Is permission required to use copyrighted material of others?
Can I use portion of a copyrighted song in my own song or podcast?
Is it legal to base your site's template on another website?
Remaking the exact same elements from one site on your own site doesn’t negate infringement. Just because you made them yourself, doesn’t mean that you didn’t take the underlying designs.
If you copy another website’s original design and don’t get permission, you infringed that website owner’s copyright, unless you can prove fair use. For more information, please consult our guide on
“fair use” as well as the
"Who can claim Fair Use?"
If you are web designer/developer who wants to know how much or little you should rely on fair use for your business, feel free to contact us at New Media Rights at
(619) 591-8870 or
support@newmediarights.org for free, pro bono legal assistance.
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