Here we go again... Unbelievable... My mind is blown... This same THIEF mentioned in the link below, known as (@BlackWhite), also known as (@Thanhhoai) has made ANOTHER copy cat app STEALING all of my copyrighted content. Here is a link to the previous story: https://www.buzztouch.com/forum/thread.php?tid=A50B60C905C8DF87AF2E9C4&fid=29FCCE999D443E6BA90435B&sortColumn=FT.id&sortUpDown=DESC&currentPage=1 The thief can be found at these links... https://www.buzztouch.com/Thanh%20hoai http://www.buzztouch.com/Black%20White This is amazing. I will AGAIN file a formal dispute with Apple. Here is the copy cat app this time: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/christian-wallpaper-lock-screens/id720159390?mt=8 Also, he is using my copyrighted content in a second app as well. Notice the icon. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pimp-screens-custom-wallpapers/id728217865?mt=8 I will do all I can to have Hoang Hai's Apple developer account banned. I hope this criminal is banned from this community as well. Unbelievable.

This is unfortunate again. Hopefully he will be banned from Buzztouch and Self-Hosted. This will at least prevent him from duplicating your apps exactly. Good luck!

I tried defending him the last time he did this to you, but to go ahead and do it a second time, not much else can be said. Best of luck getting this app removed and much success with your app sales, hope you can get this fixed before they get hurt too much. Keep us updated and let us know if there is anything we can do. I would suggest emailing Stephen (and David) if you haven't already, he mentioned he was in contact with the developer. David https://buzztouchmods.com/market

I don't understand why, after complaining to Apple about copyright infringement, Apple let him submit an app update just changing its name. Or, better yet, why he still has an account on Buzztouch.

I think he should be banned from buzz touch as he is not being a productive community member. Apple should also terminate his developer account for this. How can they let this sort of thing slide more than once! Since your work is copyrighted, why not take it up legally and have him punished by the law? He hasn't learned his lesson and has it all coming. Just what i would do. Hope it gets sorted, Jeremy

This is very unfortunate - I've helped BlackWhite out with apps in the past and now I'm regretting that I did. Strange, because he seemed so apologetic in the last thread

Incredible

I've contacted Stephen regarding all of this and he was as shocked as I was that this is happening again. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure this doesn't happen again, including all legal actions. I've been dialoging with Apple regarding all of this via email and I'm confident that they will take action. There is a mountain of evidence against him... Apple's first step is to contact both developers and let them know that they are aware and see if the developers can work things out. I told them that I believe we will not be able to work things out without their intervention. Like I said, they have the evidence and it is very clear what is happening, so I feel very confident that they will take action. I have also reported his Facebook page for copyright infringement, as it has my images on there promoting "his" app. As a good rule of thumb, always check the App Store from time to time to see what is popping up with your keywords. There just might be someone taking what is yours and selling it from another country. I'll definitely keep everyone updated as this story continues to develop. I'm not trying to be a negative Nancy with these posts, but I appreciate the help and support once again. It's been a very interesting lesson learned. Thanks guys, Ryan

This is unfortunate. Yet I am going to probably not take the most favorable approach and I agree stealing is stealing and given this is a "God" app I am going to even go as bold as say against the commandments.....with that said maybe take a different look at things.... I have had my CNA app copied and submitted several times over but I am joyous about it why? Not only I am getting the word out on how to become a caregiver but even more of advantage with every copy there is a hyperlink to my site. Especially in the pdf's. I WANT my content to go viral. And forgive me for saying this but is all your content REALLY your own? You built it on Buzztouch (open source) You used an open link from Flickr (not your own domain) You used instagram doesn't even appear to be your account (borrowed rss feed) I don't think what the guy is doing is "right" but look where he lives? He is in a third world country with a family to feed ...... AGAIN NOT SUPPORTING HIS ACTIONS but maybe you might want to take a look at your actions and change the game a bit into your favor! Suggestions: 1) Build or Hire someone that can make you a plugin that you only have so the person can't copy the code 2) Embed your logo or website so traffic comes back to you 3) Build on several platforms 4) Trademark and Copyright your works The list goes on and on....what I am trying to say here is I understand where you are coming from but really "outing" this guy is just playing into the game and not serving your audience. Fantastic you are on to something take note of that and move into your favor...the sky will not fall there are so many option to choose from. Sad day in the community. Hope this turns out better for all parties involved Sheri

To me, this is too unbelievable. Although I can echo parts of Sheri's post above, I understand what it is like for you as the developer of your great apps. What does BlackWhite think he's doing. He lied when he apologised, and this is what sickens me more than anything. I feel deeply sorry for you in this unfortunate event. Lightning CAN strike twice.

