Someone copied my forums?

[phrone]

Don't know if this is anything that can be helped, or if I posted in the right forum.. but http://www.gemonic.com/ copied my forums ( http://www.anythingtalk.com ) and says he will be having it up for a "little bit" and thats all. He said he's doing it because "I have been acting like a jackass to him". What can I do?

[hotdog_pk]

as long as he doesnt steal visitors i think everything is ok... i would also get the header information from any email that you have sent eachother and try to block them from your site using a wildcard

[phrone]

It was on AIM.. I can get his IP and ban him, but I'd rather him not use my catagories.. AnythingTalk.com is coming a long way now, and I don't want him to make a forum like mine that easy. He know is telling me he will take down the forums ONLY if I help him out.. would this be black mail in any way?

[Darren06]

He cant get in trouble for just copying the categories.

[phrone]

I didn't want trouble, lol. But is there anything I can do at all? Other than ask him, because I already had. Say I had the copyright info removed from Invision.. would my board then be copyright, and he get in trouble then?

[hotdog_pk]

have youy got a copyright that covers all content?

[phrone]

I can buy that, right?

[Banned: Tippy]

After visiting his Forum I dont see anything I'd worry about much, I'm not sure what you could do about him copying your Cats./Wording bur I certainly wouldnt help this person.

Mike

[phrone]

I will not be helping him the future, dont you worry. He has told me that he will take anythingtalk.com down for how ever long he wants to. He says that his dad works for the government and has programs that take down sites on demand..

[Anthony Ng]

... but I'd rather him not use my catagories.. AnythingTalk.com is coming a long way now, and I don't want him to make a forum like mine that easy.

To be frank, I don't think gemonic.com is ANYWHERE near anythingtalk.com in terms of activities and membership. Simply copying the forums (and their descriptions) would NOT help him AT ALL. If I were you, I would send him a professionally worded warning and leave it at that.

[phrone]

I have contacted him.. not in a professional way though. If I had the copyright info removed, could he get in trouble then?

NEW::

The kid is now using my name "phrone" on his forums. This could put my name to shame, and I don't need that all over again..

[ToastyX]

You don't seem to understand what copyrights are. When you create something, you automatically have the rights to it. You don't buy copyrights. You can register them, but it is not a requirement for copyright protection.

He says that his dad works for the government and has programs that take down sites on demand.

What a load of BS. How old is this kid, 12? He seems like an immature little brat. I'd just ignore him. The more you let his actions bother you, the more satisfaction he receives. If you really want to teach him a lesson, consult a lawyer, but I don't think it's worth the time or effort.

[phrone]

He's actually 13.. I don't think age matters much because I'm 15. He is indeed an immature little brat.

What would I lawyer be able to get me?

[namedropper]

You can't copyright category names like that. Don't worry about him, he has an empty board, just makes him look stupid. He probably got more hits from us looking at the site than he would have gotten on his own. Just ignore him completely.

And his dad working for the government? LOL. How pathetic.

[Mr Webname]

What would I lawyer be able to get me?

Probably a large bill!
Imitation is the highest form of flattery they say - if it were me I would take away the fun for him by pulling the plug on all arguments/conversations and just let his forum die from inactivity.
The more you discuss it with him the more you add fuel to keep him going.

[RMF]

He has NO members, so I wouldn't worry about it.

If you want some revenge, you could give his parents a phone call, and explain that if he doesn't stop with the copyright infringement and threats, you will file a lawsuit against him.

RMF

[phrone]

He doesn't live in my state :p If he did however, I would have done it already.

Thanks for the tips and info guys

[parabola]

I agree. The payoff for this guy is in being able to yank you around. Stop the yank by ending all interaction with him.

Good luck.

[phrone]

Allright. I will ignore all Instant messages and emails I get from him. Thanks guys, I will post if something happens.

[jberryhill]

He's actually 13.. I don't think age matters much because I'm 15. He is indeed an immature little brat.

What would I lawyer be able to get me?

A large, mature brat.