Is it legal to make sites using the same ideas of existing sites but in different language?

Question

I don't talk about copying sites,content and information...
I mean to take the idea and to make it in a different language, new content and new design...
For Example: designing a site with the same idea as yahoo answers in another language(which is not already made by yahoo)

Answer 1

.I would consult with a copyright attorney to prevent being tried for copyright infringement. But you could make it work if you modified the site enough their idea, but yahoo also has answer sites and multiple languages

Answer 2

It's perfectly legal to do so. There're already many websites that provide similar functionalities (each having slight differences but basically providing similar services), for instance: search engines, online music stores, etc.

Of course, don't clone feature for feature an existing website or you may end being sued.

Copyright won't be an issue as long as you don't copy content or branding. Patents can however be an issue (remember Amazon one-click patent?), but their scope is mostly limited to the USA (software patents not being recognized in most other countries).

Answer 3

Unless you're reusing a technology that's patented, if it's just a concept, you can go ahead and even do it in the same language.

Now, if you copy it right down to the look and feel of it, you could get sued on that basis, but you'd have to be so successful that they'd bother with it. But if you're not copying the look and feel, but simply the concept of asking and answering questions, and didn't use trade marked terms, I'm at a loss as to how you could get sued.

Answer 4

Yes its legal