Stealing Code. Web Design & Copyrights?

[freemonkey]

OK, so I'm learning some HTML, doing some Dreamweaver tutorials & practicing my skills. I've been looking at other people's websites & am finding some ideas I really like, especially some slide show and javascript stuff. I'm trying to copy examples of stuff so I can learn..... kind of like an artist copying the Masters to learn more about painting.

While I would never steal anyone's complete site, I am curious about using portions of code I find in various sites.

I raise the question because a Goooogle search of "slide show" turned up all sorts of apps, templates and otherwise must-be-paid-for etc. for making slideshows. One photographer's site actually had a snippet of code that had a copyright notice attached to it, I went to that name's website & found purchaseable stuff there. So, yeah, those are obvious. Don't use it without paying.

But what about other stuff that I find out there? What's reasonable, legal, ethical? Any thoughts?

[Scotty]

Good question.

I would look for copyright notices on software code, but there is so much freely available software out in the public domain, that even if somebody has one you can purchase, there should be ten more available for free.

What I would mostly worry about, is using somebodies graphics, as that is easier to track down.

We had somebody do that with cyberslice.com when we started out, and it took a while to convince them it was our graphics (because their designer said he did the graphics and was adamant about that, and the owner of the other company believed him).

Of course, I doubt you will have to worry about that angle

Most of the things (I suspect) that you will want to use, are "normal" code that most everybody uses to do specific features.

-Scott

[viscousmemories]

I think a good rule of thumb is that you shouldn't profit from using substantial chunks of other people's code. I don't think there's anything legally or ethically wrong with using big chunks for personal projects, or smaller chunks for commercial ventures. Assuming of course we're talking about code that isn't clearly marked as copyrighted.

Of course another option is free code from The JavaScript Source.

Here's the code for a basic slideshow there.

[squian]

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

I don't think there's anything legally or ethically wrong with using big chunks for personal projects, or smaller chunks for commercial ventures. Assuming of course we're talking about code that isn't clearly marked as copyrighted.

Since personal projects can typically be thought of as educational, I can see how this is "fair use" whether clearly copyrighted or not. So I agree on that point.

However, I'm a little worried about the notion of "smaller chunks for commercial ventures". Of course vm makes it clear, he's not talking about clearly copyrighted code. But the US law provides a copyright whenever the work is distributed in "tangible form". Under the law, the code could be copyrighted whether the creator indicates it or not. Also, it's rare to see a web page without a copyright statement somewhere. Even this site has a copyright at the bottom. Is it clear whether it covers just the content or the code as well?

I worry that little chunks leads to "in for a penny, in for a pound." That is, it doesn't matter if the copyright violation is small or large -- it is still a violation. Copying code may be considered "stealing" by the person who wrote the code. It doesn't matter if you steal a little or a lot.

If you think the owner will not mind letting you use the code, why not ask? Better that than run into problems later.

[freemonkey]

Originally Posted by squian

But the US law provides a copyright whenever the work is distributed in "tangible form". Under the law, the code could be copyrighted whether the creator indicates it or not. Also, it's rare to see a web page without a copyright statement somewhere. Even this site has a copyright at the bottom. Is it clear whether it covers just the content or the code as well?

Well, this is the problem. How do I know what's copyrighted and what's not? I know the copyright basics for images, music and writing (you'd be surprised how many people don't), but not for something like code, which is like Greek to me, anyway.

[pescifish]

Last time I looked into this, I found that basically everything is copyrighted, whether explicitly tagged as such or not. If someone has it on a hard drive, piece of paper, analog magnetic recording or anything that constitutes an archivable format, it's copyrighted.

That's why most conversations about copyright violations focus on the "Fair Use" clause. Consider everything copyrighted, but make sure you are within fair use is the way I understand it.

I don't have time now, but I'll see if I can look up a reference for that.