Web Cloning

Atlas_IRL

Hi, it has come to my attention though google alerts(great program) that some guy from here is trying to clone a website i have had developed. Any ideas what i can do about this?

techguy

Atlas_IRL wrote: »

Hi, it has come to my attention though google alerts(great program) that some guy from here is trying to clone a website i have had developed. Any ideas what i can do about this?

How did you set up alerts to monitor this for you? Are you just watching for keywords related to your site?

kenbrady

Atlas_IRL wrote: »

Hi, it has come to my attention though google alerts(great program) that some guy from here is trying to clone a website i have had developed. Any ideas what i can do about this?

If it's a direct clone you can go after then for copyright infringement/trademark breech. Depends on the country/location to see if it is worth your while in terms of cost effort. If they are not the person running the site and developing it for the owner it would be easier to contact the owners to tell them they are paying someone for copying your work.

If it's a 'daft' vs 'myhome' clone situation not much you can do.

Atlas_IRL

techguy wrote: »

How did you set up alerts to monitor this for you? Are you just watching for keywords related to your site?

Yes i monitor the URL and variations of the name so it tells me when someone has mentioned it on the search engines.

kenbrady wrote: »

If it's a direct clone you can go after then for copyright infringement/trademark breech. Depends on the country/location to see if it is worth your while in terms of cost effort. If they are not the person running the site and developing it for the owner it would be easier to contact the owners to tell them they are paying someone for copying your work.

If it's a 'daft' vs 'myhome' clone situation not much you can do.

No its pretty much direct
http://www.scriptlance.com/projects/1259604142.shtml

I parked it when i got the alert. Its someone that read it on boards cause i havnt posted it anywhere else. They are not very clever at all.

From his request, it looks like he's asking for a site with similar functionality to yours. It would be common enough practice for somebody to reference other sites in lieu of coming up with a formal specification.

Usually when an innovative site comes along, imitators won't be far behind. The smart ones will come up with a unique selling point to develop the original idea, but there may also be a number of clones differing just enough to be decent.

I've had my site idea copied before, and it quickly became apparent that the copier was doing nothing illegal. No single aspect of my site was particularly innovative - it was just the combination of a bunch of generic items that gave it it's personality, and I don't think I could have protected it in law.

J_Wholesale

There's nothing you can do here, and no reason you should be able to do anything. This is much the same as a property letting agency opening in a mid size town, only to be followed almost immediately by another one on the same street. Business 1 paves the way for business 2.

It might be smarter for the competition to wait until you kick off and generate interest in your idea before they then launch into a market that is already predisposed to a business like that. The first business into a market is often not the one that succeeds.

Atlas_IRL

I realise that and referencing sites is fine on those websites. The comapny that created ours is very prominant on that website and although they reluctantly agreed to sign a NDF i will not know if they will just use our script and change it.

professore

Hi, sorry to break it to you, but it's hardly an original idea. OK the guy was a bit dumb to link to your particular site but what can you do.

nice1franko

Aye, nothing you can do I'm afraid, which is actually good news for you - otherwise someone else'd be coming to shut you down.

Atlas_IRL

Of course i know its hardly original and everyone does referance sites whrn they are getting them commissioned but the company who made it have now bid on it that have our script. They have signed a non disclosure agreement so the situation is a bit different than you think.

Pixelcraft

So the company bidding is the same one that built your site? NDA has nothing to do with it - your site is already live. It comes down to ethics, and ownership of the scripts used. It's highly unethical to build a cloned site you've already done for a previous client imo.

However, most web contracts state that the developers retain ownership of scripting work, as if you give that away, you're starting from scratch for every single scripted item, which in turn will add to your costs (which will be passed on) and is highly unfeasible

PeakOutput

Atlas_IRL wrote: »

Of course i know its hardly original and everyone does referance sites whrn they are getting them commissioned but the company who made it have now bid on it that have our script. They have signed a non disclosure agreement so the situation is a bit different than you think.

woudlnt the nda just prevent them from saying 'well we did that one so we can definitely do your one just as good if not better'

do you own the script after you pay for it and all the rights to it or do you just own the rights to the script for your own domain?

i can see a non competition clause of somesort having relevance here but a non disclosure agreement? surely they can programme this other site without any mention of yours

MarysCross

If they're nicking your content and images etc you can report them for spaming your site, this can have massive consequences for that individual removing him from all his search terms etc.

To do this take sections of your copy, put it in speech brackets and search it on google.

If your going to report them it's better to get an agency or thelikes to do it for you.

Atlas_IRL

Its a joke they found our developer and asked them for the whole script, the developer said they wouldnt do that but will make them a similiar site considering they have our entire site ill be keeping a close eye on it, nothing we can do.(or so they say)

kenbrady

Atlas_IRL wrote: »

Its a joke they found our developer and asked them for the whole script, the developer said they wouldnt do that but will make them a similiar site considering they have our entire site ill be keeping a close eye on it, nothing we can do.(or so they say)

The technology behind most online business is nothing to do with the success of the business.

You can buy the code that runs boards.ie for $40, but you would have to have spend millions on marketing, promotion to attract the number of users boards.ie has.

