What does “materially different” mean?

Question

My father is an artist who is considering building a sculpture for an organization. as part of the contract he is prohibited from making copies of the sculpture in the future, or any works that are not "materially different".

Nothing in this Agreement shall, however, prevent the Artist from making other works of art that are materially different than the Artwork using combinations of the same materials and in different configuration".

What does "materially different" mean in this case? How different do future sculptures need to be to qualify?

Answer 1

What does "materially different" mean in this case? How different do future sculptures need to be to qualify?

There really is no precise set of standards or strict criterion, but the issue has to do with likelihood of confusion.

A subsequent sculpture created by your father would qualify as "materially different" unless it renders a reasonable person unable to distinguish between that and the organization's one without making a rather detailed comparison.