Content copied off my website..Copyright?

Maxwellcomp12

Hiya,

I recently paid a designer to design my blog. After having the design up for a few days, I have found someone has basically copied the layout and even has gone as far as using some of the colours I have had used on the design. Social media buttons I have, have also been copied. They have also copied designs of pages that I had designed for me... Where do I stand with this please?

Thank you

System

Are you sure that your designer didn't just use one of the myriad of template designs available?

The other question is who holds the copyright for the design? You or does the designer still hold it? What does your contract say?

Maxwellcomp12

Hi,

Yes I can prove that the designer designed the lot for me. It was personally designed for me. I told her what I wanted, colours, images, writing. I explained every bit of the layout how I wanted it.

I hold the copyright for the design x

macman

Are you sure that your designer hasn't designed the other site too and 'incorporated' some of your design features into it? Most web designers use templates to some degree and then modify them for each customer.
Presumably your site includes a copyright warning on it? If so contact the owner, letter before action, and give them 7 days to take it down.

gb12345

Have you checked to see when the other domain was registered and taken a look to see if Google has a cache of it so you can work out whether your site was created first or the other one.

It would be a bit embarrassing if you sent LBAs and they replied saying they'd had the layout for ages and you are breaching their copyright.