Facebook's blatant rip-off of Bitmoji avatars is a legal lesson in skirting copyright

Facebook fastidiously copied Bitmoji's artwork for its new avatars feature. Consider a) the access to legal expertise and b) the shameless indifference Facebook has to ethical standards, bad PR or media exposure. In this image (posted to twitter by Alex Heath) is a detailed lesson in exactly how closely you can copy others' work and get away with it. Or if you prefer, it establishes the necessary quantum of difference to avoid liability, in Facebook's calculation.

i really am curious what its like to straight up copy competitors products at FB, without even pretending otherwise

like does one feel a little guilty, or is it "all part of da game" https://t.co/JuhmwZlkQu

— rat king (@MikeIsaac) May 20, 2020

Google reportedly has the same mentality. It's not "plagiarism", it's "don't re-invent UX."

want to know a Google+ story?

at a team meeting, an unnamed executive posted the Facebook newsfeed UX & said something to the effect, "if you're designing something that looks any different than this, you're going to have to justify why"

— (@hunterwalk) May 20, 2020

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