It’s been brought to my attention that my theme use isn’t entirely clear and that is my own fault.
There’s nothing wrong with a theme author requiring a link for use of a theme — a lot of work goes into developing a theme and they can choose whether they release the theme absolutely free, free as in beer, or with more stipulations. It’s a personal choice.
Now, I don’t mind people using my themes as a jumping off point for their own work (I actually encourage it), but the links should still remain. Modifying the theme doesn’t absolve you from the theme license, especially if it’s still using my custom graphics (I’m sure you wouldn’t want someone ripping off your hard work, would you?).
If the links in the footer absolutely, positively, 100% bother you and you must have them removed, you do have a few options - contact me and we can work out a deal, use another theme, or create your own theme from scratch. Simple as that.
I’m a human being — a pretty nice one, if I do say so myself — just like you, so don’t be afraid to shoot an e-mail message if you have a question or want to bring something to my attention.