I think I’m kinda fair when it comes to borrowing minor or even major parts of my design work. I even published my previous designs as free themes for WordPress and ExpressionEngine - not to mention the Photoshop devkits - to provide people with a nice looking site or to assist them in learning Photoshop or Illustrator…
I can also accept the fact that people rip certain designs in order to “learn CSS”. Oh yeah, I’ve heard that dozens of times — what a lame excuse. If you just wanna learn CSS, set up a local web server and feel free to experiment. There is no reason to “learn” publicly.
But this time a guy, named %name removed%, has gone too far. He did not just rip my current design, he also created a WordPress theme, that can now be downloaded from his site. Want some more? He wrote me half a year ago and asked if he could release the theme. I explicitly told him that he should wait until I come up with another theme for my site. Well, apparently he is not that patient or just barefaced.
My site is a major part of my business and ripping and releasing it as a free theme definitely has negative impact on my reputation. Sorry for my rude words, but I’m really upset and disappointed.
I just received a mail from Diego - he’ll take down the download until I come up with a new design. Thanks.
113 comments so far
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Dimitris January 27, 2008 at 01:15 PM
It’s a pity what has happened, you have all the rights to be upset… But your continuous inspiration and talent cannot be copied anyway:)
Dean January 27, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Not nice at all. In my mind what makes it even worse is that he flat out says that he’s ignoring what you told him simply because he didn’t like the answer he got.
Stefaan January 27, 2008 at 01:25 PM
This is lame. Can you do something about it?
Lord Zoltan January 27, 2008 at 01:25 PM
I’ve read that problem in your Twitter and I agree with you. We can accept some ‘borrowings’ about our designs/drawings/whatever, but this is going too far.
If I were you I would write a letter to the ripper asking him to disable the download of the theme as soon as possible, because a lot of people must be downloading that while I’m writing this comment.
Diego Ciconi January 27, 2008 at 01:26 PM
I’d say that I’m sorry, again Wolfgang.
As I just said, after seeing iLemoned’s shoot at flickr I thought you were already changing.
Anyway, I’m disabling the download.
karlbright January 27, 2008 at 01:26 PM
Probably worth mentioning his website is not only using your theme but taken your logo and just flipped it to appear as a d.
LEMONed January 27, 2008 at 01:26 PM
My apologize, Wolfgang. I should not have posted the screenshot on flickr.
Bas January 27, 2008 at 01:28 PM
The text he wrote about the theme makes it even worse. “I didn’t like the answer” is no argument to do things like this…
This one has gone way too far!
Jim January 27, 2008 at 01:30 PM
Please. Everyone knows that Dimitri just put the design online because you thought there was so much work in it. And you knew that there was no new design (yet).
Shame on you!
Wolfgang January 27, 2008 at 01:36 PM
I just received a mail from Diego – he’ll take down the download until I come up with a new design. Thanks.
Diego Ciconi January 27, 2008 at 01:37 PM
Yeah, shame on me. I apologyze for any damage that this may cause.
Marcus Scheller January 27, 2008 at 01:41 PM
case closed. :D
LEMONed January 27, 2008 at 01:46 PM
Glad to see things are settled this easy.
Paul Feldhuegel January 27, 2008 at 01:48 PM
As far as I can see, the theme is still downloadable here: http://www.ilemoned.com/archives/wptheme-dark
Just to let you know, so you have a chance to get it removed there as well.
P
Nicola January 27, 2008 at 02:19 PM
Heh, yeah I’m tired of people stealing and editing stuff I make too. Apparently editing someone elses work until it doesn’t look like their work is okay. Apparently it’s easier than sitting down and taking the time to learn something that others have bothered to do.
I really love the little icons you have on this site, they’re nifty. Don’t worry, I am perfectly capable of making my own, they are safe! ;)
Øyvind Robertsen January 27, 2008 at 02:20 PM
Good to see this being settled peacefully. :) Agreeing with you on all points :)
Daniel January 27, 2008 at 02:27 PM
Die Datei ist immernoch online. Kann es denn solange dauern eine Datei mit einem FTP-Client zu löschen?