Focus on building your brand and unique selling point. I welcome new competitors as it just makes the market more aware of the type of product we sell and we can beat any competitor in our target market.

TheWaterboy

Yes I agree with KenBrady. Sites can be copied but it takes alot more to make a successful site. I would say that you can buy scripts for nearly any of the big sites and try to replicate them.
Donedeal.ie is a good example - there are loads of similar sites after popping up recently with the same type of functionality as this site but none are competing with it.

I wouldnt worry about your site been copied. Concentrate on building your brand and reputation online.

blue4ever

Atlas,

I empathise fully with your plight - really. But if you focus on this, interruption, then it will completely side track you, frustrate you and ultimately use up valuable mental resource.

Think about what kenbrady said above.

Web "sites" are very easily replicated, web businesses are not. Think about the fact that you first 'viable' possible new entrant is someone who plagiarises websites (he's requested two, one a blatant clone).

So - he doesn't have an original business idea in his head - I'd go up against that and so should you!

C

Atlas_IRL

Yeah your right thanks. It was just annoying when you spend nearly a year on something and someone tries to buy it straight off the developer. Seems to be just a coincidence that he picked scriptlance and the developer is just lying to us now. We are still in contact with them for ironing out bugs in our own and there developing our clone! Feels like doing business with someone that just stabbed you in the back!

kenbrady

Atlas_IRL wrote: »

Feels like doing business with someone that just stabbed you in the back!

You can't trust anyone in business, fact, people only care about what's in it for them.

We don't use resellers for this reason, only go direct to customers.
Tie customers into our company and our solution, not the sales guy.

I've seen so many companies go under because their head sales guy left, joined a competitor/set-up on his own and took all the customers.

When I started out I studied competitors offerings, posed as a customer to get information. Now I have the same thing happening to me, guys starting up, copying my marketing, taglines nearly the exact same as mine.

Your business needs, protected, patented IP or
A clear differentator and strategy to set you apart from the competitors.

If that other guy gets going, I would have no problem emailing all his customers and saying "he's the imitator, do they want to try the original and best".
Use it against him and piggy back on all his sales and marketing effort. Set yourself a goal to take everyone of his customers. Monitor everything he does and use it to your advantage.

kenbrady

TheWaterboy wrote: »

I wouldnt worry about your site been copied. Concentrate on building your brand and reputation online.

Brand and reputation will do little for daft and myhome if this goes ahead here
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/6717977/Google-refuses-to-rule-out-property-website-launch-in-Britain.html

Axwell

kenbrady wrote: »

If that other guy gets going, I would have no problem emailing all his customers and saying "he's the imitator, do they want to try the original and best".
Use it against him and piggy back on all his sales and marketing effort. Set yourself a goal to take everyone of his customers. Monitor everything he does and use it to your advantage.

I wouldnt go emailing his customers as you have no right to and would just be spamming them to be honest. Also it would be childish to start a little war between you and in the end will only do your own business and reputation harm.
You would be better spending your time focusing on your own business and getting it out there and building you own customer base. If you offer a good service and keep the customers happy then you will get the rewards, wasting time checking everything he is doing and worrying what he is at will only waste time and take away from your own focus which should be your own business. While it is annoying at the end of the day you will always have competition so you just have to work on your own business and stay ahead of the competition. I do agree keep an eye on their marketing and prices etc so you can compete but if you keep focusing on what they are doing you will end up falling behind on your own business and not being 100% focused on is and your customers.

blue4ever

Ax, get a grip!

What do you want 'lie back and think of England and don't look around this time" to paraphrase.

I wouldn't give a curse about the plagiarism, it shows a pretty shallow intellect from the buyer and that a failing business model to begin with.

The business 'ethics' of the developers, well!

They are about to sell the 'ideas' end of the business to a numb skull, never.

Go down to Donnelly's Hollow in Kildare a memorial to a bare knuckle fighter from 1815/20's - stand in the Hollow and remember:

"Always forgive your enemies, Never forget their Names'

Screw the developers and show them up for what they are, 40 pieces...

(forgive the religions metaphor - not normally the style, it filled so well....!)

C

Axwell

I've got a grip fine, i think you've lost the plot a little with your religious metaphors though
Anyways back to the point in hand, in programming every developer reuses code that they develop, it saves them time and money and at the end of the day thats what they are out to do, produce what you asked for and get paid. You would be naive to think that they are going to go and make you a completely custom website with code thats never been used before somewhere. Atlas just happens to know this other person is doing the same site as him but you can be gaurenteed that the company making it will develop plenty more sites using the same base code with a different skin on it and he wont hear about them or come across them. Im sure even the script that Atlas got made contains elements of plenty of other scripts that would have been made initially for someone else.
At the end of the day his priority should be his own business and getting it out there and up and running, if the other guy is only getting his site developed now Atlas has time to get a head start and be there first, if he sits there arguing with the developers and wondering what the other guy is at he might miss the bus.

blue4ever

ax,

obviously the binary hardwired coding (on, off, on, off, on....) leaves you devoid of any sense of humor re the 40 pieces - so lets just park that.

Again: screw the developers, they are acting like pirates or mercenaries.

I said earlier that the main focus has to be on the business in hand. In order to motivate yourself, you have to have a goals. One of them is a dish best served cold .