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Topic: Modifying a signature code, can or should this be considered as plagiarism?. (Read 569 times)

legendary
Activity: 3234
Merit: 1375
Slava Ukraini!
Good topic for discussion. These things like intellectual property have lot of grey areas. I'm talking not just about designs but also music, photos or books. It's also important whether you're going to use it personally or you need it for commercial purpose.
No matter what you're planning to do, asking for permission from author is must do thing. He spent his valuable time while creating design. It would unfair if someone who had made some changes in code would start to use design as his own without even asking for permission.
And finally, I think it's impossible to create 100% unique design, song or movie. It's normal that authors of it got inspired from others work and used their ideas. But it doesn't means that they copied it.
hero member
Activity: 3010
Merit: 794
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Some are really too very sensitive when their design or works had been copied by someone and some arent really just too very mindful regards to that.

Fixed it for you. Your opinion sounds so negative for us designers who have right to fight plagiarism.
Well, im not generalizing though and im not really that too negative and i do have respect not only on designers but also on other aspects as well yet being skilled on a particular field isnt really that easy

and its really frustrating when someone do really copy your work.Im just mentioning both side of things and i dont mean that much.Sorry if you do got offended on my opinion but the best thing

about this matter is always ask out some permission to the one who had created the original one because everybody doesnt know on how hard on making one.

My advice is, better ask permission from the original owner or owner of the code you like, if you are given the permission, you can go ahead modifying and using and using the code to your taste, thiz is just to avoid unwanted problems.
A must thing to be done if you dont like to have future conflicts neither with the community or from the owner itself.
Just like on what others said is that people on the community is just too sensitive when they do saw some similar designs
that they had encountered in the past which they would really give out some reactions and as the owner of said copy
design then you can really give out some reason and that would clear out the issues.
legendary
Activity: 2422
Merit: 1083
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
My advice is, better ask permission from the original owner or owner of the code you like, if you are given the permission, you can go ahead modifying and using and using the code to your taste, thiz is just to avoid unwanted problems.
legendary
Activity: 2982
Merit: 1506
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Some are really too very sensitive when their design or works had been copied by someone and some arent really just too very mindful regards to that.

Fixed it for you. Your opinion sounds so negative for us designers who have right to fight plagiarism.
hero member
Activity: 3010
Merit: 794
Should this question be applied to signature and bounty campaigns ann threads too then? I believe it should, because it looks like the same set of questions and issues from my point of view.

I see that people are using signature and bounty campaign ann designs from other people without asking permissions at all, and some of those people are writing in this topic too. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, thus not naming names and leaving that to anyone who has the desire or a need to do that, but those people should think about that instance too.

I don't think we should make a fuss about all those things as fair people would never have to copy that kind of stuff at all and would not have to ask if that is ok. My opinion is that is not ok, but everyone is different after all.

I see that copying other peoples work can only have negative effect on the individuals reputation.
Its just the same with ANN or bounty/signature thread too on where if you do tend to copy out the format or shall we say the overall design then its always advisable to ask out some permission on the original source
so that if someone do say that you do have some similarities on other threads you can tell that you had already ask out some permission.

Public can easily determined into those things that had already been seen in the past and when the time they do saw some similarities then they do already had that kind of bad impression or the worst you would really
get some negative trust since plagiarism is really a serious violation.

Some are really too sensitive when their design or works had been copied by someone and some arent really just too mindful regards to that.
hero member
Activity: 2520
Merit: 783

I see that copying other peoples work can only have negative effect on the individuals reputation.

That's why its never advisable to copy and modify the works of certain designers because it will really create confusion + negative effect to the company or to the people copy it, People should remember that in this industry reputation is the most valuable thing and we cannot get that if we do the certain thing here.

But it will be a different story once the modifier ask permission to the main designer since there's no plagiarism done if both parties agree with the set up.