LEMONed January 27, 2008 at 02:42 PM
nah.. things are not settled.
That guy acknowledged to remove the download but he did not do as he said. Nothing ever changed.
Diego Ciconi January 27, 2008 at 02:53 PM
@LEMONed: The file is up to avoid 404 errors. But inside it you’ll only find a README.TXT file. Just download it and see.
Matthew Price January 27, 2008 at 02:56 PM
I’m afraid I must agree with LEMONed: things aren’t settled yet. The download link is still at the bottom and still works, despite a message at the beginning of his post saying otherwise.
Matthew Price January 27, 2008 at 02:58 PM
@Diego Ciconi: At the time I checked it was the full template, but I hadn’t rechecked once I got around to replying. Thanks for pointing out that it only contains a readme.txt now.
pati @-;-- January 27, 2008 at 03:12 PM
That’s so disappointed. As you said I understand why people tend to imitate you, as your work is such a source of learning and inspiration (I mean, just yesterday I followed all your Photoshop and Illustrator tutorials).
What I don’t understand is why do people think that they can still work without consequences, especially on the Web.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you Wolfgang for all that terrific tools you put on line for people to learn. Sincerely, thank you :)
Anonymous January 27, 2008 at 04:12 PM
What a bunch of whino’s…
Get a life.
Joseph Hodges January 27, 2008 at 04:23 PM
Design thieves should always be frowned upon, no matter what exuse thay have. I’m glad you guys resolved thies problem peacefuly.
Eric Longstaff January 27, 2008 at 06:06 PM
Im not a graphic designer but I would be upset too if I put in all that time only to be ripped off.
Real glad this was settled good natured.
marc January 27, 2008 at 07:32 PM
Yeah. Anonymous commenters are real heroes.
SasaVtec January 27, 2008 at 08:46 PM
wolfgang you are being way to nice, you shouldn’t let this a hole release it at all, if you plan on releasing this theme as free do it yourself don’t let some a hole that ripped it without your permissions.
Jamie Jansen January 27, 2008 at 09:04 PM
People can be so pathetic, what a shame.
Mauro January 27, 2008 at 10:14 PM
Any alternative server to download the theme? Just kidding :D
jessica January 27, 2008 at 10:31 PM
mirar mi foto ok estupido
Sean Foushee January 27, 2008 at 10:39 PM
If he emailed you about releasing the theme and you told him no, then he is in violation of copyright law and is liable for damages.
Victor Johnson January 27, 2008 at 11:12 PM
I too have run into this problem several times in the past. I’ve even had the tables turned when an employee committed this offense under my studio’s name.
But what you possess and is the reason I have been an avid reader since I can remember is your true originality.
Roman January 27, 2008 at 11:42 PM
Bartelme: spiel dich nicht so auf ! Schau es doch als Kompliment auf.
Laurent Baumann January 28, 2008 at 12:16 AM
Glad for you Wolfgang, that he removed the link.
If only all concepts and designs thieves could remove download links…
MacGeek Pro January 28, 2008 at 01:33 AM
That whole situation really stinks, Wolfgang. I do really hope this doesn’t prevent you from blessing us with you devkits et al. in the future. I know I really enjoy the devkits for my wallpaper on my MacBook!
Richi January 28, 2008 at 04:26 AM
So, what have I missed? ;-)
Glad to see everything worked out.
Wolfgang, I too have had things ripped off, and yes, it sucks. I’m glad to see Diego did you right and respected your wishes.
Jason Beaird January 28, 2008 at 04:40 AM
These types of situations always make me mad, but it’s nice to see the person responsible speaking up in the comments and taking down the theme.
daustralala January 28, 2008 at 07:30 AM
has anybody downloaded it yet? what a pity.
Michael Zipser January 28, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Too sad the Ripperhunters went down. This was a real weapon against Rippers.
David Worni January 28, 2008 at 11:55 AM
Ripperhunters is dead, but http://www.plagiat.ch ist alive!
