Also known as: substantial similarity · substantially the same · substantial similarity test
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A comparative standard requiring material resemblance between two items, acts, or documents in the respects relevant to the governing legal rule. The standard is satisfied when differences are minor or immaterial so that the two are treated as equivalent for the doctrine's purposes. It is applied by examining the core elements or legal rights at issue rather than every detail.
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Skylar Sullivan signed a consent form authorizing only physician assistant Selena Singh to remove a specific mole on her cheek. During the procedure, supervising physician Sophia Singh excised an adjacent lesion without obtaining additional permission. Because the second excision was not the particular conduct authorized or substantially the same, the consent provided no defense to the battery claim.
Samantha Stone signed a letter expressing interest in leasing land from Sean Steele. After negotiations, the parties signed a second memorandum that omitted the land description but otherwise satisfied the statute. The two documents were read together because the question whether they formed a sufficient memorandum was substantially the same as if they had been incorporated in a single signed writing.
Sentinel Security contracted with Solstice Ventures for shipments of equipment described as due "June-Aug." Trade usage in the industry treated that phrase as requiring the largest shipment in June, a substantially similar shipment in July, and the balance in August. When Solstice shipped the bulk in August, the court measured performance against the usage rather than the literal dates.
Sierra Solutions purchased a vehicle from Spectrum Financial under a purchase order containing an express warranty that excluded all implied warranties. The court compared the disclaimer to those in earlier cases and found it substantially similar in scope and language, leading to the same conclusion on enforceability.
Sofia Stern alleged that four telecommunications carriers engaged in parallel conduct by refraining from competing in one another's territories. The complaint described the conduct in substantially similar language to earlier paragraphs detailing the same pattern, but the Court held that such allegations alone did not plausibly suggest an agreement.
The legislature enacted a statute that altered the quantum of evidence required to prove a prior offense. Because the new rule received less or different testimony than the law required at the time of the offense, the Court classified it as substantially similar to the prohibited category of ex post facto laws that change rules of evidence.
Consent is effective only for the particular conduct authorized or conduct that is substantially the same. When a physician performs an additional and distinct procedure on a different area of the body, the original consent supplies no defense because the touching exceeds the authorized bounds.
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…was sought. International Harvester contended that the only warranty extended was contained in the purchase order. It was substantially similar to the one in the present case, providing for the replacement of defective parts over a 60-day period and reciting that “This express warranty excludes all implied warranties.” The Kentucky…
…States. Id. , ¶ 48, App. 26. [^maj-3]: In setting forth the grounds for § 1 relief, the complaint repeats these allegations in substantially similar
…are technical and had acquired a specific meaning before the Revolution. Sir William Blackstone and other commentators adopt substantially the same meaning I have described. I also rely on the definitions in the constitutions of Massachusetts, Maryland, and North Carolina, and the declaration of rights of Delaware, which
…205 U.S. 322. While the opinion there refers the protection to a general property right in the quotations, the facts are substantially the same
…that “the phrase ‘June-Aug.’ has a definite meaning in the teenage clothing trade — i. e., the largest shipments in June with a
Two or more signed documents may be read together even if neither refers to the other when the question whether they constitute a sufficient memorandum is substantially the same as if they had been incorporated in a single document. The writings must clearly relate to the same transaction.
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Only claims that are substantially similar may be placed in the same class. Courts focus on legal rights: priority claims differ from unsecured claims, and secured claims differ from both, so each secured claim is ordinarily placed in its own class.
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Evidence of other accidents is admissible if the plaintiff establishes that the accidents are substantially similar to the accident at issue. The products must be the same or similar and the principal causative facts must align.
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A plaintiff must show that the defendant copied protectable elements and that the resulting work is substantially similar to the copyrighted work. The same elements of proof apply whether the claim is framed as reproduction or as preparation of a derivative work.
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