Sensitive client issue....

Pank,

are you sure it's illegal? Would you not have to have a company copyright to say that everything you produce is yours? A lot of websites out there are not companies and therefore their artwork can 'legally' be taken. I'm not sure about this law at all however but surely if someone was going to sue your stolen pieces of work would need to be copywritten for a successful court case?

mihai,
sorry to hear about the client. I'd stop business with him indefintely. I have been asked the exact same thing as you from someone i don't know. I trashed it as soon as i got it. Is the site he told you to mimic a registered company?

It may be registered - It does have the "All materials copyright...." text on the bottom but that's not really holding water if you don't have a legal paper that states the copyright - anyway - I convinced him not to go along with it -I told him I will make a complete new design. It will cost me - he will not pay for the new design I'm making but I get to keep him as a client which is good - I told him this would be the only time I will do something like this so there you have it...

thats a load of crap. that's not business...dump the client and move on.

I would so like to dump him right now...but can't - Oh well - let this be the worst thing that will ever happen to me

http://www.copyright.gov/

You might want to start searching this site. For starters, or I just realised you are in Romania, so there is probably a government site for your country.

I think I remember reading somewhere before that if you have a company that is registered, your web site would fall under that. For example if you were a web designer, anything that you created under your business is owned by your business. You dont have to copyright every roll over and button you make. So more than likely that site is copyrighted, and since it is up on the web, the date of its posting is documented and would hold in court if there ever was a lawsuit.

Lol Marble - a government copyright site for my country - you have got to be kidding - Romania only introduced copyright laws about a year ago and that only includes software, music, film and online transactions.
We don't even have radio copyright - I mean if I am a Romanian radio station I can air all the songs I want and never have to pay royalties - no matter how new or protected they are. The same with pictures.
Until a year ago every kid in Romania was buying stuff with bogus credit cards and when the cops came to the house to ask for the goods to be returned or for the money to be paid they would laugh and tell them to take a hike. They said "show me what law I broke!" - there was none. No crime comitted since online theft wasn't covered by Romanian laws. They hastily pushed a law protecting online transactions but it's got so many glitches that any two-dime lawyer can beat it. The sad art is that most online shops will now refuse to ship merchandise to Romania. Even if you're a real honest guy and you intend to pay they won't sell it to you. They've been hurt too bad too many times. Romania is a pirate's paradise...

The legal aspects were never my concern - I could take a whole site and just change the logo and say I did it - the law will not prosecute me for it here.

But even though the legislation allows me to rob someone blind I still have moral issues. I intend to go to my grave with a clear heart.
Besides I like to brag that I'm somewhat good with PS.
What value would my bragging have if I took credit for somebody else's work? Sure people might appreciate me but I'd know!!! I want to be appreciated for real....

And for the curious minds - No I didn't buy stuff with fake credit cards - although I could have - legally so. My daddy taught me to be proud even if I were to starve to death near a sizzling steak...