Copyright infringement question

**furry** · 11-05-2008, 07:56 PM

I've gone thru the various resources concerning copyright law and the internet, but was unable to find an answer to this question. Is there a specific or general rule of thumb concerning someone copying your material and using it, but they have slightly modified it? Does it break down into a percentage of sorts, such as they copied your material, and modified 20% of it, so they can now legally use it without fear of repercussion?

**Learning Newbie** · 11-05-2008, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by furry

someone copying your material and using it, but they have slightly modified it?

That's called a derivative work, and is a violation of your copyright.

Quote:

Originally Posted by furry

Does it break down into a percentage of sorts, such as they copied your material, and modified 20% of it, so they can now legally use it without fear of repercussion?

The point of no return is the point where a jury will vote in your favor, so it's a bit of a gamble.

If I wrote a book that started "Luke Skywalker was late to work today, and in truth, he hated his job as a SQL Server DBA," that would be a derivative work. You can see the plot will unfold in a way that's radically (99% or more) different from Star Wars, but since I took one of the characters, that's an infringement of copyright. In almost all cases, this is ignored in fan fiction - and I'm guessing that's not what you're asking about.

**posresearch** · 11-06-2008, 03:29 PM

Copied material is a violation of copyrights even if only 2% of it is copied. Sources must always credited with not only specific words that they use, but also original ideas. Be on the safe side, and when in doubt cite a source.

**Learning Newbie** · 11-06-2008, 08:23 PM

Where does this myth that citing a source makes copyright infringement legal? That's like believing you can steal a car as long as you put a bumper sticker on the back, saying "This car stolen from Van Huen Toyota".

**promisem** · 09-04-2009, 04:50 PM

It's a common practice in media to rewrite material and cite the source in publication or on air. What they don't do is re-use the exact text, audio or video.

For example, the New York Times might say, "A small plane crashed on Long Island last night. All five people aboard were reported killed." Associated Press might take that story and say, "Five people died last night in a small plane crash on Long Island, the New York Times reported today."

In other words, they rewrite the original material, but they don't use it verbatim.