Hi Guys,
Is it okay to use cloned scripts? Are there any legal issues with using a cloned script?
If you are not stealing any code or script then you should be fine.
Cheers,
THAKKAR
Thank you for the reply. No. I’m not stealings any script or code. I’m just using a cloned one.
Perhaps you didn’t steal anything.
Where I live it’s also illegal to “receive stolen property” and it’s illegal to use stolen materials that are copyrighted.
So regardless of how or where you got the clone script, if the source doesn’t have the legal right to distribute it you might get in trouble yourself.
Perhaps you could clarify what you mean by a “cloned” script. If you mean one that was copied from another script, and that other script was protected by copyright, then it might well be illegal to use it - especially if you knew it was illegally copied.
Without knowing more about the circumstances - or in which country you are based - I can’t say for sure. But I wouldn’t assume that what you are doing is OK.
Mike
Clone scripts from sites such as
http://clonephp.com/
http://www.cloneidea.com/
http://www.hotscripts.com/category/scripts/php/scripts-programs/clone-scripts/
etc
are perfectly legal to use. Since the original scripts from which these have been cloned are server side scripts where the author of the clone has no access to the original source there can be no copyright issues.
The only potential problem would be if the original script has successfully patented some of their script’s functioning in which case that part of the function would not be able to be cloned.
The other thing to remember is that the original scripts from which cloned scripts are cloned have been written over a long time by a team of programmers whereas the clone is likely to have been written by fewer programmers over a shorter time and so the clone will generally only copy the general functioning of the original and will have most of the detailed functioning missing.
You can also never expect your clone copy to ever become anywhere near as popular as the original site.
Clone scripts from sites such as … are perfectly legal to use. Since the original scripts from which these have been cloned are server side scripts where the author of the clone has no access to the original source there can be no copyright issues.
Stephen,
I’m not sure I understand that. Are you saying that the author of the clone copies the functionality of the original, but not the actual source code? In other words, he creates an entirely new script, but one that does the same thing as the original?
If that’s the case, then of course you are right - it is not illegal. The clone author is merely copying the idea, and, as we know, there is no copyright on ideas. I understood from the original question that it was the script itself - the actual code - that was being copied. That would be an entirely different matter.
Mike