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Are icons or any part of a UI copyrightable?

If not, then if e.g. my grandmother is used to MacOS, then why can't I make a Linux-y OS that looks like it so my grandmother is immediately familiar with the UI?

If early cars copyrighted the round steering wheel, then we would sort of be in an impossible situation right now.

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I think that is among the most copyrightable parts of an OS.

And that doesn’t prevent you from doing your little hobby project for your grandmother at all; you just couldn’t sell or distribute it.

You can sell it to your grandmother, just don't tell anyone.

What about the steering wheel argument?

What you’re alluding to is the patent system and I can assure you it most certainly does exist and can have regressive consequences in many instances.

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