Re: Using pre-made graphics

by "Mihai Jalobeanu" <jalobean(at)itm.mw.tu-muenchen.de>

 Date:  Fri, 5 Dec 1997 21:40:45 +0100
 To:  "Hwg-Theory (E-mail)" <hwg-theory(at)hwg.org>
  todo: View Thread, Original
Tarik Dozier wrote:
>None of the concepts used in Web site design are
>original; they were used and conceptualized in other media long before the
>Web was fathomed. In fact, there are a relative few original ideas (though
>not necessarily implementations) left in the world. Try patenting
breathing.


Tell me what is original then. If you extend my idea in such a way then
nothing is original, so what are we talking about? I wanted to show there is
a lot of gray, not just white and black. I didn't like the angry gestures
and the rush to punish. I didn't like the rush to throw the stone...


>Don't rant to me about theft of layout; such elements are old standards.
>And standards are followed, not stolen. Graphical standards are taught
>and handed down, like so much other information.

What I've wrote was:
"...in the moment you saw a good site you probably analyze it and search the
elements that made the difference."

I wasn't talking only about the layout. Could be scripts, navigational
technologies (and those are quite specific to the web, by the way) or
anything else, in-between the standard and the object. If something is not
an object (i.e.. an image) it doesn't mean it is a standard!


>He was talking about using copyrighted material taken from another's
>site, altering it, and using it as his own. There are very specific
>ethical and legal problems with this concept, which is where we take
>offense.

My point is that a huge part of the HTML writers do something very close to
this because not everyone is a genie and is nothing wrong to follow the
"spiritual leaders". But is wrong to hide behind the law and point to the
one in front of it when the difference is so small.

In the original message:

"Hey, what do you all think about using graphics that have
been created by someone else (found on another site), and
editing them a bit and using them on a business website?
I've always thought that its best to create original stuff
for a business, but thats not always feasible or
efficient."

there's no mention about "copyrighted material ".

Again, the idea behind the replies was correct. But the starting message was
just a question. Still, everybody perceived the writer as already guilty of
stealing.

>If he were to see the image somewhere, and then recreate it from scratch,
>then there would be no legal problem (and less of an ethical one at that).
It should be. Because the copyright law should preserve the creative work,
the novelty and nothing else. The image by itself (as an object) is not the
subject of the copyright, but rather the ideas behind it are.

Regards,
Mihai

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