Code Theft Extension Stealing from Kay Lohn's ImageManager+

Dear OC Community and Management,

I would like to bring to your kind attention unethical practices by some extension developers/ users by stealing code from ImageManager+ Extension and reusing code/ design from it without due credit to the original extension and without any explicit prior permission from the author.

The ORIGINAL Extension:
ImageManager+ (FREE) (Author Kay Lohn)

as of today Oct 01, 2012 the stats are:

Released: 18/10/2011
Downloaded: 10154 10333 times
Rating: 5
Votes: 73
Comments: 248
Views: 34169

http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=3601

Here are a few which I have found to be using the code/ design as is or with superficial modifications/ re-arrangement from ImageManager+ and even going to the length of releasing it with new names as a commercial extension.

The OFFENDERS:

1. USER: jasonsang : BANNED/REMOVED

Reported at: http://forum.opencart.com/viewtopic.php ... 20#p295882

Jason Sang's Image Manager Enhancement For 1.5.3.1 and belower (Search, Edit, Multi upload, Multi delete, Multi move..) [COMMERCIAL]
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=4214

2. USER: opencartplus.com
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... rtplus.com

Image Library Manager (Multiple Upload/Search/Remembers Folder)
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=8117

(VQMod)-Image Manager++ (Multi Upload/Search/Remembers Folder)
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=8152

3. EXTERNAL: http://123unifashion.com/5-Image-Manager

4. USER: indesign
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... e=indesign

Image Manager Professional Package
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=8380

5. USER: salab
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... name=salab

Image Manager + for OC 1.5.3.x
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=7371

Image Manager + for OC 1.5.4.x
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=8370

I hope that the OpenCart Community and the management would look into this and take appropriate measure against the offenders.

I request the community/ users to kindly report the above extensions/ users and identify any others found stealing code fragments, any or all, from ImageManager+ here under this topic.

Also, I would request the users/ community to kindly cast their vote/ rating and comment for ImageManager+ as well, because it really matters.

Honorable mentions:

THE GOOD GUYS:

1. USER: dialdin (although he did not request permission to make it into a vQmod but he did give FULL credit to ImageManager+ and it's Author, hence allowed and highly appreciated)

Image Manager + / Upload + (vQmod) by dialdin
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=5397

Thank you.

Happy OpenCarting!

Best,

Kay Lohn

you will never get your themes / extensions off 123unifashion.com. I tried. But can't be bothered any more. They grabbed dozens of free extensions and themes and claim as theirs on their site

Some of the people you accuse are well respected and I know for sure they would never use Free code without mentioned the original contributor.

I'm to have others using some of the Free code I contributed and I really do not care.

If people want to pay instead of using a Free extension / Mod then they should.

Dear Community, Admins & Moderators,

Thank you very much for your replies.

It was already reported by me way back here as well (link below).

http://forum.opencart.com/viewtopic.php ... 89#p267153

As for the 123unifashion.com selling extensions off OC, I already marked it as 'external' and just brought it to the community's knowledge as I came to know. There might be a few or hundreds selling stolen extension from OC somewhere else on the web which is beyond control but IMHO that should not happen within OpenCart.

Some of the people you accuse are well respected and I know for sure they would never use Free code without mentioned the original contributor.

Sir, they just did that i.e use code without giving credit.

I'm to have others using some of the Free code I contributed and I really do not care.

Sir, you may not care but others do. IMHO I certainly feel there's a huge difference in 'free code' and 'free extension'.

If people want to pay instead of using a Free extension / Mod then they should.

I have not many hangups about that, but then again some do. Besides, it's quite alright to pay for an original instead of a rip-off.

http://forum.opencart.com/viewtopic.php ... 89#p248701

Quoting Qphoria from:

http://forum.opencart.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=52837

They are very diff. The paid one offers multiple upload at once which is a very nice feature

Sir, I cannot find that 'diff' extension now. Why?

http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=4214

Also, what's your opinion about the other offenders?

Here is what is different altogether, same idea but implemented differently. Great extension by fpdesign

http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=6229

Sir, I did mention a good guy, didn't I? What's your opinion about that. I don't know him personally, he did not ask for prior permission before making a vQmod of ImageManager+, but him giving full credit to the Original extension was sufficient enough for me to allow him to develop it further and I even appreciated his efforts and supported it and it was not just by me, but by the community as well.

http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... me=dialdin

I do not have any intention to libel anyone from OpenCart be it Admins, Mods, Users etc., ImageManager+ was a lot of work and much energy was spent on making it, I have given back to the community and contributed significantly towards betterment of OpenCart (kindly have a look at the documentation section for ImageManager+ to get an idea), it is unreasonable for someone within OpenCart be it Admin, Mods or Users etc to rip-off code/ design. It's unethical. Also, it is demoralizing to me and in general to a very great extent.

Best,

Kay Lohn

Just an FYI,

I just found a review/ recommendation for ImageManager+ by Duilio at http://www.digitalclik.com on 17 Jun, 2012, thanks Duilio.

