Workflow on download.com?
It has come to my attention that Workflow is available for download on download.com (actually, it is listed twice). Normally, I suppose I would be flattered that some of my own software would appear on a site like that. That, however, is not the case in this situation for two important reasons.
- The version listed is woefully out of date (1.0.2)
- Most importantly, the license information given is vastly incorrect.
The site lists Workflow as having a free license without any limitations. That is very much not the case. While, yes, the plugin is free for personal users, commercial and non-profit/educational users need a license.
According to the statistics on download.com, Workflow has been downloaded from them over 300 times. Looking at the worst case scenario, in which every download would go to a commercial user who decided to use the plugin on their site(s), that would come out to about $82,000 of lost income for me. To take a more conservative approach, let's say that only 1 in every 100 downloads ended up on a commercial site for good, that's still $750.
While I am fairly certain that this was simply an honest mistake and no harm was intended, it is still pretty disconcerting. I am currently digging through download.com trying to find an email address or some kind of contact information so that I can get in touch with the right people who are able to either alter or remove the listing from the site.
Comments
Wow, big companies would probably raise a huge fuss about something like this. All I can find is the CNET forums; maybe someone there could direct you to the right place.
Posted by: Minh Nguyễn
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May 25, 2006 3:45 PM
After checking, all I could find is an email address for the CNET Download.com Site Director - it's Kelly.Morrison@cnet.com
Hope things get fixed - it's a shame big companies don't exhibit the respect and ethical fortitude they demand from everyone else.
Posted by: Helena Byers | September 6, 2006 12:02 PM
It's odd since someone would have had to submit your work. But they listed the publisher with the correct info.
Did you try here:
http://www.upload.com/1200-21_5-5148377.html?tag=help
"If you believe that a software product listed on CNET Download.com violates your copyrights"
Posted by: Domoni | September 7, 2006 8:00 PM