Maybe Free is Too Cheap
I was recently contacted by someone asking if the page flip effect currently being sold on this site for 200€ (about $275) was using the old code I gave away for free. Much to my surprise, it was. The 200€ price increase doesn't even add any new features.
I can appreciate a guy trying to make a buck and all, but that price seems especially steep when you consider the fact that you'll only be getting a SWF file (not the FLA) because as the site states:
"We don't sell our source files, so you can't make any modifications yourself..."
So what do you think about that?
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It is unfortunate, but I believe that borrowing code will always be part of any coders protocol. I think that if we see code we made borrowed, (or stolen) then be greatful that what you have done is worth something that others want. There is no greater compliment then someone using what you created.
@Dave Jansen, The sample (shown here) has the exact same buttons, gradient and motion as my FREE PageFlip. That’s an extremely unlikely coincidence. The sample code you provided doesn’t seem to relate to the actual Page Flipping effect. Maybe they just translated my code to Spanish and added a function or two. Did you ever get the FLA file to produce a SWF? If so, did it look like the sample?
Well, first of all I had to get a refund because the file didn’t work with either Flash 8 or CS3, plus the code was in spanish! DOH.
code sample:
function activarBotones(numeroBoton) {
botones.btnMain.enabled = false;
_root.seguir = 1;
for (a=1; a<=10; a++) {
botones.botones["btn"+a].enabled = false;
cuadro[_root.nombreIma]["cuadro"+a].desActivarIntervalo(numeroBoton);
}
@Dave Jansen, I’d love to see the code you payed for as I’m 99.99% certain that the PageFlip file shown on the site above is derived from my code.
Nah, I bought that flash page flip and the script isn’t even the same, looks the same though.
This guy is selling your code on a other blog!
http://dreamlinestudio.com/blog/flash-page-flip/11/
He only changed the images.
I think a lot of people think everything on the Internet should be free. I agree that the open environment fosters and expands creativity in general, but the world economy doesn’t run on free. Who doesn’t enjoy getting free digital prints, or free premium content from sports sites, and on and on. Maybe try some sort of copyright on your code the next time. That way, if you find someone’s taking advantage of you, you can tell them you had it copyrighted and get something out of them. Even if you just protect yourself with some sort of copyright on your site, it might deter some people. Also, try including a friendly note that says something like, “This is intended for fun and creativity, not profit, so please don’t sell my work that you’re getting for free!” Just some thoughts.
Hi guys
this kind of thing is a fact of life - I did a nice site for a large (ie. rich) UK company - our terms & conditions state that only the pubished site (ie SWFs) are copyrighted to their company, The source remains our copyright. The company decised to “refresh” the site using a cheaper agency and lo! all the SWFs had been decompiled and reassembled EXACTLY as the originals. Life’s too short for litigation, GUNS are the only solution. David.
I just noticed that the owner of the site I initially linked to has removed the page in question so I have updated the link to point to The Internet Archive Wayback Machine’s copy of the page.
Steve, HTML is a mark up language, and therefore, any formatting of the HTML can easily be replicated without looking at the source, therefore how can anyone copyright their HTML? the same goes for CSS. you can’t ‘blame’ HTML, it just isn’t a pheasible argument.