Where do you drew the line?

[twiggy99]

I entered a competition a while back on site point:

http://www.sitepoint.com/marketplace...053#entry28964

Then I seen this website for sale:

http://www.sitepoint.com/marketplace/auction/6538

Notice anything similar?

Yes I no that style of header is used by loads of people but to get the exact same colours from top to bottom of the header?

I made a post saying I wasn't impressed and got this reply:

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About the header at HitInvestor.com, that is a popular internet tutorial on the web. We didn't copy anything I am afraid.

IMO, ours looks better anyways.
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I replayed please show where this tutorial is that uses theses colours in this style, and I have had no answer on the matter.

where do I stand personally on this matter

Not the first time one of my designs have been re-used on site point getting tired of it now.

[Shyflower]

IANAL but...

Of all the elements of the 'other' site, it looks like the only outright copy of your design is the blue header at top. If that was, indeed, made from a tutorial, you would have a very difficult time claiming that it is your "original" design.

Copyright is for original works in tangible form.

From the US copyright office
what is not protected by copyright - (the bolded text is my bold)

"Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents"

[twiggy99]

Thanks for clearing things up.

So say if I where to copy a website say sitepoint for example, then wrote a tutorial how to do it, then it wouldn't be infringing on any copy write because it was taken from a tutorial?

Then in theory sitepoint would have a hard time proving they didn't use the tutorial?

Got me thinking now never thought about it in this way before.

[Shyflower]

If you copied a website from Site Point, that would be plagiarism. Your tutorial would post date their raw files. They could easily prove that they were first.

The point is (about your original question) if a tutorial is available to apply the technique shown in your header, then your header was not your original concept. The originality (ergo the copyright) belongs to the person who first thought of the idea.

To register a copyright you need to put your idea into a tangible form, i.e. on a CD, floppy, in print. However, the moment the idea is applied, the copyright belongs to he/she whom originally developed the concept.

[Mike Empuria]

So where's the boundary between "copy" and "inspiration?"

[Shyflower]

So where's the boundary between "copy" and "inspiration?"

I would say the boundary is in just knowing what is yours and what isn't. If you have a doubt as to whether something is yours or not, it isn't yours.