Is it permissible to remove the 'designed by' credit link from a free responsive Blogger template, and what are the implications?

In most cases, removing the 'designed by' credit link from a free template is not permissible and violates the template designer's terms of service. This link often serves as the 'payment' for using the template for free. Attempting to remove it through code modification without explicit permission can lead to potential legal issues, the template creator discontinuing support or updates, or your blog being flagged by the designer. To legitimately remove the credit link, you would typically need to purchase the premium version of the template if available.