Datalink Ramblings

Website Copyright Infringement - form of flattery or serious problem ?

Back in 2007 I wrote about website Copyright infringement  and posed the question "Are unique looking websites necessarily the best way to go ?" and the issue has cropped up yet again recently with another example of copyright infringement.

Weworked our own internal website redesign cost out at twenty thousanddollars which really hurts when you find out that others may be profiting out of it.

There is a virtual catalogue of people on the web making money by copying others intellectual property.  As a company we would never dream of sink to that level.  Sometimes it makes you wonder whether your own ethics of design are too strong ....  We rarely ever use the designs or content of others and if we did we would always purchase or credit the original owner of the content.   

Maybe there are copies of your intellectual property out there. If you'd like advice on how to find out who might be using yours and how you can generate valuable IP and protect it even when it may be the target of theft then feel free to give me a buzz.

Or if you have website copyright infringement stories of your own feel free to share them with a comment below.

UPDATE: Fortunately we received a personal apology from the company concerned, and they claim that the infringement was not authorised by the company.   It is good for us to have this matter resolved.
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Is your hosting company able to withstand the heat?

For those reading outside Melbourne, you may not know that we're currently in the middle of the hottest heatwave for a very long time.  We are in the 4th day of 40+ degree days, and are looking forward to a "cool change" of 35 on the weekend.  This is affecting Melbourne's power supply by introducing brownouts and blackouts.

It's times like these that I think of my time training for my pilot's license.  You see, contrary to popular myth it is very easy to fly a plane - you can become competent at flying in about 15 hours, at least when the conditions are good and everything works as expected.   However, what you practice again and again beyond the first 15 hours is exception handling - how to handle emergencies, what to do when things aren't going right.  And this ultimately defines the difference between a good and bad pilot.

The same goes for hosting.

Continue reading Is your hosting company able to withstand the heat?

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How do you feel about having your web designer or developer's link on your site ?

You've probably seen them from time to time, tucked away in the footer of the site, a link to the site of a web designer, web developer or software system, sometimes on every single page of a site.

I was very suprised to see a major Australian banking site that recently had their website redesigned, credit the web designer with a link in their footer.  I don't know whether they paid for the privilege, or how much, but if I was that bank (and let's face it, they're not exactly short of money these days), no amount would be worth it.

A question I like to ask certain types of clients is do you want it ?  Some don't know, others don't really care.  But personally I think it is a small but important consideration to make.  I wouldn't do it with my own site unless I felt like doing favours for a friend, so I thought I'd try explaining when it may and may not be appropriate.

Most corporates and stock exchange listed companies would never allow their developers to put a link on their site or even mention who built it.  They are often specific about this and it can be in their policy manuals. 

This might sound strange coming from someone whose company has their link on the footer of hundreds of sites on the world wide web, but I like to give people the option rather than enforce it on them.

So let's look at the benefits to the web designer, the benefits to you and the options you have.

Continue reading How do you feel about having your web designer or developer's link on your site ?

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