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In this slide-show essay for Slate, journalist David Segal explores the sometimes blurry borders between artistic inspiration and theft. Creative license easily lends itself to heated debates, but when it comes to a camera and, say, a lusciously circular bridge in Shanghai—can one professional photographer stake his claim over the span's image? Segal doesn't assert a definitive answer, but surveys precedents set by such copyright-pushing artists as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, and 2 Live Crew. He also pulls out examples of photographic "appropriation" by Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Sherrie Levine, and Christian Patterson, among others. In the case of the much-documented Chinese bridge, he serves up four different photos by individuals appreciative of its curvy wonder and leaves you to decide for yourself how much they vary from each other.

Ever find yourself on a web site that looks virtually indistinguishable from another? This site showcases such online indiscretions, making "side-by-side comparisons of web sites that are suspected of borrowing, copying or stealing copyright-protected content, design or code without permission." Many web designers have taken unfathomable liberties with their online filching -- some companies even do it twice. Pirated Sites uses a cool pop-up window script that makes it easy to compare web sites large and small. If you think you've run across a site that has been hit by web-style biters, don't hesitate to submit the URLs of the pirate and the victim. And if the moral isn't clear, we'll repeat it: Do Not Steal Websites.