@ Bartelme: hast Du Screenshots und Links welche wir unter Plagiat.ch veröffentlichen können? Bald werden wir dort auch unseren Plagiats-Fall (http://www.fruehjahr.ch) veröffentlichen…
Joost de Valk - AlthA Webdesign January 28, 2008 at 05:39 PM
Hmm, if I were Diego, which wouldn’t happen because I don’t steal designs but for arguments’ sake: I’d ask you to remove his name and URL :)
Steven January 29, 2008 at 07:25 AM
While I agree with you on one level, your decision to post and unleash the comments this post has generated says a lot about you as a person too. Just my two cents.
Michael January 29, 2008 at 10:03 AM
And when can we expect a new design for your site, so that we can use the current one? Are you already working on it?
David Worni January 29, 2008 at 10:10 AM
krass, wie gewisse Leute im Internet drauf sind.
Lars January 29, 2008 at 01:52 PM
Es ist ne Frechheit. Und sowas passiert heutzutage leider immer öfter.
Alex January 29, 2008 at 04:17 PM
Sorry for your loss, powell.
Mark January 29, 2008 at 05:27 PM
Hey man, its all good. Think of it like this. 9 out of 10 peple will probably know you did it first, and although you have heard this before, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
You are a design super star and an inspiration to all of us especially the design challenged like myself. Keep on truckin dude and although it is aggravating, it is almost impossible to stop.
stare January 30, 2008 at 12:52 PM
Just stumbled across this site (http://www.toptut.com/2008/01/20/pre-intensions-free-dark-wordpress-theme-release/) yesterday, saw the colors and I knew I had seen them before…
http://www.toptut.com/2008/01/20/pre-intensions-free-dark-wordpress-theme-release/
Brad January 30, 2008 at 05:12 PM
While it is annoying, i agree with Mark in that most people will know the design is yours. Just be glad you don’t have to resort to such desperate measures :)
Marco January 30, 2008 at 06:09 PM
you can´t trust anyone….
Jo January 31, 2008 at 01:58 AM
Schon übel aber wenigstens hat er sich gemeldet und reagiert!
Ich finde dein Blog und was du so machchst übrigens sehr cool!
Lorelei January 31, 2008 at 02:29 AM
bartelme, glad to see you sorted it :)
@ stare, are you suggesting that I ripped bartelme.at’s theme just because I use light+dark blue + green in my theme? They don’t even look alike and I am sure you’d agree there are more designers out there who hunt the “web 2.0” look and implement similar colours.
Corvida January 31, 2008 at 07:06 AM
Wow! I had no idea that was your design and I was just about to download it from freewordpressthemes.com. Thanks to the fact that I couldn’t access the zip I headed over to your site to see if you had a downloadable zip on your site, but apparently that wasn’t to be the case.
It’s a lovely design though and I’m not encouraging nor supporting the use of it without your permission.
SasaVtec January 31, 2008 at 07:27 AM
@Lorelei- It wouldn’t be the first time where you took a free template and changed a few things then released it as your own.
Greynor January 31, 2008 at 03:13 PM
1:1 klau find ich ziemlich dreist, auch ich hab mich schon des Öfteren damit rumschlagen dürfen (ging damals um Pixelart)
Im Übrigen bin ich wahnsinnig begeistert von deinem jetzigen Design. Ich werkel gerade an einem neuen Template (ich veröffentliche meine aber nie), das vom Aufbau her deines zum Vorbild hat – aber andere Farben etc.
Im Übrigen bau ich auch mein eigenes CSS und kopiere nix von deiner Seite.
Ich werde auch im Footer nen Credit zu deiner Seite machen, ich hoffe das ist in Ordnung für dich.
Gruß,
Robin
PS: ich hoffe es ist okay, wenn ich dich duze hier drin
Lorelei January 31, 2008 at 04:04 PM
@SasaVtec, you say it as if you reveal a big secret here. when you view the css file it says exactly on who’s theme it’s based.
I design the themes, half of them I didn’t even code myself, I pay others to do it. Oh, I thought I only need permission from the original author, I didn’t know next time I have to ask you too.
Alen February 01, 2008 at 01:07 AM
I have no compassion for Design’s Thieves.Designs belong to the person who made them.DT have desecrated our profession and given every visitor cause to doubt all we design.
