There is no "xxx% Rule."

I piece of work with a lot of clients who are building their brands and their content, and one question I ofttimes go is "isn't there a rule where you can re-create something every bit long as you modify xxx% of it?"

This myth of the "30% rule" is pervasive and widely cited effectually the Internet, just it is only false. In that location is no 30% rule, and any time y'all re-create someone else'due south writings, drawings, website, or other creative work, you run the risk of copyright infringement.

Many people think of copyright infringement every bit piracy or the cosmos of unauthorized reproductions of a copyrighted piece of work, like a song, photograph, or writing. If you download a Boob tube show, you lot are making an unauthorized copy of the Telly show. However, the purpose of copyright law is to both reward 'makers' and incentivize others to create new creative works, as opposed to merely taking the work done by others and claiming it as their own. Therefore, copyright protection extends beyond just 'exact' reproductions and into 'substantially similar' reproductions. But how far away does a work need to get before it is no longer confusingly similar?

The Myth of the 30% Rule and Things to Consider

According to internet lore, if you modify xxx% of a copyrighted piece of work, it is no longer infringement and y'all tin can use it yet you want. This, as a rule, is fake. The truth of the matter is much more than complicated.

While different courts have dissimilar legal tests, the primal to determining whether something is substantially similar will depend on the similarities between the 2 works in context. This decision also changes depending on the medium.

If an infringer changes every tenth word in an 800-give-and-take commodity, for example, only keeps the perspective of the underlying piece of work, the judgement structure, etc. in place, then it is likely to all the same exist "essentially similar."

It also depends on how much is copied: single words or brusque phrases are non subject to copyright protection, as copyright police force is not meant to give a monopoly on those items. Also, there is a concept called "merger" wherein the idea and the expression of that thought are merged into i – substantially, if in that location is only one style to logically express an idea, so no one can claim exclusive ownership of that expression.

For example, the instructions in an instruction manual on how to operate a machine cannot exist protected nether copyright police force – simply the advertizing and non-instructional materials can. A gear up of board game rules is not protectable under copyright law, but the 'flavortext' and narrative in the rulebook can.

Proceed in mind there is a unlike assay (called "off-white use") every bit to when you can use parts of someone else's work for criticism, quoting, etc. This requires its own in-depth assay only typically does not cover situations where a copier is attempting to laissez passer off someone else'due south piece of work equally their own.

Best Practices for Avoiding Copyright Infringement

DO
When writing, read many unlike perspectives on issues and synthesize your own viewpoint and analysis. If you ultimately agree with an commodity that has been written, take the main thought and write your own article in your own words.

DON'T

Don't copy a blog post, change a few words, and laissez passer it off equally your own content. If you are quoting a web log post, quote thoughtfully and only take every bit much as needed to brand your point. Otherwise, yous could exist exposing yourself to liability. Using an "article spinner" that changes some of the words of a work yous don't own can expose y'all to significant liability.

DO
Be skeptical of who you hire for content. "I didn't know what my contractor/employee was doing" is not a defense to copyright infringement. You may be held jointly and severally liable for the infringement, regardless if information technology was your contractor that was the actual infringer.

DON'T
Don't presume that content establish on the internet can be freely copied without recourse. Businesses oftentimes spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on digital marketing and their advert text is extremely valuable. Farther, for SEO purposes, copies made and posted elsewhere detract from the uniqueness of the content and reduce its effectiveness in driving traffic to the creator's website.

If y'all have questions nearly whether you can apply someone else's content in any way, contact an experienced intellectual property attorney to talk over – and they tin help you to protect your own artistic works from infringers as well!