Hi I am a amatuer web designer working in web design company and I was wondering if you surf the web , you visit sites and like their design and set up are you allow to built a site of your own copying the other web sites design. I don't mean copying exactly pixel for pixel / code for code but very close different colors and minor changes to design.. is this legal or does it break some standard of web designs?

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Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Red Anerbach

They can file a DMCA complaint , your web host will take down your site, if you are using adsense , you will get banned for copyright violations ,etc , Better create a design yourself.

I was under the impression that you can't copyright a design. With CSS and scripts thats a different thing, but if you happen to have the same layout via HTML then that is no problem. Were you thinking of using the same graphics or just a similar idea (as in how their menu bars work etc). I wouldnt recommend copying a design becuase originality is what will help attract attention but it never hurts to see what other people have done to inspire yourself.