Does the borrowing of an author's idea rather than their story constitute plagiarism? Say for instance you read a book and you really like the idea the author came up with but you felt that the story the author told was terrible. You believe you could write a much better book. So you create your own story with your own characters, settings, etc. And it is all based loosely on the idea of the author you just read. Is that plagiarism?
No. You can copyright details of a story and its' execution, but you cannot copyright or lay claim to ownership over an idea. Thus you could take the idea an author used to develop the story and use it as a framework to build your own without plagiarizing.
If the opposite where the case, the Tolkien estate could have made billions by suing the imitators that "The Lord of the Rings" has inspired.
Take for instance Harry Potter. Let's say you like the idea of the magical world Jk Rowling created. But you think you can do better. So you write a book like hers but with your own original ideas. Perhaps you acknowledge that Jk Rowling has heavily influenced your work. Is this alright?
Yes, but be prepared to be called a copycat unless you do a phenomenal job creating your own characters and situations. BTW the basic framework behind Harry Potter ("the secret world alongside the real world" type of worldbuilding) is quite common in fantasy. However you can't re-tell the same story and merely swap character names/sexes/nationalities around - that would be plagiarism.
Full disclosure: I'm a paralegal working in the entertainment industry - so while I'm familiar with the laws and caselaw involving claims of copyright infringement and plagiarism, I am not an attorney.
"Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness."
This message last edited by RugbyPlayingAshaman on 13/07/2010 at 05:10:21 PM
What exactly is plagiarism?
- 13/07/2010 03:10:22 PM
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Speaking from a legal perspective...
- 13/07/2010 05:07:47 PM
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