One Final Theme - 140!
There is one more theme that should be considered for the competition, however it isn’t listed here with the others. Denis Somar created “Taft” and submitted it on time to the proper address, etc. However - the initial submission was huge (1.7MB) so I asked him to see if he could bring it down in size. He’s cut it down to just over 500KB, but that is still a bit big. My concern is that if I included it with the others in the Theme Browser, someone on a dialup connection would get a pretty nasty surprise as they are clicking through the themes.
The solution we came up with is to keep Taft hosted on Denis’s server, and I’d link to it from here. He has set up a test blog so you can check it out - it’s great work.
Without further ado, I present Theme #140: Taft.
March 28th, 2005 at 10:27 am
Wow. 1.7mb! I guess that wins the value for money prize:-)
March 28th, 2005 at 10:53 am
Is there a download link?
March 28th, 2005 at 10:57 am
I’ve asked him to set one up - I’ll post it when I get it.
March 28th, 2005 at 12:00 pm
Alex,
Thanks for your post, I may be setting up an Alex King dedication on my site soon with all of your time and effort !
The individual page for Taft is:
http://www.secretweaponlabs.com/words/?page_id=53
The download link is here:
http://secretweaponlabs.com/downloads/taft1-0.zip
Cheers,
Denis
March 28th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
Wow, that theme is very unique! I like it.
March 28th, 2005 at 10:30 pm
Hi Alex
It was brought to my attention that this theme: http://www.alexking.org/software/wordpress/themes/blog/index.php?wptheme=Spring+Fairy is using stock from istockphoto.com
According to the terms, stock cannot be used for templates, even when those templates will be given away for free.
Might need to check the legallities of using unedited/unaltered stock imagary for free templates.
Pity, cos the template is really nice, but that is because it’s based on some of the best vector artwork available.
March 28th, 2005 at 10:32 pm
image is here http://istockphoto.com/file_closeup.php?id=447336
and the extact rule is here:
You may not:
(e) incorporate the Content in any product that results in a re-distribution of the Content (such as electronic greeting card web sites);
March 29th, 2005 at 1:47 am
I’m sorry to hear that, but very glad you let me know. I’m removing the theme immediately. Thanks.
March 29th, 2005 at 9:04 am
I’m not so sure that the use of the image is actually prohibited. The file download license says:
Don’t:
Use images in templates for resale
This template is not for resale, thus I think ok to be used here. The theme is probably my graphical favourite here and it would be shame to remove it.
The license fineprint is very confusing. It first says:
Permitted uses:
(c) use the Content in the following applications:
(i) advertising and promotional projects, including printed materials, packaging, presentations, film and video presentations, commercials, books and book covers, greeting cards and postcards;
And then further below it says:
Prohibited uses:
(e) incorporate the Content in any product that results in a re-distribution of the Content (such as electronic greeting card web sites);
So, can or can not be used as part of the greeting card? Or in this case template. I still think it can be used here.
Alex, maybe urging the theme author to ask the vector-drawing author about this would be appropriate.
March 29th, 2005 at 9:46 am
I am not a lawyer and I will err on the side of caution each time - but it appears quite clear that (e) prohits me from distributing their artwork (making it available for download).
March 29th, 2005 at 11:30 am
I think it’s a real shame that you would use the opinion of one person to determine if the Spring Fairy template should be removed or not. It’s pretty obvious that the intent of the license is to prevent a person from profiting from the use of the content. I beg you to show me how entering a template into this contest generates a profit.
March 29th, 2005 at 11:34 am
Another thought….have you checked all of the artwork from all of the themes to insure they are not using artwork from istockphoto.com? If not then you are still just as liable now as you were before you removed this template.
March 29th, 2005 at 11:35 am
I already sent e-mail to the theme author, if the author gets permission to use the image I will be more than happy to put it back up. However, by distributing the theme I was the one violating the license terms for the image and I choose to respect their license.