LInk: http://www.digitalclik.com/3466-opencar ... e-manager/

Translation from Google (Original is in Italian language):

Extensions for a platform for e-commerce open source OpenCart as the network it will find very many, more or less valid, more or less functional and operational. I suggest that this is one of those indispensable. It is Enhanced Image Manager / File Manager for OpenCart . This extension can be easily installed on your platform OpenCart allows simultaneous charging an indefinite amount of files or images. No longer do you need to load a file at a time but you will be able to speed up considerably the work load by loading whole package of files or images. Quà http://goo.gl/rgMtc download the extension and of course .... Good fast loading!

Hi Kay Lohn
Is there a 1.5.4 compatible version of your image manage +

I am so tired of putting pictures on one by one manually:-)

Jonesy20

for theft by Vietnamese users you should try to contact a solicitor in Vietnam to first contact the police and failing that contact get the solicitor to sue them.

this is something i'm planing on doing. I have a long list of names and address from these users who have also been using stolen credit cards dating back 3 years.

all of them are members of opencartvn.com, the owner him self who is a scammer was banned from opencart after I linked his account to accounts from over the last 3 years committing fraud. I have all his information.

also i believe he still has accounts on oc. I have no problem in banning every Vietnam member accept a few like themeglobal.

normally you will find that the scammers are only 1 - 3 people using proxy ips. once you get rid of them fraud will drop on your site very quickly.


openvn1 openvn@opencartvn.com 1 No (0) $0.00 Enabled 06/01/2012 16:26:46 24.122.211.246
openvn2 openvn2@opencartvn.com 0 No (0) $0.00 Enabled 06/01/2012 16:29:26 24.122.211.246
phithien asfkljasf@opencartvn.com 1 No (0) $0.00 Enabled 10/01/2012 07:54:57 24.215.33.59
thaibuu kenji@opencartvn.com 7 No (10) $0.00 Enabled 27/02/2011 10:24:59 19/10/2012 03:02:04 1.54.27.47

Username: thaibuu
Member Group: Member
First Name: Nguy?n
Last Name: B?u
E-Mail: kenji@opencartvn.com
Telephone: +84 0903902095
Web Site: http://www.opencartvn.com
Address 1: 39 ng s? 4 KDC B?nh H?ng Huy?n B?nh Ch?nh . Tp.HCM 2/3 L? Th??ng Ki?t Long Xuy?n An Giang
City: Long Xuy?n
Post Code: 08408
Country: Vietnam
Region / State: An Giang
PayPal: thaibuu@opencartvn.com

Daniel wrote:openvn1 openvn@opencartvn.com 1 No (0) $0.00 Enabled 06/01/2012 16:26:46 24.122.211.246
openvn2 openvn2@opencartvn.com 0 No (0) $0.00 Enabled 06/01/2012 16:29:26 24.122.211.246
phithien asfkljasf@opencartvn.com 1 No (0) $0.00 Enabled 10/01/2012 07:54:57 24.215.33.59
thaibuu kenji@opencartvn.com 7 No (10) $0.00 Enabled 27/02/2011 10:24:59 19/10/2012 03:02:04 1.54.27.47

Username: thaibuu
Member Group: Member
First Name: Nguy?n
Last Name: B?u
E-Mail: kenji@opencartvn.com
Telephone: +84 0903902095
Web Site: http://www.opencartvn.com
Address 1: 39 ng s? 4 KDC B?nh H?ng Huy?n B?nh Ch?nh . Tp.HCM 2/3 L? Th??ng Ki?t Long Xuy?n An Giang
City: Long Xuy?n
Post Code: 08408
Country: Vietnam
Region / State: An Giang
PayPal: thaibuu@opencartvn.com

Thanks for sharing this info, Daniel. It's very helpful for those of us with our own stores trying to stop these fraudsters as well.

It's great to see that this is finally coming to light. I can relate to how it feels like when your hard work gets ripped off and someone else gets the credits and profits from it. It is simply unfair to kaylohn.

I have spoken to kaylohn previously and he didn't mind helping me out when I asked for him for pointers. He never asked for anything in return and I'm pretty darn sure he was sincere in creating a kick ass plugin for the community.

If things were different, I'm sure his plugin would have made been adopted by a whole lot of OC users. If kaylohn is reading this, I really hope you would continue your great work again in the near future.

I think Opencart developers should ask Kay Lohn permission and add his code to the Opencart core as a standard function and of cause - give him a deserved credit.

It's too big drawback for new users to stay with OpenCart, after they realizes what a slow work is with images on it. So OpenCart loose new users because of that.

+++++++++++++++
ANNOUNCEMENT
+++++++++++++++

Batch+ integrated with ImageManager+ for OpenCart v1.5.5.x

PLANNED FOR RELEASE EXTENSION

The video better explain what Batch+ does:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvXeky2paeo

Briefly, Batch+ has two basic functions:

1. BatchUpload :: Upload images directly to folders and select/ add them automatically as additional product images. New folders for image upload can also be created from within Batch+ without loading up Image Manager.

