[GURU3D] Did EVGA just Steal the Rivatuner RTSS design concept into PrecisionX 15 ?

[DiogoDX]

EVGA today is launching a new build of PrecisionX, this will be build 15. EVGA has made a move to developing the tweaking utility in-house, meaning they will cut ties with the previous developing programmer. By itself interesting news, but unfortunately this has to be the most awkward story I have ever written in the history of Guru3D.com Did EVGA copy the entire Rivatuner design and features concept from the original programmer ? Read more after the break

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/ev...r-rtss-design-concept-into-precisionx-15.html

 

[AntonioHG]

They've also got it on Steam, lol.

 

[DiogoDX]

Fun thing, even for the installer of “in-house” product the company copy-pasted my own license agreement from original installer, which contains my own third party components licensing terms and direct restriction on reverse engineering or redistributing them. Probably you’ll at least read what exactly do you copy paste, EVGA?

Man, I can't believe this. LOL

 

[bystander36]

Given that EVGA is built on top of Rivatuner, this isn't surprising.

 

[SPBHM]

msi afterburner is a lot better anyway.

 

[3DVagabond]

Given that EVGA is built on top of Rivatuner, this isn't surprising.

Apparently it was surprising to the RT developer.

Unwinder was not informed about all this, they just never contacted him again, not even the courtesy of an email was send to him that project development would be halted or that his agreement with EVGA would be suspended.

All because MSI ended their free ride. lol

 

[f1sherman]

EVGA digging themselves deeper and deeper, then deleting the thread


Jacob, Hilbert from Guru3D.com here.

You keep running in repetitive circles that you didn't use any code from Rivatuner, Alexeys observation already indicated otherwise.
Next to that it isn't solely about the code is it ? You / EVGA literately took any and every idea from the Rivatuner codebase you could use, including the config UI interface. There is no walking away from this Jacob, it is called plagiarism and it is a tag that from now on will always be attached to EVGA PrecisionX.

As stated in my article, you guys have every right to develop a proper in-house tool. Instead somehow you guys figured it was OK to make a replicated clone of the Rivatuner design interface with your own Skin attached to it. My honest advice here, pull this software while you still can. Go back to the drawing board and redesign the software in such a manner that it doesn't look like a cheap rip-off of Alexeys software.

You can hide behind statements and brainwash everybody that you didn't use anything from Alexey. But the fact is that even if you coded everything in-house, you guys stole his life-work by replicating and cloning it. Make the right choice while you still can my man, this isn't going to do EVGA any good. We have know each other for many years with great mutual respect, but I am afraid you guys are passing a threshold here that will taint EVGA for the rest of its existence.

Btw - small note - you guys even copied and pasted the Rivatuner's Llicense agreement EULA - literally.

 

[Headfoot]

Plagiarism? More like copyright infringement...

 

[rgallant]

looks like 100% new code and looks/layout to me.

I guess the new math is 100% = most or none

 

[rgallant]

They've also got it on Steam, lol.

-would that mean money is -changing hands on what used to be a free to use product .
and if there are any copyright issues , does money changing hands kick it up a notch or two ?

 

[RussianSensation]

EVGA needs to fix this by either honoring the work of Alexey/paying him royalties or start from scratch and design their new software specifically in house. I don't support such business practices, not to mention EVGA's brand's reputation already took a huge hit in recent years. Otherwise it is going to be impossible for me to recommend products from a firm that makes millions of dollars but then steals life's work of a passionate programmer. It is just common business ethics that EVGA seems to lack.

 

[Kougar]

So basically, this is a contract dispute?

It depends on the contract if they bought their own copy of the software versus if they were simply licensing the software from Unwinder... If it was only a license then EVGA's in trouble. But if EVGA bought their own copy then they're entitled to keep the design as it was from the date they parted ways.

Which leads to the next point... The Rivatuner stuff has been an integral part of PrecisionX for over a year... the interface elements and layouts being shown in the screenshots are the same design from version 4.2 that existed 8 months ago, if not as far back as 4.1 from Spring 2013.

Frankly both sides could be handling this dispute better. But it is certainly stupid to claim it was 100% EVGA designed when they're using the exact original program they contracted out for as the foundation of v15.

 

[Tempered81]

Bad move on EVGA's part

 

[3DVagabond]

So basically, this is a contract dispute?

It depends on the contract if they bought their own copy of the software versus if they were simply licensing the software from Unwinder... If it was only a license then EVGA's in trouble. But if EVGA bought their own copy then they're entitled to keep the design as it was from the date they parted ways.

Which leads to the next point... The Rivatuner stuff has been an integral part of PrecisionX for over a year... the interface elements and layouts being shown in the screenshots are the same design from version 4.2 that existed 8 months ago, if not as far back as 4.1 from Spring 2013.

Frankly both sides could be handling this dispute better. But it is certainly stupid to claim it was 100% EVGA designed when they're using the exact original program they contracted out for as the foundation of v15.

EVGA isn't claiming they bought anything. They are trying to say that Precision 15 is all new and done in house. If that's their defense they're in trouble, because it's blatantly obvious they "slapped a new coat of paint on it" and called it their own.

 

[n0x1ous]

EVGA - would have been cheaper to pay Unwinder his due than take the lost sales this is going to cost you. I have used RT since way before PX or AB and its pretty clear its a clone. Did they really think we wouldn't notice? Disappointed.....