Exactly! It sometimes depends on the designers, some designers may not just be too versatile enough to keep creating with very dynamic styles, he/ she may just be creating along the same pattern and probably be adjusting little of previous designs. Those professionalism are what should also be considered when dealing with designers, or could it be that it's intentional to their own pattern/brand?

Might some of designers here create a similar designs as their trademarks.

sr. member
Activity: 1246
Merit: 255
I think it will depend on who design the signature code.

Why not ask them(Designer) first if you can use their signature code and modify it. This is the best you can do if you want to use their BBcodes.

And I think if the designer is already been offline for many years you can also use the old design and modify the code to design it with your own.

Or for safety, start reading and learn how to create your own signature design there are lots of tutorials out there but you can check this link below.

- [LEARN] BBCode Lessons & Tutorials [+tutorial videos!]

Exactly! It sometimes depends on the designers, some designers may not just be too versatile enough to keep creating with very dynamic styles, he/ she may just be creating along the same pattern and probably be adjusting little of previous designs. Those professionalism are what should also be considered when dealing with designers, or could it be that it's intentional to their own pattern/brand?
sr. member
Activity: 378
Merit: 335
https://t.me/CRYPTOVlKING
Should this question be applied to signature and bounty campaigns ann threads too then? I believe it should, because it looks like the same set of questions and issues from my point of view.

I see that people are using signature and bounty campaign ann designs from other people without asking permissions at all, and some of those people are writing in this topic too. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, thus not naming names and leaving that to anyone who has the desire or a need to do that, but those people should think about that instance too.

I don't think we should make a fuss about all those things as fair people would never have to copy that kind of stuff at all and would not have to ask if that is ok. My opinion is that is not ok, but everyone is different after all.

I see that copying other peoples work can only have negative effect on the individuals reputation.
legendary
Activity: 2772
Merit: 3284
if I'm not mistaking too there's this user (Gyrsur) by username (just browse that out) promoting a separate project with the same design, Darkstar seems to haven't done anything about if which probably means he's cool with it.

I can't recall why I didn't leave them a negative trust feedback originally but I've done so now. Me not responding ≠ it being okay.
legendary
Activity: 2576
Merit: 1860
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In a situation when such code are modified to an extend its doesn't have much similarities to that of the original, who that be ok?.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but there are actually a lot of gray areas in this issue, probably even legally. For example, you could take someone else's code so that you won't have to start from complete trash, and then you would change the color, font, size, and so on and so forth. That would certainly come out as a new design, an original one, and nobody would know that you actually merely took an existing bbcode for it.

That would be the easier and safer option. Definitely not this kind of modification:


Well, we have what is called 'derivative work' and it could actually be copyrighted, but still not without the consent of the work from which the new work is derived.

But when you post it publicly. You don't have any control about it. Same case as when you post your ID in the Web. You can't imposed that people should not use it because it was yours.

Having no control over it and having the legal ownership and full rights over it are two different things. When you post an intellectual property publicly, it doesn't amount to offering it for everyone's use in whatever way they please.

You may post publicly something you own but once you notice that somebody else is using it as though it is his/her own, you could always run after him/her legally.
legendary
Activity: 2394
Merit: 2223
Signature space for rent
Technically its plagiarism as you know very well. It's punishable if the original creator of signature codes create accusation against you. Otherwise most likely no one will bother to report such as case. But I am not sure if it's punishable by the forum admins/moderators, I think very less possibility.

I have remembered one of my clients had created a signature by copy-paste Bitsler codes. I had denied them to use it and asked the Bitsler manager about it. And yahoo62278 referred me to the creator of the signature to get permission from him. Rather than avoid coming problems I had created a new design. So it's pretty clear you should ask the creator if you want to modify. If you are unable to contact with creator then at least ask the manager or owner, so you will get an answer either you want to use personally or commercially. It's better to stay safe from unnecessary drama.
hero member
Activity: 1358
Merit: 851
Until user hasn't taken permission from the creator, it's plagiarism. Signature designs are output of a lot of hard work and they are intellectual property of creator. Therefore, a signature design plagiarism should be considered as plagiarism if an user don't have permission from the original creator.
legendary
Activity: 2114
Merit: 1150
https://bitcoincleanup.com/
Signature kind of represents a brand and I would be very careful if I'm going to use that to promote my own company. Even if I got the permission of the original designer and the first company, it would still leave a bad taste to other people. "No originality" is definitely one of the issue that will thrown there.