Hi Sheri, I believe I understand your heart and thanks for taking the time to comment. However, I disagree with you on a few points. Regardless of where someone lives... Taking something that isn't yours is stealing. Selling it as though it is yours, is well, much worse. He is obviously a smart guy, so I don't buy that he needs to steal from me in order to feed his family. Yes, I created ALL of that content in my app (minus the brand new ministry partners section that I just added) and it took me over 3 years to do it. Over 750 custom images made by me. I work for a Christian non-for-profit ministry and my app is all about getting the Word out there and going viral. My Instagram page has over 89,000 followers, many of whom are reposting my images constantly. My content is extremely viral. The difference is... those people are not selling my copyrighted images on the App Store. I want my images to be shared so that they bless people all over the World (and they are). My work is copyrighted and I have built on many platforms. Yes, I'm using BuzzTouch and Flickr to power my app. Does that mean its okay for someone to take what I've created, re-package it, then sell it? Nope. I'm not "outing" this guy. He is stealing from me and I won't allow that. He is blatantly trying to deceive my audience by first making an app with the same name and the same content. Now, with a new name, same content (and claiming he has more content then my app). That's funny. Again, I get your heart, but I'm not trying to pick on him. I do not think these are actions of a "good person". I believe that he will continue this behavior if he is allowed to continue in this developer community and on the App Store.

Unbelievable. I hope there's a way for this thief to lose their access to Buzztouch.

Its a hard situation to deal with. Even harder to ban, one can just use another alias. I would be pissed too. Have u talk to him?

I have gone back and forth with him via Facebook, but that was about a week ago when he did this the first time. I have not heard from him yet this time, as it is 6:42am in Vietnam.

Ihe seemed like such a cool member.... Curious as what he has to say.

When you are miles away, you think that. Hey no one will know or find out. Plus what are the laws if he developed the app outside the US. Especially if he has a self hosted server. As far as the iphone mockups, i've seen those templates before really inexpensive. so if he legally purchased the mockups to display the app then he has the right to insert his own work. (not yours) I'm pretty sure I know how he did it, I won't disclose, but my question is are you able to copyright each and every image (+750) his(+999) you have created and prove ownership like having metadata embedded into the image file with a time stamp, etc like photographers do or even a visible watermark. Can you copyright the framework by which he built his copy since we all have the same tools, like the in app processes or user experience can be duplicated if its a logical flow. If someone builds and improve on something they draw inspiration from, can the original work be protected? I'm not sure, I'd be interested in what others think. However, if it's a blatant verbatim copy and he's claiming ownership in his country that's just wrong, at the most. offer up a licensing fee or royalty. something is better then nothing, especially if its being downloaded globally. 10% of something is better than 100% of nothing. You could approach him and say, it's great you want to spread the word of god, but since in your previous post you admitted and apologized, the right thing to do is to offer me some royalty for every app purchased in perpetuity, I can offer you an affiliate license to use and white label the app as long as you credit the developer and handle all customer services that may arise from your version. I've had my sites duplicated by fans and they blatantly use my celebrities fan base traffic to serve up ad revenue that they made. I cut the same deal years ago and it worked, and helped my client get global exposure. Just my take on the situation. Ed

Hey Ed, I'm pretty sure I know how he did it as well... All of my images are copyrighted and I will have no problem proving that I'm the original creator of my images. I also have a copyright notice in my app. They also have a copyright notice on Flickr. Apple is a US company and abides by US copyright law. Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, etc don't want to allow copyright violations (even though they are rampant with them). They try their best to remove violations that are reported. I'm hoping they will do this on my behalf, for we are clearly dealing with a violation. This individual is not out to spread the Word. He is out to make money. This is the growing list of reasons why I believe he is not out to "spread the Word": He tried to deceive my users, lying when confronted, fake apologies, claiming ignorance of how to delete an app, more fake apologies, immediately makes another app with my content, etc. In this case, I will not be offering any licensing option. We are well beyond that point and I would rather play in traffic than allow him to steal from me :)