 

[dn7309]

isn't all GPU tuner utility based off the same source? I know the ASUS and Galaxy look exactly like the MSI afterburner.

So whats the big deal with EVGA

 

[Despoiler]

isn't all GPU tuner utility based off the same source? I know the ASUS and Galaxy look exactly like the MSI afterburner.

So whats the big deal with EVGA

Read the article?

 

[mirageracerx]

and this is why i try to shy away from buying anything directly from evga. i do not endorse their products, and i do not suggest them to anyone. their forum is a good translation of their view on their customers...lets just say i didnt have a good experience there. its a hack job on the utility and i hope the developer gets proper litigation and royalties.

 

[MarkLuvsCS]

If you really care about this debacle, I suggest voting with your wallets and boycotting EVGA, tell your friends/family to do the same, and guide others away. After reading the entire article with updates, I do believe EVGA is in the wrong, and will certainly remember that for some time.

 

[96Firebird]

I love my EVGA cards, they also have great RMA service!

:awe:

 

[blackened23]

My opinion is, the guy who develops riva tuner (unwinder) is basically a jerk and is one of the most unpleasant people to converse with on the forums by a mile. Just look at his post history at guru3d. The guy's a piece of work. I mean there are jerks, and then there's unwinder, a whole new level.

I'm not sure what to think, but I don't think i'll lose any sleep if he's losing on licensing fees from EVGA. OTOH, I don't what ramifications are there - it seems to me that it's just reporting similar things as what the afterburner overlay does. Over apps do this as well. I mean, it's just reporting information. Is that wrong? I don't know. I don't have a problem with EVGA and this affects nothing, really, I guess unwinder really sticks out in my mind as being very rude, far more than anyone else i've ever seen really. Of course that doesn't affect whether this is wrong or right, and I don't know, but i'm inclined to say that many apps report the same thing with no ramifications. And unwinder being so unpleasant certainly doesn't make me want to join his cause. I mean what's the big deal. It is reporting GPU clockspeeds, memory, framerate, etc etc etc. Who cares? Tons of apps have done and will do this. Big deal.

 

[smackababy]

EVGA isn't claiming they bought anything. They are trying to say that Precision 15 is all new and done in house. If that's their defense they're in trouble, because it's blatantly obvious they "slapped a new coat of paint on it" and called it their own.

How is the blatantly obvious? Rivatuner isn't using some new and revolutionary design scheme. Literally, every program from the XP days looks like that.

And, all that is show are screen shots of the finished program. The code behind it could be entirely different. And if he (Alex) was contracted to code this for EVGA, he is screwed. Also, if Afterburner had these "advanced features" Alex is crying about before Rivatuner, prior art exists.

 

[EightySix Four]

How is the blatantly obvious? Rivatuner isn't using some new and revolutionary design scheme. Literally, every program from the XP days looks like that.

Because they didn't bother to change the EULA.

 

[rtsurfer]

My opinion is, the guy who develops riva tuner (unwinder) is basically a jerk and is one of the most unpleasant people to converse with on the forums by a mile. Just look at his post history at guru3d. The guy's a piece of work. I mean there are jerks, and then there's unwinder, a whole new level.

I'm not sure what to think, but I don't think i'll lose any sleep if he's losing on licensing fees from EVGA. OTOH, I don't what ramifications are there - it seems to me that it's just reporting similar things as what the afterburner overlay does. Over apps do this as well. I mean, it's just reporting information. Is that wrong? I don't know. I don't have a problem with EVGA and this affects nothing, really, I guess unwinder really sticks out in my mind as being very rude, far more than anyone else i've ever seen really. Of course that doesn't affect whether this is wrong or right, and I don't know, but i'm inclined to say that many apps report the same thing with no ramifications. And unwinder being so unpleasant certainly doesn't make me want to join his cause. I mean what's the big deal. It is reporting GPU clockspeeds, memory, framerate, etc etc etc. Who cares? Tons of apps have done and will do this. Big deal.

Exactly.
I too have heard about unwinder being a tool.
He is a good coder but as soon as you ask him a question about why something is the way it is, you get the most rude answers.

 

[Erenhardt]

My opinion is, the guy who develops riva tuner (unwinder) is basically a jerk and is one of the most unpleasant people to converse with on the forums by a mile. Just look at his post history at guru3d. The guy's a piece of work. I mean there are jerks, and then there's unwinder, a whole new level.

I'm not sure what to think, but I don't think i'll lose any sleep if he's losing on licensing fees from EVGA. OTOH, I don't what ramifications are there - it seems to me that it's just reporting similar things as what the afterburner overlay does. Over apps do this as well. I mean, it's just reporting information. Is that wrong? I don't know. I don't have a problem with EVGA and this affects nothing, really, I guess unwinder really sticks out in my mind as being very rude, far more than anyone else i've ever seen really. Of course that doesn't affect whether this is wrong or right, and I don't know, but i'm inclined to say that many apps report the same thing with no ramifications. And unwinder being so unpleasant certainly doesn't make me want to join his cause. I mean what's the big deal. It is reporting GPU clockspeeds, memory, framerate, etc etc etc. Who cares? Tons of apps have done and will do this. Big deal.

There probably is a handful of people that think I am a jerk . There probably is a handful of people that thing YOU are a jerk... Does it mean they can they your hard work and claim as theirs?