As for that Picasso quote....

Also, as for that Picasso quote "bad artists imitate, great artists steal" I think this little blurb spells out some problems with using it as a support for plagarism.

Actually, there's no evidence Picasso ever said that. T. S. Eliot said something of that nature, but it has been taken out of context. He was not endorsing plagiarism, but the acknowledgement that all culture and art builds on what went before - as opposed to copying it.

To use that as justification for endorsing stealing others ideas and using them as your own shows a total disregard or care for truth...but I guess that was already evident when you stole the idea.

Here's a good article discussing the quote and its meaning and a great quote saying the meaning simply...

take old work to a new place. Steal the Google site, strip down what works (fast load, nonexistent graphics, small quirky changes that delight) and use the parts on your own site. Look at the curve of a Coke Bottle and create a beautiful landscape painting with it. Take the hairline pinstriping on the side of somebody’s car, reimagine it on your print job. Find inspiration in the world you live in, where nothing is truly new so that everything has the potential to be innovative.

http://www.businessofdesignonline.com/picasso-good-artists-copy/