If this is related to your post in archival and the campaign you are about to manage, you should probably asked them to hire a different designer.

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legendary
Activity: 3234
Merit: 5637
Blackjack.fun-Free Raffle-Join&Win $50🎲
No matter how legal something is or isn't, I don't think it's polite to take someone's work and use it with some minor modifications - not to mention that it can be confusing for other users. I know there have been a few users who have used modified CM signatures to protest the service as such - but what if another mixer showed up and started using similar signatures for their campaign?

Personally, I would never think of using anything (signature, avatar, logo) of another user without first asking for their opinion on it.
legendary
Activity: 2982
Merit: 1506
Pie Baking Contest: https://tinyurl.com/2s3z6dee
I'm fine if someone modifies my signature code, as long as; 1. He asks my permission first, and/or (2) it's for his own service. If I catch some projects using or modifying one of my signature designs, I'll try to find out who the designer. If it's designed by themselves, then I usually let them do that if our communication going well. If they purchased the design from other designer, I'll take serious action for it. I caught few of new designers doing this and since they were cooperative and promised to not repeat the action, I decided to not bring the issue any further.
legendary
Activity: 1568
Merit: 6660
bitcoincleanup.com / bitmixlist.org
To be clear, when I said:

So if a designer just posts a signature code out in the open, chances are they don't care whether you modify it or not. If they did they'd contact you after you use a modified signature.

I was referring to the case of another designer using someone else's signature as a template for them to make a different design and layout on, not the layman's case of lazily replacing words in a signature, like the example sig Darker45 showed. Obviously the owner the sig is advertising don't like when someone uses their design for their own business, because it might dilute their reputation.

Same reason why Fortune 500 companies regularly sue businesses who infringe on their trademarks.
legendary
Activity: 2408
Merit: 4282
eXch.cx - Automatic crypto Swap Exchange.
this is plagiarism, it would not be considered plagiarism unless you asked for permission to modify the subscription.

I wasn't referring to a campaign in my statement. For every Campaign I launch, there's a requirement from me for them to provide me with the signature code. In a situation when they (project owner) doesn't have an idea on how to do that then I put them through via linking them with a signature designer that give then something of their choosen.

I meant my personal business or when I intend passing a message across via my signature space (but I get your point). From the contributions so far I think there's a mix reaction and not mixed view on the question.
legendary
Activity: 3164
Merit: 1127
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
I chosen some signature code I found their ads to be attractive or perfect, do some adjustment and used the code on my profile to advertise my business.

this is plagiarism, it would not be considered plagiarism unless you asked for permission to modify the subscription. You only modified a few things, but people looking at the original subscription will be able to notice the similarities and this causes discomfort for those who created the subscription and those who paid for the subscription. I believe it is better for you to hire someone to create a signature for you or you most create a signature without using the code of another signature and modify some parts.
hero member
Activity: 2716
Merit: 698
Dimon69
copper member
Activity: 2324
Merit: 2142
Slots Enthusiast & Expert
So you have two things: the visual and the code. Both have to be treated separately because each has its own license and stuff.  By the way, copyright violation is not the same as plagiarism.

About this modified signature, the creator has the copyright (by nature) about the visual. Any changes/usage if it's not categorized as fair use, will violate the copyright. BUT this is the internet where "stealing" visual/image is pretty common. It depends on whether the creator wants to make a case or not.

About the code, not sure if the creator didn't use someone else's code to produce the signature. No proper licensing here, so it's a weaker case.
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