BeeDeeDubbleU - 9:22 pm on Dec 3, 2007 (gmt 0)

Apparently, if you copy the "trade dress" (which I would assume means the livery) of a website then there is no doubt that you could be in trouble with regard to copyright.

If you see a standard layout that you like and copy this using your own graphics, colour scheme and images then it is doubtful that any copyright infringement claim would stick. To my mind the end product is what you see on the screen not the code behind it. If you use CSS that someone else has written to create a site that does not look anything like the original then it would be very difficult (impossible?) to build a case in court.

I agree with Bill. It's the nature of the Internet to copy ideas and concepts. Who hasn't used some CSS snippet which originally came from somewhere else? If an idea is seen to work then other people will use it and that's how the Internet has developed.

It's a bit like if you see an image of a local landmark that you really like. You may not steal it but you could jump in the car with your camera and go and take a similar shot for yourself. The image composition (or layout) would be essentially similar to the original but you would not be guilty of any copyright infringement.

Note that these are just my opinions, which may be wrong, but I can find no reference anywhere to any successful action being raised for CSS or HTML code theft.

Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong?