Legal Definitions - fragmented literal similarity

Fragmented literal similarity is a concept in copyright law that describes a situation where a new work copies specific, identifiable portions or "fragments" of an existing copyrighted work. These copied fragments are literally (word-for-word, note-for-note, line-for-line) identical or strikingly similar to the original, even if they are scattered throughout the new work and do not constitute the entire original piece. The key is that these distinct copied elements are substantial enough to demonstrate unauthorized use, even if the overall structure or complete text of the original work was not reproduced.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Musical Composition: Imagine a new pop song that features a distinctive, eight-second guitar riff and a unique four-line lyrical phrase taken directly from an older, lesser-known rock song. These elements are not the entire chorus or a full verse of the original, but they are exact copies and easily recognizable by listeners familiar with the older track. The rest of the pop song is original material.

  This demonstrates fragmented literal similarity because the specific guitar riff and lyrical phrase are "fragments" that are "literally similar" (identical) to the original copyrighted song, indicating unauthorized copying despite being a small part of the new work.

• Software Code: A software development company releases a new application. During a subsequent code review or audit, it is discovered that several unique, non-functional code snippets – such as a specific error handling routine, a complex algorithm implementation, or even unique comment blocks – from a competitor's copyrighted software are embedded within its own much larger codebase. These snippets are not essential to the core functionality of the new application but are exact matches to the competitor's code.

  Here, the specific code snippets are "fragments" that are "literally similar" to the competitor's copyrighted code. Even though they are a small portion of the overall program and might be scattered, their identical nature points to direct, unauthorized copying.

• Academic or Journalistic Writing: A journalist publishes an investigative article. Later, it is revealed that three distinct paragraphs, each discussing a specific historical event with unique phrasing and a particular presentation of facts, were lifted verbatim from three different, obscure academic papers without proper attribution. The remaining majority of the journalist's article is original content.

  This illustrates fragmented literal similarity because the three distinct paragraphs are "fragments" that are "literally similar" (word-for-word identical) to the original academic works. Despite being scattered and not comprising the entire article, their exact reproduction suggests plagiarism and potential copyright infringement.