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This is not a technical question but law related.

I started developing a Delphi Application which implements a UI similar to Google Chrome: alt text

Now I want to add a menu in the white space in left top corner (but not like of Microsoft Office UI)

Can I develop and deploy my Application like this? It is not UI like Office but related to tabs just as in Ribbon so do I have to get a licence from Microsoft to make such a software (it Royalty free)

And other question: is Google Chrome UI a kind of MS Office UI? (if so have they got permisson from MS)

Vibeeshan Mahadeva
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  • Yes, you can copy user interfaces without license. – stuartd Nov 05 '10 at 11:48
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    ...as long as you have plenty of money to invest in lawyers. Seriously, this is a tricky issue, and very few of us here are probably qualified to give a completely correct answer. However, the chances of you running into any problems with a small-scale app are relatively low, and especially since you're not copying the interface exactly. It's very difficult to patent individual elements of the design, but it's probably best to avoid any issues that could arise if you ripped off the UI completely. – Cody Gray - on strike Nov 06 '10 at 16:02
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    See also: http://answers.onstartups.com/questions/5129/is-it-legal-to-copy-a-user-interface – Cody Gray - on strike Nov 06 '10 at 16:02
  • The interface you are making is so far from looking like a ribbon that it's not worth your time worrying if it looks like a ribbon. – Ian Boyd Jun 16 '11 at 22:01
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because **it is about licensing or legal issues**, not programming or software development. [See here](http://meta.stackoverflow.com/a/274964/1402846) for details, and the [help/on-topic] for more. – Kevin Brown-Silva Jun 12 '15 at 23:52

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Yah i think google crome ui is not copy protected

Vibeeshan Mahadeva
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