For example, I really like the designs of Google pages. Google offers Material.io with which you can design this really similar. Is it allowed to design your own website very similar to another?
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It really depends how similar, in what ways, and if you have a license to do so.– Ryan MCommented Oct 2, 2020 at 7:25
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Two questions would be software patents and trademarks, and that's probably too complex to get meaningful answers to hypothetical questions on a web board.– o.m.Commented Oct 2, 2020 at 10:26
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1 Answer
You cannot copy or imitate assets that fall under copyright protection, and you must not cause confusion with competitor's websites. So for example you can't copy Google's CSS files or SVG icons, and you cannot imitate their site design so closely that a reasonable visitor would think that your site was a Google site.
Furthermore, the appearance/design of elements of a user interface could be protected via design patents (industrial design rights). Google has various design patents relating to material design, e.g. screen layouts, icons, animations, or some components. E.g. USD802004 is a design patent on the animation of a screen used in Google Maps.
But aside from that, you are free to imitate the design of a website.
Material.io and the Material Components libraries are a special case: Google has developed a design language and offers components that implement this design language under the MIT license, an open source license. This confirms your right to use these components without restriction, without payment, and for whatever purpose you want. Thus, creating a website with Material components is perfectly fine. Using the Material design language without these components could perhaps be fine because Material Design is not protected itself, but you'd have to tread carefully.
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@amon What law or body of law says that "you must not cause confusion with competitor's websites"? Confusion is usually a matter of trademark law, but the whole site's look cannot be a trademark. Commented Nov 10, 2021 at 0:47
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@DavidSiegel I was thinking more of fair competition laws, though of course trademark law is a component of that. At least in Germany, it's not allowed to imitate competitor's products or services in a way that would deceive customers about their origin. Copying the look and feel of another website could be such a deceiving imitation. Fair competition laws are clearly highly jurisdiction-dependent, but neither the question nor my answer are specific to any country or state. Unless OP is sure their laws allow impersonation of competitors, they shouldn't do it.– amonCommented Nov 10, 2021 at 13:07
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@amon AH I see. At least in the US, there are no such laws. I don't think there are in the UK either. I have no idea about other EU countries. The reason I as looking at and commenting on this answer is that it was linked to from a recent question, where the questioner cited this part of this answer as a general truth. Would you object to my inserting some of the explanation from your comment into the answer for clarification? Or would you prefer to? Commented Nov 10, 2021 at 15:06
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@DavidSiegel I think the best way to resolve this might be to delete the entire question. But if you have a good idea of how to rephrase my answer to be less misleading, sure, go ahead!– amonCommented Nov 10, 2021 at 15:27