When is a button a "rip"?

[Diva]

Hi. I do NOT want to start a pising contest, I honestly would like to know the answer. So far I've gotten 'it depends'. I'm not talking about sites, just buttons.

I like to help people out and make them buttons. I have seen a lot of bru-ha over designs and need some guidence. If I see a design that looks nice, I would like to know when I am over-stepping my boundries and 'ripping'.

Here's some background. No names. If you know who, then I'd still like to keep it off here, just because I don't want it getting silly.

A guy said he saw a button and was looking for someone to help him with a set. He then mentioned that it was on another site, but was taken down for looking like another sites.

It turns out that the button has a history. The maker copied/was inspired by a web hosting company's buttons and created a set. He went on to make different colors.

So, when is a button a rip? Here is some choices to choose from:

[NTLDR]

A button is a rip when and only when you save it from a site and use it. For example I right click and save as the members button here and use it on my site, thats a rip. If however I make a copy from scratch of the button, this is not a rip, but a copy.