Ripoff of my PCB design tutorial - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 25, 2014, 11:14:15 pm
content: Blatant ripoff of my tutorial from an Indian CAD services company:http://www.ceda.in/Link%20Files%20with%20TrainingFAQs/PCBDesignTutorialRevC.pdfThey have added stuff, but a big bulk of it is mine just copy and pasted.Original:http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/files/PCBDesignTutorialRevA.pdf

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2014, 11:20:53 pm
content: RevC? Seems like they think they've made improvements...

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2014, 11:28:51 pm
content: Quote from: 8086 on January 25, 2014, 11:20:53 pmYes they added stuff which looks like it was ripped off from herehttp://frontdoor.biz/HowToPCB/HowToPCB-Schematics.htmland herehttp://www.pcbdesign007.com/pages/columns.cgi?clmid=35&artid=57173&_pf_=1and herehttp://www.pcb007.com/pages/zone.cgi?artcatid=0&artid=51801&pg=2

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2014, 11:30:43 pm
content: Just for fun and kicks, send them a bill and a draft of a license.

author: Skimask
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2014, 11:31:49 pm
content: Or a really bad rewrite with some blatantly bad information in it and tell them it's an updated version with happy fun time good info.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2014, 11:41:29 pm
content: Bill should go to Probir Debnathhttp://in.linkedin.com/pub/probir-debnath/36/627/587Same name can be found in the ripoff PDF ...

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2014, 11:56:37 pm
content: Quote from: wilfred on January 25, 2014, 11:40:14 pmSearch for phrases - not that hard.Looks to be copied here without attribution alsohttp://worldtechnical.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/pcb-design-tutorial.html

author: Legit-Design
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 04:30:50 am
content: Copying is just one form of flattery. Maybe they outsourced it and didn't bother to run plagiarism checks. Not trying to defend anyone, but it happens. Like this one:http://antivirus.about.com/b/2010/06/23/worlds-no-1-hacker-hacked.htm

author: nitro2k01
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 07:50:58 am
content: Arguably, it's your own fault for putting "Freely distributable for educational and personal use." Yeah, complete dick move removing the copyright/attribution information, but strictly speaking, can you blame them? I think the right course of action would be to ask them, not to take down the tutorial, but change the attribution appropriately. They will probably remove it anyway in a knee-jerk move, but worth a try.

author: Wytnucls
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 08:34:06 am
content: 'Copyright© 2004 David L. Jones'At least they don't try to profit directly from it. I think that a proper attribution is in order and altering the file without Dave's approval is uncouth. The person responsible may be unaware of the potential litigation and may be open to constructive solutions.If Dave feels strongly about it, he should email the company director and ask him to correct the site presentation to Dave's satisfaction.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 08:57:29 am
content: Sincere flattery, but they really should not have taken the name and info about the real writer off of it. Dave gives this freely, and only expects that the people who read and use it give him kudos for the work. A polite letter/email to the head asking for an attribution and a link to the website where you can get the original is the least they could do for a start.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 09:15:40 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on January 25, 2014, 11:40:14 pmA forum member found it in a search and noticed the similarity.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 09:20:17 am
content: Quote from: nitro2k01 on January 26, 2014, 07:50:58 amMy intention with that of course was that the PDF itself was freely distributable as-is with all my info intact. Hence the word "distributable". Otherwise I would have put it public domain or something.Not to rip out the info and pass it off as your own. It still has copyright clearly marked in it.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 09:28:32 am
content: It's typical of east-Asian culture to do this, they find stuff on the Internet and remix it; copyright is hardly a concern for many of them....and then you see how China and India have alotmore hobbyists interested in electronics than anywhere else... and growing...

author: electron_misfire
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 10:38:45 am
content: I agree that a polite E-mail or letter would make them change it

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 11:03:06 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on January 26, 2014, 10:54:26 amWhile it's nice to be politically correct all of the time, it seems to be the case that east asian countries don't really care about copyright.

