Netiquette aside, is it illegal to copy some text from someones page with acknowledgement, but without their consent?
Answer Yes it is illegal to copy text from another person’s Web site without their permission. This is infringement of their copyright and/or moral rights in that material. It does not matter that you have acknowledged them as the source of that material, you have still committed an illegal act. If you would like to use a piece of text from someone else’s Web site, then you would have to treat it as you would any other piece of copyrighted work, i.e. gain permission (copyright clearance) to use it. This would mean that you would have to approach the Web site owner and state explicitly what piece of text you would like to use, and what precisely you would do with it. If permission was granted then you would only be able to use the material for the purposes stated, and you could be sued for infringement if you used it for other purposes.
