[bdowling]

A work that is “substantially similar” to a copyrighted work infringes that work, under US law, no matter how it was produced. (Note: Some exceptions apply and you have to read a lot of cases to get an idea of what courts find “substantially similar” .)

[HWR_14]

> no matter how it was produced

IIRC, this is wrong. Independent creation is a valid (but almost impossible to prove) defense in US copyright law.

This example is not an independent creation, but your reasoning seems wrong.

[bdowling]

I wrote "some exceptions apply" to try to avoid getting into the weeds, but yes, independent creation is an exception. Other exceptions include out-of-term works, public domain, Mise-en-scène (e.g., stock characters), fair use (a huge can of worms), etc.