Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois
copyright/trademark
what % can you change a logo so that you won't get into copyright issues? I was told you could change something 10% and be fine.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: copyright/trademark
That is absolutely NOT true. Save the money you'd spend on defending a copyright/trademark infringement action and give it to a graphic designer to create an original logo for your business.
Re: copyright/trademark
Did you get that answer from a lawyer? Courts generally do not use a percentage analysis, but other factors to determine if the new logo would be confused by a reasonable person with the copyright logo. This answer does not constitute legal advice because you are not as yet my client.
Re: copyright/trademark
Who ever told you 10% is dead wrong and do not ever ask that person for legal advice again! Although there are some copyright issues here, this most likely comes under the area of law known as trademark.
Is this someone else's trademark that you are trying to change? The question becomes will your changes create a "likelihood of confusion" with the previous mark. The owner of the original mark may claim that you are making superficial changes but still trying to create an association with his/her mark and your new one.
What are you trying to get around?
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