Is it okay to copy someone's HTML/CSS?
I came across this forum thread from 2007 where people are discussing whether it's okay to copy somebody's HTML or not. Some people are in favour, some are against, and then some answers are - it depends.
I absolutely love how useful these forum discussions used to be back then, that I didn't get the chance to participate in.
Arguments for
rocknbil says:
[...] the truth is the code itself most likely came from some other source in the first place, so in a sense we've all borrowed, exchanged, intermixed and added our own flavor to chunks of code to make it our own.
Those that would argue this are probably under the impression they have created something that has never been done before, and are most likely to jump in here and cry copyright. But the truth is, any chunk of html or CSS you copy from a site is likely to be out there in duplicate thousands of times.
BeeDeeDubbleUm says:
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.
Dabrowski says:
[...] with HTML/CSS being such a simple 'language', there's generally only 1 or 2 ways to produce a given page, and most people would use it.
If you wrote it from scratch you'd end up with something pretty similar, so go ahead and pinch the code. I would.
Demaestro says:
It isn't stealing and no there is nothing wrong with it. Being inspired by a site and using some of it as a jumping off point is good time management.
Show me an original HTML/CSS website and I will show you original HTML/CSS site that is similar. It is called re-purposing... why re-invent the wheel?
Josefu says:
The answer is pretty simple, but a few of you are mixing things up a bit. Correct that HTML (or any other markup language) is not "computer code".
Arguments against
8kobe says:
I would say that by the letter of the law it is illegal. However it would be pretty difficult to prove that you did it unless the layouts are very unique. [...] However if someone is doing something unique and different and you copy it they may be able to come after you.
swa66 says:
Copyright is never intended to protect the way to do something (the idea), but is intended to protect the expression of that idea.
E.g. it'll does not protect the idea of writing a novel where the butler did it, but it'll protect the words, the drawings, etc. of the cover, the text of the book etc.
So in my book:
- if you copy a css file: copyright problem
- if you look at other css files to see how they solve a problem, no problem at all from a copyright point of view if you use the same method to solve the problem. (might be a patent issue, but living where software patents are void and nonexistent I really don't care about them at all).
Basically, for the most point, it's okay to get inspired by a certain design on the web. And since you wouldn't exactly use the HTML/CSS code without modifying for your website, there shouldn't be a problem.
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