The Pirate Bay Trial

[That Guy]

vlad321 said:

That Guy said:
it sort of is copyright infringement. You can make your burger, but you cannot make it in the same likeness as the Big Mac and advertise it as such. McDonalds would be all over you like a fat kid on chocolate if they found out you were selling the "Big Mac" at McVladdy's.

 

So I'll grab the song/movie/whatever and just edit the name. Would that be the equivalent of me making my own burger but not naming it Big Mac?

 

No one owns a patent on the Hamburger. So if you want to make your own cheeseburger, no one is stopping you. But the specific way that McDonalds makes their Big Mac, certainly is patented.

Likewise, if you decided to get a bunch of angry rap/rock guys together and you want to record and sell your own cover version of "Bulls on Parade," then no one is stopping you. But just copying "Bulls on Parade" and saying its you would be copyright infringement.

 

EDIT: If you decided to write a song in the same likeness and used the same words as "Bulls on Parade" that would be considered Plagiarism and is also illegal, or at least looked down upon greatly ^_^