Forum Moderators: not2easy
I like to surf the web, and if I find a site that I like the look/layout/design of, I may sketch it down in my notebook and apply something similar (after things like nav menus, headers, etc are moved and played with to be optimized for the site I'm designing). And let's say, for instance, that it's a hot-rod car site, and I really like the look, and I've been hired by another hot-rod company to do a site, so I move things around, impliment my own images, use my own text, make my own buttons, etc. Is this copyright infringement?
Basically, you take a blue square and make it a red rectangle. It still has 4 sides, still has 4 90-degree angles, but does it still mean it's a blue square?
VERY confused on this issue. Please advise...
VR
Walk into any supermarket and compare the packaging on their own brand "Toasted Flakes of Corn" to the packaging on a world famous brand of "Corn Flakes".
They are probably cutting it as fine as they can without being accused of "passing off" - which is not exactly anything to do with copyright law at all; a company could sue you for loss of earnings if you attempt to win business by making yourself look like another [more famous] company.
Just don't make a blatant copy, that's all. There's nothing wrong with inspiration.
copying their code is not ...
Finding out how their did something by looking at their source code... learning how to do that yourself and then writing your own version on your site .. well who has not done that ... its called "reverse engineering" in other walks of life ....
As long as its standard html code or standard programming code that you are re arranging then its not copyright protected.
Where images, colour schemes, logos and tradenames are concerned I think common sense also comes into play to support the law in your area .. ask youself are you being inspired by things you have seen on other sites which seem to work or trying to "pass something else off" as related ...
Now, that is exactly correct. Gaining inspiration from the work of others is the correct way to look at it. Let your own creative juices flow.
I try to err on the side of reworking things a little more. My site initially borrowed very heavily from gap.com as far as color scheme and some basic layout. But it has definitely evolved away from that in a unique direction and is much better because of it.
I think Mark_A got it. You are the only person who really knows whether you are copying or working from inspiration, and you have to judge that for yourself.
If I went to your hot rod site, and thought "hey, this really reminds me of the ABC hot rod site" I would divert my attention to the similarities between your site and theirs.
Someone stole a layout of my site. Changed the colors, swapped the sidebar from one side to the other, but used the same font features, layout and css styles. There was different content, but the same general theme as my site. This person advertised where many of my own visitors also go, and within a couple days I had over a dozen emails from people on this issue, and most expressed that they would never do business with that person because of it, and word rapidly went through the niche that the woman was a thief. Even though she tried to change it, it still appeared very similar in style and layout to mine. Her business was never able to overcome that and she eventually abandoned it.
Just something else to keep in mind. It might not be considered copyright infringement, but if you are copying or using elements of a site's html, make sure others would not recognize it as such. The implications do go far beyond just copyright infringement.
To achieve the latter I advise using a very heavy weight law firm.....the frivolous hate messing with those sharks:)
Almost everything you see today is in someway a copy of what was produced in the past.....that is only a copyright infringement when someone can prove it in a court of law;)
MS copied Apple, who copied Xerox....who was the eventual winner?
