Our philosophy about being ripped off
Monday, November 27th, 2006
Since we launched the new version of our web site in June 2006, we’ve been noticing that many design firms are copying and sticking our content into their site. They “borrow” all sorts of things, whether it is images, layout design, icons, or texts. Some of them have even taken whole pages with all of the content and including our prices and policies!
When we find someone using our own work for their own behalf, the most immediate reaction is to get angry and swear. This is usually followed by a “politically correct” letter letting them know about the legal consequences of copyright infringement. Fortunately, they have always proceeded in promptly deleting the offending content from their sites, most of the time blaming it on third parties such us “the webmaster”, “the copyrighter”,”the new boy in the office”…
Lately, we’ve been trying to take these unfortunate incidents in stride. Some native Indian tribes used to think that the power of a warrior is measured by the power of his enemies. This is quite the same. If so many people are choosing our stuff from so many design web sites on the Internet to use it on their own behalf it must mean that we are doing something right. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but when people want something that you have, I guess it means that you have something valuable. After so many incidents like these, honestly if I would notice that other people quit stealing or just getting influenced by our work, I would start thinking we’re doing something really wrong. So, at the end of the day, all of these people are working for us for free, giving us a free marketing service, because they work as a sort of meter to measure how good or bad our work is.
Personally, we would like to encourage the people who steal other people’s work to leave their own footprints in this world. Life is an unique opportunity to celebrate our own individual identity. Each and everyone one of us are one of a kind. Each and everyone one of us can create our own print and that is a gift that shouldn’t be underestimated. By being ourselves and leaving our own footprint we make this world richer. It’s a celebration of life. Everyone should enjoy taking part of it and sharing their own goods with the rest of the world.