Great question, and timely/valid. I’d say that this walks the fine line between inspiration (obviously derivative inspiration) and copying, but I’m also admitting it’s a semantic argument in this case.

I know exactly why the bbbbrands name was chosen (an easy to remember/procure domain name) so I’m understanding all of the layers involved in arriving at the final outcome, not just the last layer. But again, it’s a fine line. I was brought on post name creation, so like a typical client interaction, you go with the flow.

Moll does mention that one should, “Copy the inspiration, not the outcome.”

But even clients I have do this. “I want a web 2.0 site that looks like X.” Wow! Thanks for trying to do my job. Why do you want a site that is selling widgets to be the same for your site selling sprockets? Let me do the research and tell you what your site should look like so that it stands out amongst your competitors and says something about your company. Unless your company wants to be a sprocket site that people think you are selling widgets.

I’ve heard that painters who study in France must paint copies of the great masters before they create their own pieces. Why? To learn the strokes, patterns, and methods so they can go on to create their own masterpieces.

Copying, when used correctly, is on of the greatest educational tools. Especially in our increasingly open-source world.

It’s kind of lazy and the byproduct is a distorted version of the original.