A question before ordering...

[whydou]

Hi, please let me make sure I understand this correctly... the forum software costs $195 and even after paying it s still required to leave the "Powered by VBulletin" in the footer? If that is true isn't it somewhat ridiculous to pay that much and still have to brand it under another company?

[ENF]

Hi, please let me make sure I understand this correctly... the forum software costs $195 and even after paying it s still required to leave the "Powered by VBulletin" in the footer? If that is true isn't it somewhat ridiculous to pay that much and still have to brand it under another company?

You have the option to purchase the branding option which enables you to remove those references.

And, it's not ridiculous to pay $195 and still be required to comply with their copyright rules. It is their software not yours, that you are paying for a license to use.

If those fees are too much, then please do check out the other free forum software packages available. Other paid forum software, I believe, have the same copyright requirements and additional costs if you want a brand-free version.

[whydou]

You have the option to purchase the branding option which enables you to remove those references.

And, it's not ridiculous to pay $195 and still be required to comply with their copyright rules. It is their software not yours, that you are paying for a license to use.

If those fees are too much, then please do check out the other free forum software packages available. Other paid forum software, I believe, have the same copyright requirements and additional costs if you want a brand-free version.

No need to get defensive, I'm simply trying to figure things out before jumping into a huge time (and possibly money) investment. Is this how you treat newbs to your support forum? I mean no offense with the question and have already been snapped at.

Is it even a copyright? The reason I used the term ridiculous is because building forums is hard work and takes dedication to maintain a strong community. While the software itself might be copyright by the developers, the content of the site it runs on IS NOT. It just seems ridiculous to build a strong content base and have some other company's name as the copyright in the footer, as if they own the content.

"Powered by" is one thing, but "copyright" is RIDICULOUS. Ask a copyright attorney.

[beishe8]

No need to get defensive, I'm simply trying to figure things out before jumping into a huge time (and possibly money) investment. Is this how you treat newbs to your support forum?

ENF stated the facts,did not attack you.

[Riasat]

"Powered by" is one thing, but "copyright" is RIDICULOUS. Ask a copyright attorney.

You misunderstood. Powered by means the forum is running vbulletin. and the copyright next to it refers to the FORUM SOFTWARE not your forum.
The copyright of YOUR FORUM belongs to you and you are free to add "all rights reserved copyright whydou" at the bottom (thru admincp > options > copyright text)

[ENF]

You misunderstood. Powered by means the forum is running vbulletin. and the copyright next to it refers to the FORUM SOFTWARE not your forum.
The copyright of YOUR FORUM belongs to you and you are free to add "all rights reserved copyright whydou" at the bottom (thru admincp > options > copyright text)

Very excellent point. I should have pointed that out in my post above.

And of course, no I wasn't attacking you.. it was simply a statement of fact about the branding options of paid forum software.

[Mark.B]

You can see in the footer of my own site how I deal with the copyright matter, as stated vBulletin's copyright refers to the software itself, rather than the content of your site.

It's standard practice, not just with forum software but with most software that powers websites in some way.

I do agree that potentially it's never been worded well and to someone unfamiliar viewing the unmodified footer they MIGHT think that the copyright refers to the entire site. But for some reason it's always been the accepted norm to do it this way, and I don't profess to have a better suggestion.

Perhaps it should say "Software Powered by vBulletin...." or something.

Incidentally the "Powered by Vbulletin" phrase also appears in the title bar of the browser by default, but you CAN remove this on a standard license.

[Riasat]

I do agree that potentially it's never been worded well and to someone unfamiliar viewing the unmodified footer they MIGHT think that the copyright refers to the entire site..

I edit the template to make the powered by and copyright vbulletin appear in a SINGLE line which helps to remove any such confusion.

[Mark.B]

I edit the template to make the powered by and copyright vbulletin appear in a SINGLE line which helps to remove any such confusion.

That's a good idea.

There also used to be a "shortened" version of the copyright text which the team said was acceptable as a minimum. Can't remember what it was but I think it also removed the version number and put the whole thing on one line. From memory it also didn't have the word "Powered by" at the start. Perhaps the team could confirm this is still ok for people to do.

[whydou]

I said "snapped at", not attacked.

You misunderstood. Powered by means the forum is running vbulletin. and the copyright next to it refers to the FORUM SOFTWARE not your forum.
The copyright of YOUR FORUM belongs to you and you are free to add "all rights reserved copyright whydou" at the bottom (thru admincp > options > copyright text)

Thanks for the clear response.

I do agree that potentially it's never been worded well and to someone unfamiliar viewing the unmodified footer they MIGHT think that the copyright refers to the entire site. But for some reason it's always been the accepted norm to do it this way, and I don't profess to have a better suggestion.

Perhaps it should say "Software Powered by vBulletin...." or something.

You are right. Simply having "Powered by" would cause much less concern than having a copyright notice. Besides, if the code itself is copyright then the copyright should be in the code and should not be at the footer as if that same copyright also encompasses the content on the site.

There also used to be a "shortened" version of the copyright text which the team said was acceptable as a minimum. Can't remember what it was but I think it also removed the version number and put the whole thing on one line. From memory it also didn't have the word "Powered by" at the start. Perhaps the team could confirm this is still ok for people to do.

Very interested as to what this shortened version is. If only the "Powered by" is acceptable then that's reasonable.



Thanks all

[Mark.B]

You are right. Simply having "Powered by" would cause much less concern than having a copyright notice. Besides, if the code itself is copyright then the copyright should be in the code and should not be at the footer as if that same copyright also encompasses the content on the site.



Very interested as to what this shortened version is. If only the "Powered by" is acceptable then that's reasonable.



Thanks all

No in both the cases I have referred to, the text I have quoted is just the start....both cases would still have the copyright line. That is required legally.

I think the shortened version used be "vBulletin, © 2011 Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd". That *used* to be the minimum acceptable under the license, I don't know if that's changed but you do still see sites with just that. (Obviously vB4 onwards says "vBulletin Solutions" rather than "Jelsoft Enterprises").

[Dirt Bike Addict]

Very interested as to what this shortened version is. If only the "Powered by" is acceptable then that's reasonable.

The "shortened" version is

Copyright © 2011 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

You do not need the "Powered by..." text.

[Mark.B]

The "shortened" version is

Copyright © 2011 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

You do not need the "Powered by..." text.

I think you do need the word "vBulletin" at the start, as the product name.

[Dirt Bike Addict]

I think you do need the word "vBulletin" at the start, as the product name.

Where? In front of the above text?

[Steve Machol]

At a minimum, you need:

vBulletin, Copyright © 2011 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.