Community Forums › Forums › Archived Forums › General Discussion › Legal Question for Web Dev– need advice
- This topic has 4 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by
Summer.
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January 16, 2016 at 3:08 pm #176712
crystalstreet10
MemberHello! I have a legal-ish question. I've built multiple sites for a client (including one on Studiopress theme) and used my web dev licenses and purchased one-time stock photo licensing as well.
He has since taken each site I've built for him and cloned them and deployed them on multiple URLs. And left the old sites that i built up as well. He doesn't have my permission in the slightest and never told me what he was doing. He's a chiropractor, so he doesn't know how this stuff works.
I've emailed him to inform him that what he's doing is illegal and he needs to purchase his own licensing for everything in those sites.
Has anyone ever dealt with this and do you have any links/resources for me to tackle.
Thanks!!!
I'm thinking my next step will be to notify all the places I purchased those licenses from and send them in his direction if he gets testy.
January 16, 2016 at 10:20 pm #176733James
ParticipantHi there
You built the sites for him, he paid you and so now he has a right to do what he wants with them. Unless you have a contract that states otherwise, they are legally his property.
The Genesis license says it can be used on multiple websites, http://opensource.org/licenses/GPL-3.0
I don't see why he has to purchases multiply licenses
Same with the stock images, you purchased them, but he has paid you, so now they are his to do what he wishes.
I understand where your coming from, I'm a dev too and have dozens of clients, all running on Genesis + themes + Images, but i would not for one second hassle a client if they were to take the website I build for them and do something else with it. They paid me, they own the site, not me.
I think client should have the freedom to take their website that they paid for and do as they wish...I think that is very, very fair.
I would let this one go, unless you want the cops at your door for harassment,
Chin up 🙂
January 17, 2016 at 2:29 pm #176794crystalstreet10
MemberI'd have to disagree. The rights I purchased for the photography definitely don't allow people to reuse them at will. As a former photographer, I know that much.
It also not as though he was doing this to the original site I built-- that's totally his to do with as he pleases--, he's cloning them and multiplying them all over the place. That just seems to be a violation of the licensing I purchased. I've since written it into my contracts that these sites can not be cloned at will, and I would think the vendors who I purchase products from would differ as well.
Maybe this is the difference in US law and Australia, but I'm pretty sure he would need to purchase his own licenses to clone the original site in the manner that he is. I know he needs to purchase the stock images.
I considered this client a friend, so I won't pursue legal action, but I don't want the original creators of these products coming after me either since the licensing was originally purchased by me, particularly because I use a fairly high-end stock image agency.
Thanks for the input!
January 17, 2016 at 4:05 pm #176797carasmo
ParticipantForward him the stock photo license. You are right, the high end stock photo houses have restrictive use licenses.
January 18, 2016 at 12:05 pm #176871Summer
MemberFrom what I understand, the Genesis licenses aren't fully transferable either. I had always allowed clients to use my Genesis license if they are on a maintenance plan with me, since me upgrading things when necessary is part of that plan.
But if it's a one-off deal, or they want to end the agreement, I make sure they know they need to purchase their own copies of Genesis and whichever child theme they have for their own usage. I insist upon it, because it's the right thing to do if they want to keep their versions of Genesis up-to-date.
I also don't want them screaming later that it's my fault if the site breaks when a WordPress update breaks an old Genesis installation. Sometimes you can't argue with folks who just don't understand how this stuff works... which is why they hired you in the first place :/
WordPress / Genesis Site Design & Troubleshooting: A Touch of Summer | @SummerWebDesign
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