Paraphrasing of copyrighted material

Whether a paraphrase is an infringement of expression, or a permissible restatement of an idea, is not a binary question but a matter of degree.

Free use, similar to the English common law concept of fair use, was only allowed if it did not infringe upon the normal exploitation of the work or the legitimate interests of the author.

Despite making this distinction, verbatim copying is not always required for copyright infringement, as paraphrasing is also prohibited in certain circumstances.

Finally, some courts find that all prongs of the Feist and Arnstein tests are met, but that the copying is nevertheless permitted under the fair use doctrine.

US copyright law protects against paraphrasing a story by, for example, copying a detailed plot sequence but using different language for the dialogue.

However, under the doctrine of "scènes à faire", it does not protect more general patterns, such as story themes and character prototypes.

[12] In his 2008 book Copyright's Paradox, discussing the conflict between protecting copyright and protecting free speech, Neil Netanel says, "Yeats [borrowed] from Shelley; Kafka from Kleist and Dickens; Joyce from Homer; and T.S.

Eliot from Shakespeare, Whitman and Baudelaire, all in ways that would infringe today's bloated copyright.

It was commonplace for Baroque, Classical and Romantic composers to create variations on each other's work without permission.