There is no "xxx% Dominion."

I work with a lot of clients who are building their brands and their content, and ane question I frequently get is "isn't there a rule where you can re-create something as long as you change xxx% of it?"

This myth of the "xxx% rule" is pervasive and widely cited around the Internet, but information technology is simply imitation. There is no 30% rule, and any time yous copy someone else's writings, drawings, website, or other creative work, you lot run the risk of copyright infringement.

Many people think of copyright infringement as piracy or the creation of unauthorized reproductions of a copyrighted work, like a song, photograph, or writing. If you download a Boob tube show, y'all are making an unauthorized copy of the Goggle box bear witness. Still, the purpose of copyright law is to both advantage 'makers' and incentivize others to create new artistic works, as opposed to just taking the work done by others and claiming it as their own. Therefore, copyright protection extends beyond merely 'exact' reproductions and into 'substantially similar' reproductions. But how far abroad does a piece of work need to get earlier it is no longer confusingly similar?

The Myth of the thirty% Dominion and Things to Consider

According to net lore, if yous modify thirty% of a copyrighted work, it is no longer infringement and you lot tin apply information technology all the same y'all desire. This, every bit a rule, is false. The truth of the matter is much more complicated.

While different courts have dissimilar legal tests, the key to determining whether something is substantially like will depend on the similarities between the two works in context. This conclusion as well changes depending on the medium.

If an infringer changes every tenth word in an 800-give-and-take commodity, for example, but keeps the perspective of the underlying piece of work, the sentence structure, etc. in place, then it is likely to still be "substantially like."

It also depends on how much is copied: single words or short 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 one – substantially, if in that location is but ane way to logically express an idea, and then no i can merits exclusive ownership of that expression.

For example, the instructions in an instruction manual on how to operate a machine cannot be protected under copyright law – but the advertizement and non-instructional materials tin. A fix of lath game rules is not protectable under copyright law, but the 'flavortext' and narrative in the rulebook can.

Keep in mind at that place is a different analysis (called "fair utilize") as to when you tin use parts of someone else's piece of work for criticism, quoting, etc. This requires its own in-depth assay only typically does non cover situations where a copier is attempting to laissez passer off someone else's piece of work equally their own.

Best Practices for Avoiding Copyright Infringement

DO
When writing, read many unlike perspectives on bug and synthesize your own viewpoint and analysis. If you ultimately concur with an article that has been written, take the master idea and write your own article in your own words.

DON'T

Don't copy a blog post, change a few words, and pass it off equally your ain content. If you are quoting a blog mail service, quote thoughtfully and only take equally much every bit needed to make your signal. Otherwise, you could be exposing yourself to liability. Using an "article spinner" that changes some of the words of a work you don't own tin can expose you 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 defence to copyright infringement. Y'all may exist held jointly and severally liable for the infringement, regardless if it was your contractor that was the actual infringer.

DON'T
Don't presume that content plant on the internet can be freely copied without recourse. Businesses often spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on digital marketing and their advertising text is extremely valuable. Further, 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'south website.

If you lot have questions virtually whether you can use someone else's content in any manner, contact an experienced intellectual holding attorney to talk over – and they tin help you to protect your own artistic works from infringers also!