I hope things settled now.
Chao
NFS February 01, 2008 at 03:33 PM
see the thieve take down the download… maybe he gets some guilty conscience
Marcus Tinsley February 02, 2008 at 06:51 PM
I always try to educate myself form other’s work and designs but only by adopting and changing certain solutions to problems proposed by the original authors. Copying somebody else’s job is just incomprehensible to me. If someone really likes a certain design why not just ask the author for permission?
Jason February 02, 2008 at 09:06 PM
This kind of things happen a lot. To bad …
Thame February 03, 2008 at 06:53 PM
Bartelme, I think you’re more than generous with your designs and it’s a shame some people still try to take advantage of your work.
Keep up the awesome work and thank you for all the devkits!
Paul D. February 04, 2008 at 12:28 PM
I think it was Zeldman who said, “don’t worry about people copying your designs; worry when people stop copying your designs.”
Graham Smith February 05, 2008 at 03:39 PM
Copying and getting inspiration from…
I know there are many people who draw inspiration from you, either by implementing ideas into their own work, or just as a way of mashing up existing ideas.
Inspiration has been the reason for so many successful artists, who without the initial inspiration may have not made such a huge impact.
It is such a shame when aspiring to be a talented you go just that to far…
We often push the envelope, to see how far we can get away with, Im pretty sure we all do in other parts of out lives. I am not for one moment ‘for’ what happened, it’s just a part of life, one where boundaries, or ones own personal quest for success can cause harm to others when their thirst allows them to miss the point. Not always on purpose, just lack of insight, or sense.
It’s just nice that it was resolved, just sometimes people, including me often need to be told more than once. Than includes putting the toilet seat in the right place…
Graham
ImJustCreative
“On: Creativity within Life”
x February 05, 2008 at 11:34 PM
schau mal: http://t3blog.de
Ryan February 06, 2008 at 03:46 AM
http://www.ilemoned.com/archives/wptheme-dark
Definitely still up. There needs to be a system in-place for comment validation – As in, the need for you to be registered at 1 central location, then engines like Wordpress and ExpressionEngine requiring you to login in – which sends a validation request to the central server verifying your identity.
As you can see on the link mentioned above, many comments from Wolfgang Bartelme – yet all imposter’s from what I’ve seen.
Very sad …
Ryan February 06, 2008 at 05:00 AM
My mistake, that link was to one of the past designs.. so confusing..
Jacob February 06, 2008 at 07:17 AM
http://dynz.net/jacob/2007/07/29/inspiration-rip/
Emo February 08, 2008 at 12:33 AM
Did you activate your advocate? So you are not alone. Everybody with a good layout and nice content has the problem with duplicate content and layout thiefs… they think the www is a law-free place, but it isnt!
So Far…
alpha February 09, 2008 at 08:50 PM
It’s a shame people are ripping your designs, Bartelme; they are very elegant and well-designed, which is why people try to emulate your designs, I think, as they do for other great artists.
As for the Dark wordpress theme, iLemoned has permission to release it.
http://www.bartelme.at/journal/archive/dark_theme_for_wordpress
Sebastian February 10, 2008 at 06:20 PM
Good post! Thank you!
francesca February 11, 2008 at 12:22 AM
Thank you! for dark theme
Motivator February 11, 2008 at 08:14 AM
I think it was really ironicthat some people tends to steal stuff without even acknowledging the owner/person involve for such design. Anyway I think that they could not exactly copy what you have done since you have distinct style.
Web design nijmegen February 11, 2008 at 10:13 AM
It’s a shame that this is still happening. I can understand people use designs for inspiration and as learning material, but it is a thin line that shouldn’t be crossed.
Dinu February 11, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Nice to see the matter resolve without too much fuss.
Lenen February 11, 2008 at 12:26 PM
I general I doesn’t really bother me when people rip off a design. Because nine out of ten times it is done poorly. The people who rip your design don’t have the actual design and code knowledge I suppose, otherwise they wouldn’t have ripped it in the first place.