2. BatchSelect :: Select multiple images from your already uploaded images (from different folders too) and select them as additional product images.

NO default feature of OpenCart is removed. Additional product images can be added via OpenCart's default 'Add Image' button and can then be browsed with ImageManager+ as well.

Happy OpenCarting!

I'm really sorry to hear about the code theft and all that stuff.

I love your extension and have been using it for quite a while!! Couldn't live without it.. And for free? GOLD.


Can I ask about your announcment - when are you planning to release it, and how much will the extension cost?


Thanks


Keep it up bro, the universe will pay you back big time - don't bother with those low vibes of people stealing...

Here goes another one:

Remember Folder in File Manager
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... n_id=11230

USER: arslanqamar

@community: Thank you very much for your support, highly appreciated.

@sander23: Thank you very much for your kind and uplifting words. Regards the Batch+ integrated ImageManager+, I have implemented other advanced functionalities after Batch+ and removed some for future improved implementation. Will make an announcement soon for community feedback. The only problem with release is the 'vibe', it should not happen within OpenCart lest it demoralize us 'script-kiddies' greatly to abandon altogether.

Another one:

Simple image Manager OC-1.5.4.1 (vQmod)
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=9907

USER: eddielai

First offered for FREE, now $10:

Remember Folder in File Manager
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... n_id=11230

USER: arslanqamar

@community: Thank you for your continued support. The next release of ImageManager+ with Batch+ is almost ready. Testing for bugs. Will be releasing it shortly. Stay Tuned! . . . and yes, it will be a FREE extension!!!

Happy OpenCarting!

Hi,

thank you for this great enhancement. It looks and sound very useful.

is this working with the latest opencart 1.5.6?

thank you very much

Hi bobthebob01,

Unfortunately Kay Lohn no longer supports this extension due to all the people copying his code and then selling it as part of commercial extensions (shame on them all!).

However, the banner has been taken up by user ngueiros who has taken Kay Lohn's superb code and adapted it for OC1.5.6 and you can find this here.

Massive respect to Kay Lohn for the original work - beats the living crap out of the default image manager

stokeyblokey - your link is dead. Can I found Image Manager for 1.5.5.1 with search, like in original extension?

Hi Key Lohn,

First of all so many thanks for your imagemanager+ module. Your module has been downloaded 1000s of time even after you stopped the update. Many more users not even update their open cart to the latest version (including me) because your awesome module is not available for the version 2. Please forget those thieves and think about the loyal users of your module. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, update this to the latest version.

I have emailed a lawyer in vietnam im going to sue the owner of opencarvn.com. it will take a week or two to get a letter ready but i suggest you try to calculate how much money you have lost and pm me the details.

Hi,

@Daniel: Thanks. You know better how to go about it, but here are my belated two cents, If the legal battle was initiated and is still ensuing you can roughly estimate the losses at the minimum of selling at US$1 (or of your choosing/ minimum allowed selling price for extensions) multiplied by the number of downloads add what OC might have profited if it was sold through its store and add twice of the subtotal as damages to it for an estimated total and hopefully if won let that money be donated to OC to help make OC the best out there. Wish you and OC all the best.

@Community: Thank you so much for your appreciation and support. It has indeed been very long since I got back to OC. Recently, I was asked by a Client to advise him of the best e-commerce system out there and build him a store for him, still being the old faithful, I recommended OpenCart to them, only to find that OC has come a long way, more work for me now, Great, hmph!

Regards the thefts, they will never stop I just found one today (I did not bother to dig but this particular one caught my attention), without compunction they even nicknamed theirs as 'Overclocked Edition', and stripped the code of comments and zero acknowledgement, how sagacious. The legacy of ImageManager+ still lives on, I suppose.

https://www.opencart.com/index.php?rout ... n_id=20373

Anyways, my extension announced earlier in April 2013 was named (Thanks 3antz and oh, HitGirl too ) as ImageManager+ [KickAss Edition] for oc v1.5.5.x and above at time of release. Unfortunately, that extension although fully functional, was found unfit for release as it suffered from 'making too many server requests' issue, no fun in that, so I got back to work and developed IMO an advanced feature rich ImageManager+ for OC v1.5.5.x and v1.5.6.x, but unfortunately the 'vibes' got me and I abandoned development totally. For those interested to have a look at what more of the ImageManager+ was to come and what was lost, and how I had imagined an ImageManager for OC to be, kindly have a look at this screencap on YT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myVDomDJK9E

Your feedback on the above would be highly appreciated.

As I lost code for the above over time, I now certainly would be needing the extension for my Client albeit this time it has to be responsive with all the perks. I have started development again for ImageManager+ for OC 2.x.x.x, wish me luck.

Thank you all, again.

Happy Opencarting!

Best,

Kay Lohn