redcarpet

I just found out via WPZOOM that the guys over at Deluxe Themes just released a new WordPress Theme, called Red Carpet. This is their best theme by far, no doubt about that and I personally like it. There’s only one problem: they say “Inspired by People magazine…”, but the design is an almost exact copy.

Which makes me wonder: how long will the theme last, before Deluxe Themes (or one of their clients) gets a lawsuit on their hands? If the theme becomes very popular, there will be a lot of People.com copycats out there, powered by WordPress. Think about it: how many people afford (or have the skills) to create a custom design? So they’ll be stuck with the copycat.

Wrong choice? What would you do?

Hope I’m wrong about this, but I’m afraid they made a bad choice by copying the design as well, rather than just using (some of) the website’s layout and functionality as a starting point and be more creative on the design side. I’m afraid this choice might jeopardize their chances of selling a theme that would otherwise have been a hit.

redcarpet_vs_people

There are lots of great news websites and blogs out there that can be a source of inspiration (even I have a long list of bookmarks), and People.com is definitely a great source for inspiration if you’re building a glossy WordPress theme. But my question is: where do you draw the line? Is this good publicity or bad publicity? Will potential buyers be turned on or turned off by the similarity?

Just to be clear

I like some of their themes and I respect the fact that Deluxe Themes are one of the few WordPress theme developers (maybe the only?) that make their themes available for download and charge you only for a “copyright removal”. Bold move, if you ask me. So I’m not throwing dirt or anything, I’m simply raising a couple of business strategy questions here.

I encourage you to share your thoughts, but kindly ask you to do it in a constructive manner. Thanks!

P.S. Just noticed another theme, caled Google Mail. :)