Help me define Copyright violations and plagiarism

sadiemay · Dec 18, 2009

I get that you cannot use an authors exact words, sell their stuff under your name, etc. I get the main idea. But what about similar story ideas? For example, let's say you wrote a story about a child's bedtime routine where she says good night to everyone. (Kind of a dumb example) But would this be an issue because of Good Night Moon. If it's written in different style and says good night to different things? Maybe even geared toward an older audience?

I'm just trying to get it straight in my head.
Thanks.

Parametric · Dec 18, 2009

Ideas can't be copyrighted. Legally, you can reuse other people's ideas as much as you like. Otherwise a lot of authors would be buried under a pile of lawsuits. :tongue

Cyia · Dec 18, 2009

Parametric said:
Ideas can't be copyrighted. Legally, you can reuse other people's ideas as much as you like. Otherwise a lot of authors would be buried under a pile of lawsuits.

This.

Twenty people can take the same idea and come up with twenty different results, all legally their own property,

Parametric · Dec 18, 2009

The legal issue is simple. Let's illustrate the thorny ethical issues with some examples from epic fantasy.

Tolkien writes the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Jordan deliberately makes the opening of his Wheel of Time series very similar to the opening of The Lord of the Rings. A reader might feel that the two openings are uncomfortably close and call it plagiarism. Or they might feel that the opening is a homage because Jordan acknowledges his sources.
Goodkind writes the Sword of Truth series. He claims to not read any other fantasy series, but huge chunks are ripped directly from the Wheel of Time. A lot of readers think he's a shameless liar and plagiarist.

Don't be Goodkind in this example. :tongue

Momento Mori · Dec 18, 2009

When I was at law school, a tutor used the following sentence to sum up copyright law:

"Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself."

MM

sadiemay · Dec 18, 2009

Good answers. I'm not trying to plagiarize anything, just to be clear. I've written something and my agent asked me to research other books with the same theme and I found one I was unfamiliar with that used rhyming (as did I) and focused on the same topic as I did, however, both are written completely different. Just wanted to be sure before I went any further. Thanks!

Smish · Dec 18, 2009

sadiemay said:
Good answers. I'm not trying to plagiarize anything, just to be clear. I've written something and my agent asked me to research other books with the same theme and I found one I was unfamiliar with that used rhyming (as did I) and focused on the same topic as I did, however, both are written completely different. Just wanted to be sure before I went any further. Thanks!

Obviously, if you have any concerns, you should also discuss them with your agent. That's what he/she is there for.

Help me define Copyright violations and plagiarism

sadiemay

Lost in Fiction

Parametric

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny

Parametric

Momento Mori

Tired and Disillusioned

sadiemay

Lost in Fiction

Smish

Reads more than she writes.