But when the ripper also publishes you design as an “open course” download things are really getting nasty
Ben Jacob February 11, 2008 at 05:06 PM
I already have a copy of DeepBlue Wordpress theme, Should i delete it from my hard disc ? ;)
You removed the link from Diego’s blog, it helps to stop further mirroring. But how can you respond to the case of peoples like me that already downloaded that theme ? :P
Mike February 11, 2008 at 05:48 PM
so you are telling me that you have never beg borrowed or stolen a design idea? Sounds like BS to me
Alex February 12, 2008 at 04:28 PM
I feel for you man. Be strong you are not unnoticeable! People know your work and how good you are.
Mike February 12, 2008 at 05:19 PM
haha is that really my goal?
serge cherry February 12, 2008 at 06:39 PM
your talent cannot be copied anyway
Mike February 12, 2008 at 07:24 PM
I agree, i am merely stating the fact that picasso himself stole design ideas from the ancients. I agree with the author here, he has intellectual property and if it is such a big concern for him he should had better set up away to enforce it because hes not going to make any money posting a complaint.
Elliot Jay Stocks February 13, 2008 at 12:33 PM
I feel your pain, Wolfgang. I wrote about this subject just the other day (link) and it’s a big problem, although I have to admit that what happened to you was far worse than what happened to me. It’s good that he’s taken the link theme down, but how much damage has already been done?
Some guy February 15, 2008 at 10:58 PM
The link still works, and I just downloaded it.
sly February 16, 2008 at 09:27 PM
Yea, stuff like this happens to every “designer”. I am sick of rippers, but I’m also tired of designers proving the point we are “drama queens” and you should know by now that posting a special blog post isn’t going to solve the problem.
P.S. I love your flow wallpaper. I’m using it on my new laptop.
Bernd February 17, 2008 at 01:15 PM
War klar das jemand versucht mit anderer leute arbeit sich schön zu schmücken…
Find ich gut das du nicht einfach darüber hinweg schaust sondern das direkt ansprichst :) Weiter so.
Andrew Diebel February 18, 2008 at 08:41 AM
Hi Bartelme, I talked to you a while ago about using your site layout, and look in an iweb template that I am selling. You told be back then it was a go. but after this post I feel very insecure about releasing such a template. I have not put the template on the market so please tell me soon wether I can use it or not. If you would like details on what exactly i am coping form your website then email me! thanks so much and I love your site!
bharath February 19, 2008 at 03:18 PM
Thats nice
“Update: I just received a mail from Diego – he’ll take down the download until I come up with a new design. Thanks.”
krystyn February 19, 2008 at 09:01 PM
Honestly, I think it’s extremely generous that you offer up your older designs once you’ve launched new ones.
I’m glad you were able to resolve this, it sounds like mostly a misunderstanding. Too bad all cases aren’t like this.
I had a similar issue with someone taking a Squarespace layout I created and porting it to WordPress. He credited me in the footer, but he didn’t ask, and as I was paid by Squarespace to create it, they held the copyright.
Some people may not realize they could actually be costing a good designer future work. I can completely see a situation where a client sees their design on another site, and the designer credited in the footer, and come to the wrong conclusion.
Zivarok February 20, 2008 at 07:29 PM
I’m glad you guys resolved thies problem peacefuly.
Dekorasyon February 23, 2008 at 09:20 PM
taklitler asilllerini yaşatırmış.. üzülme adamım..
Deane February 24, 2008 at 05:44 PM
It seems that people tends to be greedy sometimes. It is really unavoidable for them to used your design because your already made and your design was really great .It is something unique so people would like to copy those without asking your approval. Anyway always remember this that original is still the best and no matter what he do he can never try to copy your ideas.
Thorsten February 25, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Your have luck that you received an answer. Often the scrapers are siting in a nice and beautiful country at the seaside and laughing about you. It´s a pity that you only have a chance against someone, if he lives in your country.
Craig February 26, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Does all this theft talk include text I wonder? Is well thought out text ok for people to steal?
justin February 27, 2008 at 09:42 AM
try and think of it as flattery and don’t get too worked up.
your work speaks for itself and creativity cannot be imitated so easily.
