What does "copyright" mean?

re: What does "copyright" mean?

rjstinyc — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 02:20:16 GMT

Too mix it up a bit more...

Nice to see that Microsoft and Donavon West had already given out some code to allow public use of the VistaCountDown Gadget at least to display it on their own website.

Granted though... republishing the gadget on Live Gallery is really going too far.

Code pasted from http://livegadgets.net/#blog_00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001

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Keep up the good professional work !

Donavon

Best Regards,

Richard J. Rothery Jr.

re: What does "copyright" mean?

sxmangel — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 00:51:03 GMT

At first glance it would seem like Donavon was ranting but if you really look at it, he's trying to make a valid point. Perhaps the fact that he used his own experience makes it seem like he's venting his own personal frustrations but that isn't the big issue here.

Copyright infringement has been going on for a while now; however I didn’t think people were so blatantly proud of it. At least it’s being dealt with. Hopefully it works out for the best Donavon.

re: What does "copyright" mean?

bf1977 — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:58:26 GMT

I am happy Donavon for you to have obtained to decide this problem. Therefore to make its accountant of the Vista, it spent time and its intellect, therefore I do not agree to what the face made there that it was to steal its code and its idea to create an accountant as if was of it.

re: What does "copyright" mean?

Chris — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 05:28:20 GMT

Some interesting comments here;

Nathan - I'm with you on this, I can patch things up to make them do what I want, but creating the original is definitely not a strong point, so the idea of a DIY gadget made via webpage is an interesting one.

Wes , delldude and BV2312 - Nothing much to say really, except I agree.

Phunky and kenbw2 - I agree that LiveSide isn't a personal rant blog, and perhaps donavon's post was slightly too far inclined in that direction. However I think the post raises an interesting discussion that is going to become more apparent as widgets/gadgets gain in popularity. With independent developers seeking to gain commissions for gadgets and make a living from them more and more, issues over who owns the code will become more commonplace.

As always, if you want to give feedback at any time we have the dedicated email address feedback*at*liveside*dot*net or you can email me if you would prefer.

re: What does "copyright" mean?

donavon — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 05:27:53 GMT

I have been contacted by Mitch who said he would be removing the current gadget and posting an apology on his blog. We're both cool about the situation and I offered my assistance in creating his own countdown gadget. I look forward to sitting down with Mitch for a drink at the upcoming MVP summit.

I was also contacted by Microsoft. They are conscious of the whole "submitting someone elses work as their own" situation from a gallery point of view and the larger issue of copyright infringement in general. They said that they are looking into the matter, which as far as I am concerned has been resolved.

re: What does "copyright" mean?

donavon — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:33:51 GMT

blognc: Thanks for the suggestion. I've considered something like this and have some cool user customizable gadget in the works

phunky: I think I have a good mix of technical articles (recently the "alert" post and the Write Once Run Everywhere post) and yes, a relevant rant or two. Direct complaints to Chris (of LiveSide)

delldude190: I'm not trying to belittle Mitch's abilities. I'm sure with his talent he could have easilly written the gadget himself. I simply wanted to spark a lively debate on the issue of copyright (as it appears that I have). I don't know Mitch and have nothing against him personally.

kenbw2: Gadget/IG went on perma-hold when I discovered Live.com was doing the same thing (as I pointed out in a recent post)

re: What does "copyright" mean?

kenbw2 — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 03:09:24 GMT

I'm sorry, but I'm with phunky here. I'm yet to see a post here from you that is more about Windows Live than a blatant advert for your LiveGadgets site.

I like what you do at LiveGadgets (especially the idea of Gadget/IG - what happened to that?), but please make your posts relevant.

re: What does "copyright" mean?

BV2312 — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 01:47:52 GMT

I think it's wrong what another MVP did, sets a bad image of MVP now especailly when he brags 'hack'

@phunky i think he has used it to show readers or even ask a question what is copyright - personally i would not have read the post unless it was here

re: What does "copyright" mean?

delldude190 — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 23:39:30 GMT

i think it is wrong to do that.... but i guess some people are just jealous of other peoples abilities and think if they try to copy it, that it would make them look better.

re: What does "copyright" mean?

Khristopher — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 22:40:45 GMT

Why is liveside your personal rant blog?

re: What does "copyright" mean?

wideawakewesley — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 22:13:14 GMT

Taking other people's work and using it in this manner without taking due care to ask for permission etc. is poor form and I hope this guy apologises and does whatever it takes to rectify the situation.

re: What does "copyright" mean?

blognc — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 22:12:26 GMT

Donavon, the funny thing is I was thinking about how, after Vista came out, I'd want to hack the Gadget to countdown to something new. Luckily, I know as much about writing code as I do about refrigerator repair, that is, not at all, so I would not have been able to do it myself anyway. That said, have you considered doing a program that would let others create customizable Sidebar countdown gadgets? Something simple: Specify a date, submit an image, and your code would create a Gadget of much better quality than a typical hack-job. That would be really useful, and save you the hassle of creating countdown Gadgets for every occasion. Plus, you could keep your copyright and website links intact, so that if a ton of people shared their Gadgets, you'd get even more publicity.

re: What does "copyright" mean?

blognc — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 22:11:15 GMT