Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Massachusetts
can i copy workout routines from sources online and books , rephrase the directions so they are not word for word but still the same workout. Sell it for profit in my own project, and get in trouble with copyrights or intellectual property?
when copying a recipe, you can copy the ingrdients, but the directions cannot be word for word according to copyright law. is a workout routine the same thing?
since hundreds of websites use the same workout, change the directions a bit and post it. the only difference is i will sell it to my customers.
will i get sued or in toruble?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Copyright does not protect ideas, only the particular expression of those ideas. So the underlying recipe, workout, etc. is not protected, only the particular way the author explains it.
I cannot tell you whether you will be sued or not. However, using the recipe, workout routine, etc. of another but creating your own explanation from scratch should avoid copyright problems.
As a Franchise Attorney familiar with copyrights I can say the following. This issue is more complicated than the above answer suggests. If you make a recipe using a copyrighted book, you are not infringing on the copyright. But, if you copy the recipe and sell it as your own, you can (and likely will) get sued for copyright infringement. The test for copyright infringement is whether the two works are �substantially similar." And the penalties are substantial. Think about it. If all someone needed to do was change things around a little bit to escape copyright infringement, there'd be no point to having copyright law. Consult with a good copyright or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.
Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.
Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