GuardRail February 28, 2008 at 08:48 PM
E come te la prendi!Esagerato!!
Dovresti essere contento che le tue idee hanno successo invece di donarle agli altri solo quando per te non vanno più bene.
Se i tuoi affari sono vincenti come il tuo design non devi certo temere un danno all’immagine perchè i tuoi lavori sono apprezzati.
Sei troppo old-economy amico :)
Ciao
Craig February 29, 2008 at 03:05 PM
I was only making a point about “people who live in glass houses should not throw stones”. Bartelme bought a domain I had let go (FloridaWebTechs.com) and took my text verbatim from that old site and from another I had (Buy-Florida.org) and put the identical words on that site. In fact the text still refers to some of my other sites like (BeNumberOne.com). When I let the sites go, I moved the text to the bottom of my Be Number One website to keep it all intact where it can still be found. This site has held the top position on Google for (Florida Business Marketing) for over 6 years now. So… my only point is that most everyone is guilty of online theft whether it be words or design… Even Bartelme
Sam Granger March 01, 2008 at 03:08 AM
Craig, I doubt Bartelme did that. Sure, the site has a theme designed by Bartelme, but thats freely available for download. Whois of domain is protected so can’t see who owns the domain.
Also, usually a person only hosts his site with 1 webhost. Bartelme uses MediaTemple, the domain you mentioned is hosted by internetforall.com. I doubt Bartelme would host his site here. Nor would I think he’d register such a domain, to be honest I think you think he owns the site since it says bartelme in the footer, thats just his theme copyright notice. Its on a lot of sites that arent owned by him.
Graeme Web Hosting March 03, 2008 at 06:44 AM
Even though he has taken the download until you ‘come up with a new design’ is still a thin premise. You created it in the first place, and no one has the right to rip it even after you have taken it down. :/
resimler March 05, 2008 at 09:32 AM
I should not have posted the screenshot on flickr.
Yemek Tarifleri March 05, 2008 at 09:33 AM
The text he wrote about the theme makes it even worse. “I didn’t like the answer” is no argument to do things like this…
This one has gone way too far!
Get Entertained March 08, 2008 at 12:59 PM
I agree with all those comments above. Your talent cannot be stolen. Keep up with the good work.
TawQee3 Designs March 09, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Having stolem from you is part of being a great designer :)
Believe me this will not affect you -vely at all.
Keep up the goos work.
Reliance Relocation March 11, 2008 at 12:42 PM
I download my designs from wpthemes and always keep credit, but is there a way I can find out if they ripped off the design from someone else?
ctraos March 11, 2008 at 03:58 PM
gracias por el theme !!
Designer March 13, 2008 at 08:18 PM
Hi Wolfgang,
I can understand your disappointment in this matter. Just don’t let your head down. Keep up the good work!
Grunt March 13, 2008 at 11:31 PM
What the guy have done is purely piracy. Hope that he will not do it again.
Jason Marsh - Website Designer March 14, 2008 at 04:22 PM
How low can you go… Glad to see it got sorted, sorry guys had a bit of a giggle at every ones expense, but hey it’s kind of serious! Stealing a design or elements, well I sure we have all sooner or later seen a design that really caught our attention, but to completely duplicate it well then you are looking for trouble…
Mallorca March 15, 2008 at 07:30 PM
Ich kann deinen Missmut verstehen. Lass dich davon nicht unterkriegen. Deine Themes und Wallpaper sind Klasse.
Lena March 19, 2008 at 03:45 AM
This applies to webdesign-thieves: As you make your bed, you must lie!
surf proxy March 21, 2008 at 01:17 AM
good thins all settled :)
Emo March 22, 2008 at 10:52 PM
I always appreciate the free themes and templates provided on the internet. I basically couldn’t do without them as I’m not a master in photoshop.
Peter March 24, 2008 at 09:02 PM
I just downloaded it
fuco March 27, 2008 at 03:59 AM
hahahaha, design… as “design” (please don’t steal my blue gradient and white text, and don’t add a drop shadow! …because masterpieces are hard to make)