I am trusting the authors to legally license their themes. If they use an image in their theme that they do not own copyright of and do not get permission to include it, they are not legally allowed to license their theme (you can’t license someone elses work). I cannot check each and every theme, but if I am made aware of a problem I will not continue to make themes available that are not legally licensed.
March 29th, 2005 at 1:52 pm
For what it’s worth, Alex has been handling this situation very well. I imagine this can’t be easy for him, all he wants to do is host a theme competition (which has been FABULOUS for the users, no?). I’m emailing for permission and hope to get it soon so others can once again use my design, if they so desire.
March 29th, 2005 at 6:16 pm
Great work with the competition Mr. Alex. I’m kinda kicking myself because I didn’t submit my theme in time.
March 29th, 2005 at 7:04 pm
Hey, I’m not saying the author of the Spring Fairy theme knew that what they had done was against the terms and conditions of the iStock licence.
But being ignorant isn’t a defence if someone decides to take legal action.
I know for a fact (being an iStock contributor myself) that rule (e) applies to ALL distribution via electronic means.
Now, if the theme author had bothered to significantly alter the original artwork, there probably would be no issue. But the artwork has not been altered at all, and therein lies the legal problem.
March 29th, 2005 at 9:46 pm
I serioulsy doubt anyone would take legal action. The istock license also lists under permitted uses:
(ii) online or electronic publications, including web pages to a maximum of 640 x 480 pixels @ 72 dpi;
The section you refer to under prohibited uses states:
(e) incorporate the Content in any product that results in a re-distribution of the Content (such as electronic greeting card web sites);
I would submit that this template does not constitute a “product” in that it is not being sold unlike the example of a greeting card web site.
March 29th, 2005 at 10:03 pm
I can speak from experience here about istockphoto.com. They contacted me about a number of “for free” linkware templates that I had been offering on my web design site. I was required to remove the templates that contained istockphoto.com images.
The benchmark is NOT whether they are being sold, but rather whether they are being distributed. I tried that same argument with them: I’m not selling them, I’m offering them free of charge. It did not matter. I will try to find the email exchange between me and the istockphoto.com attorney where she clarified the point for me.
There’s an exhaustive discussion thread about this very issue at the istockphoto.com forum, also, which you can read here:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=7941
But this is from one of the admins, buried deep in the above-referenced thread:
I posted an exhaustive list of stock photo links in the WordPress Support Forum and currently, there are a HANDFUL who permit use of their images in templates and linkware, which is basically what these are.
HTH.
March 29th, 2005 at 10:25 pm
Here is the link to the PDF of the email I received last year when istockphoto.com revamped its EULA to include web templates, which apparently took quite a few in the web design/template design community by surprise.
http://www.webjones.org/JoniMueller.pdf
Here is the istockphoto.com’s legal eagle’s reply to my query about using the images IF they were for templates offered FOR FREE rather than FOR SALE:
I hope this sheds further light. I wish to emphasize that istockphoto.com (and other stock photo repositories with similar EULAs) DO NOT discourage designers using these images for a one-time design for a specific client. That is as the use is intended. You download the file, the photographer gets his/her royalty, you create your design, everyone is happy.
It is the wholesale redistribution (web templates, e.g.) that seems to get their hackles up. It’s not up to Alex to police the templates that are submitted. He’s just hosting the contest. It’s up to each designer to ensure that his or her offerings do not violate anyone’s licensing agreements. I am offering these comments to shed light on the consequences.
In other words, “Been there, done that!”
March 29th, 2005 at 10:52 pm
Thanks, Joni, for clearing that up. Basically what it comes down to is I dropped the ball on this one. And I apologize for it. But I’m more sorry that this discussion has taken up such space on this blog. The situation was under control, the theme has been removed and I simply wish Natalie had not seen fit to continue the discussion.
March 29th, 2005 at 10:56 pm
It looks like this has all been cleared up so I’m going to close comments on this post. Thanks to everyone who contribued useful information.
Another theme author contacted me to let me know that they had also used images from istockphoto.com so unfortunately we’ve lost another 3 themes from the competition.
I’d also like to thank the theme authors for stepping up and taking responsibility - you are both class acts.