[Web4lib] website design copyright issues

[Micah Stevens]

On 02/13/2007 08:44 AM, Schlosser, Melanie Brynn wrote:
>
>
>> With that said, my understanding (oh great collective wisdom correct me)
>> is the code is copyrighted/copyrightable but the expression/display is
>> not?  I think the "look" of a page might be trademarked/treademarkable
>> but that is pure wild guesswork on my part.
It's my understanding that if something is trademarked, it must be made 
obvious that is it so as part of the trademark. As a website is not an 
exact look, I feel that it would be difficult to trademark a layout. 
This would fall under copyright or patent law. However, I'm no expert in 
trademarks. :)
> All that's required for copyright protection is that you create 'an 
> original work of authorship' that is 'fixed in any tangible medium of 
> expression.' That potentially includes both the code and the design, 
> or 'look', of your site. The design is protected for the same reason 
> artwork is copyright protected - it is a form of creative expression. 
> The code is a little tricker. As noted before, there are a million 
> websites out there with a standard 3-column CSS layout. In order to 
> claim copyright on yours, you'd need to be able to show that it is 
> creative and substantially different from the other ones out there.
>
IMHO the copyright issue is far less worrisome than patent issues 
regarding website design. As a website is a tool, you can patent layout, 
and the method in which it works. However, something that is more common 
such as this three column layout, the standard 'L' layout and things 
like that are less likely to be patented. This is a hazy issue. The 
issue of software patents is hotly debated. America still allows this, 
Europe does not for example.

> If you use someone else's site as a guide while designing your own, it 
> is good practice (and good manners!) to ask permission, or acknowledge 
> their contribution. If they feel their copyright has been infringed, 
> they can still take you to court. This is highly unlikely, however.
>
CSS stylesheets, HTML, and javascript are all software of a sort. It is 
appropriate to to acknowledge the designer in the code itself which 
doesn't kludge up the look of your site. If you do borrow code from 
people, make sure it's in the public domain, or it has a GPL, BDB, LGPL 
or other open source license. If you're unsure of the terms, Wikipedia 
has good summations of the ins and outs of each of these licenses.

The best thing would be to use these example as a starting point to code 
your own stuff, then it's not an issue. Perhaps an acknowledgment would 
still be in order morally, but legally it's much better.

-Micah