - they get valuable feedback, free bug testing, and create a free marketing buzz. And that were info products - not templates or scripts where people actually will pay for updates, support, etc. These guys know exactly what they are doing, and they keep doing it, for a reason. Because it actually helps to increase their sales.
many folks will not buy the "cat in the bag". I for one, if interested in something, usually get myself a pirated copy, test it thoroughly, then decide if I want to use it on a real site, THEN BUY IT, because I want support, updates, and no hassle. (in case of JoomlArts 1.5 templates I was in a rush and purchased at once, *lol*)
a template is not a toaster or phone. It takes exactly the same amount of work/money to build it, no matter if 5 people or 50000 are using it (thats why people run template clubs instead of designing individual templates). This is a paradigm shift many industries have still not fully understood. They still think "stealing a car" and "stealing software" is the same thing. Nonsense. It DOES however take money and work to maintain, do support, etc.pp. - so access to support, updates etc has to be limited to paying customers.


This is not to "endorse piracy" or scare away buyers - and of course you have to look that you support only legit customers. And from time to time it is a good and fun thing to fry some idiot who has the indecency to use the templates on a commercial production site without proper licensing.

But its not worth the headache & stomach problems & waste of time many software guys or designers love to impose on themselves because of those "bad pirates" out there...

Actually most of them are not your customers anyways, if they come for support, you just kick their butt, and anyone who wants support and puts your templates to serious use will come and buy them.

So instead of hunting pirates I would focus on other things and improvements - that make a paid membership worthwhile and a "must".

And really - think about it - so-called "piracy" can be the most cost-efficient marketing weapon of choice! You just have to play that instrument instead of trying to smash it...
(I know what I am talking about - do it every day, as a product owner).


Just something to think about and to bring a bit more thought and differentiation into the "piracy"-debate.

[valic]

i have one question, i can probably send a couple email with bulk domain names which uses warez template....( i thinks so)

but it's posibble to have perhaps one information, how much per example have my country ( Croatia), licensed member by joomlart, with this data , i can easily send you more effective data (domains), while now croatian web it's overflow with joomla , and commercial templates( joomlart, rockettheme, templateplazza,....), and i don't believe that it's a lot people payed for this template

P.S i don't wish name of members,or similar stuff, just number of licensed member( on PM, or e-mail)

[valic]

And my idea it's that each country should have something like "Supervisor" which it's joomlart member
On this way, it's easier to "squezze" user with warez template, beacuse language advantage, same country.....:eek:

[MiCCAS]

i have one question, i can probably send a couple email with bulk domain names which uses warez template....( i thinks so)

but it's posibble to have perhaps one information, how much per example have my country ( Croatia), licensed member by joomlart, with this data , i can easily send you more effective data (domains), while now croatian web it's overflow with joomla , and commercial templates( joomlart, rockettheme, templateplazza,....), and i don't believe that it's a lot people payed for this template

P.S i don't wish name of members,or similar stuff, just number of licensed member( on PM, or e-mail)
Please, forward them to me. I will take care of them for you.

[valic]

how i'ts that possible , exactly the sam time like joomlart offical release this template

see: Mesolite (http://www.portaliz.com/forum/JA-Mesolite-2nd-July-08-Joomlart-Template-t27746.html)

screenshot
http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=warez28383wz7.png
(http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=warez28383wz7.png)

[mayke]

Legal & Illegally
Why tis IMPORTANT matters just put in the News and Announcements?
why haven't a special forum for this?