Thank you Sharon for your posts on the BlackWhiteApps Facebook page. I really appreciate that :) Facebook responded extremely fast taking down all of the content I reported, because it was abundantly clear that it was a violation. His page no longer has a cover image (which had my images all over it) and any reference to the copy app... See the page here: https://www.facebook.com/BlackWhiteApps

The scary thing is if he had chosen not to sell "his" app in the US app store you probably never would have found out what he did. I never search app stores in other countries, and to be honest I'm not even sure how I would, but now I'm curious...

Keep us posted on the outcome, Ed.

I am confident to say that I am very upset by this behaviour. I am standing by your back @ryan so if there's any help you want from me, I'll try to help you out. To me, Buzztouch is a community. It might be primarily an 'app-engine' but I feel it's an online home. To see people abuse the service, and not just once, makes me upset. As a community, we should stamp out this sort of behaviour, and for the most part, we are stamping it out. I hope all the best for you @ryanmaher. Your apps are great... it's just a real big shame that they've become mixed up in this whole story.

I don't really see any debate on this..it's very black and white (haha!..ahem). I have never even put close to three years into any kind of project, but if I did and then I saw somebody else creating in a week what took me three years by stealing my work...I can't even imagine how infuriating that would be

I say boot'em. Once was a warning. Twice is disregarding the warning. It's not like he went 'oh, did that belong to someone else too?'. Nope. Twice, to the same author. I don't care where they live. Stealing is stealing. It seems like he's using buzztouch for his source material. I hope Apple Bans him. Just my opinion. Cheers! -- Smug

If it helps I don't think he's doing it just to you... His other app (Pimp Screens) just released last week: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pimp-screens-custom-wallpapers/id728217865?mt=8 Another app (Pimp Your Screen) out since September: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pimp-your-screen-custom-themes/id419864550?mt=8 Pictures are very similar and the description is word for word. Wow.

smh

OMG , it's just too much. Wandering what he has to say this time.

It looks like his app has been pulled from iTunes! Not only that, but the other one I think he copied (see above) has a new update as of today. The icon is different and the app description is no longer a carbon copy of another app. Maybe Apple stepped in after all...

Thanks a bunch Thomas! Thanks for the recon Mutzy! Yes, it appears as though the copy cat app has been pulled from the store (probably by Hoàng Hải himself). So I'm thankful for that. I have also contacted Apalon, the creators of the popular "Pimp my Screen" app and informed them that Hoàng is stealing from them too. So it would be wise to delete that app as well. I'll update everyone when I hear from Apple regarding the next step. Thanks for the support!

Here's something you will definitely want to look at: https://www.buzztouch.com/files/howtos/BTCopyright.pdf

Cant believe he hit you twice. I wonder what his motives are. Is he using your files as a template? How did he get access to it anyways. That's pretty weird if you ask me. I mean sure I know hackers steal things all the time, codes etc. Most developers "use" others codes etc as backbone or a template. But if he just ripped everything and put his name on it and no one noticed it that sounds like 1,000 red flags to me. Is Buzztouch able to do anything about it?

This incident is extremely rare. This is the same guy doing it over and over again. From my two years at Buzztouch, I have not seen a thing like this happen. Buzztouch has already struck this guy off our systems (so he won't be disturbing us agin). There are over 250,00 users and this is the only one who has done so.

Wow that's pretty crazy.I didn't realize that was possible. Is this only attainable for buzztouch projects or can any app be infiltrated like that? The guys seems to be on some genius criminal mind type stuff but maybe from this discovery more security can be implemented somewhere. Just like how check frauds were caught etc. Maybe another genius mind can find a fix to this asap. I'm sure he isn't the only person doing this. If so he found a gem for templates etc. I'm sure something positive will come from this. Sorry you had to be the victim in this circumstance. I look forward to learning more and more about codes etc. Cheers!

Unfortunate as it may be, I suspect there are a lot of folks who install the self hosted server and fail to delete the /install directory and the default account within the server, leaving their server (and there work) open for the taking.