author: nitro2k01
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 11:45:30 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on January 26, 2014, 10:54:26 amI think you're confusing the terms. If you would poll people in various countries in Asia and in the West, I think you'll find that there's a deeply rooted culture of disrespecting copyright in Asia. You could explain in various ways. People were not brought up being told that copyright is important in these countries. You have poverty combined with a growing economy and industry, all factors which are conducive to an environment where copyright isn't respected.We here in the West may like to cut corners here and there, but we don't have a whole industry built on the exploitation of copyright infringement, ie carbon copies of other people's products, (I'm talking production of goods here, not private copying of music and other media). In part because we have an effective legal system to fend it off if should occur, in part because we don't want it to happen to ourselves which means there's a limit to how hypocritical we allow ourselves to be. What thisisn't-- and this is where the confusion may arise -- is genetical orinherentin any culture. But cultural, yes, you bet.I believe that this culture is largely accepted by consensus. Copying other people's products (and having your own products copied) is an accepted part of reality there, much like it's an accepted part of reality here, that if you go too far, you'll have to drink the alphabet soup cooked by people calling themselves lawyers. And if you come from one culture, the other might seem shocking or extreme.But hey, maybe I'm wrong, and all cultures are actually completely equal just because a phenomenonexistsin all of them.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 12:02:54 pm
content: $5/hour for PCB design services, that's cheap.http://ceda.in/PCB_Design_Services.htmlI love it how their brochure has a photo of my friend Dave.B at work in his cubicle next to mine!http://ceda.in/Link_Files_with_NOIDA/Circuit_PCB.pdf

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 12:39:16 pm
content: At my request they have promptly removed the content.Although I still see the file, so perhaps it is cached or something.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 12:46:58 pm
content: Not a cached copy, I tried looking at it for the first time now, and it is still being served.Naughty to say they will take it down and leave it up, or the webmaster ( or the one who has the password and knows how to do the magic server stuff) is at his other job in a call centre and will do it when his shift is over.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 12:50:15 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on January 26, 2014, 12:46:58 pmIt's gone now for me.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 12:51:05 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on January 26, 2014, 12:02:54 pmAnd that little schematic is one they took from an Elektor publication.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 01:15:52 pm
content: Well, seems the file has not dissapeared entirely:PCBDesignTutorialRevC.pdfThe uploader doesn't seem to be linked to the indian company, in fact I think the guy is french or at least speaks french judging by his collection of documents.On a different topic, I find the brochure funny, with Dave's coworker in itHow would Dave.B react to that?

author: deth502
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 02:06:53 pm
content: Quote from: ivan747 on January 26, 2014, 01:15:52 pmive had my photos stolen and used in publications before. i know theres not a damn thing i can do about it, so i try to look at it as flattering, although no credit is ever given.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2014, 03:49:09 pm
content: Even proffesors seem to plagiarize these days, where, or will it ever, end?

author: ampdoctor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2014, 04:33:18 am
content: Damn, that's got to just chap your ass to see that! And this is why so many companies and individuals, grind part numbers off of chips, goop circuit boards, and do all kinds of things to obfuscate the design. They know they're going to get their intellectual property pimped and they cant do shit about it when it happens. So at least let's make them work their asses off to get it.Here's a little tidbit of trivia. Martin Luther King plagiarized roughly half of his doctoral thesis.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 27, 2014, 04:54:33 am
content: Quote from: Rufus on January 25, 2014, 11:56:37 pmI got that one removed too.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2014, 07:51:26 am
content: Funny how their website doesn't list Altium Designer as a tool they use

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2014, 01:08:44 pm
content: Quote from: nitro2k01 on January 26, 2014, 11:45:30 amI think it's largely because copyright is a western invention, and the Asian culture is more collectivist and sharing things is the norm.Quote from: nitro2k01 on January 26, 2014, 11:45:30 amExactly. Copying is also what drives a lot of the innovation there - instead of relying on IP laws, many companies copy their competitor's designs and then improve upon them in some way, then their competitors do the same. I've talked to a few who work in the Chinese electronics industry and one of the memorable quotes I remember is "fighting the copiers is a waste of time, we rather spend time to improve our product".

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2014, 05:18:32 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on January 27, 2014, 01:08:44 pmConvenience Excuse #1. When that excuse is not convenient we in the West instead get told Convenience Excuse #2: Since the West dared to steal fireworks, china, paper, printing, the compass and whatnot Asia has the moral right to ripoff whatever they get their hands on.Apply whatever excuse is currently more convenient.