You're right. IP law has nothing to do with discussions of the works themselves. I (perhaps somewhat biasedly) just think it's important to keep in mind the larger universe the texts exist in. And people in general, not just ficcers, don't understand copyright law. Just read the Copyright Office FAQ to get a feel for the rampant ignorance/misinformation out there.
Copyright does not protect ideas. Patents protect ideas. Instead, copyright protects "original works of authorship" (read: expression of ideas). The problem with giving you an actual answer is that there really isn't one. It's much easier to point to other things and call them infringement than to clearly delineate what expression cannot be copied. You're really asking about derivative works, and what is yours and yours alone in this case will be decided during a lawsuit. Outside of actual "black and white" copying, much of copyright law is very, very grey.
I do have one definitive answer! Characters are copyrightable in and of themselves (as decided by case law, in the 40s or 50s I believe).
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yati
no subject
Date: 2006-08-25 06:47 am (UTC)Copyright does not protect ideas. Patents protect ideas. Instead, copyright protects "original works of authorship" (read: expression of ideas). The problem with giving you an actual answer is that there really isn't one. It's much easier to point to other things and call them infringement than to clearly delineate what expression cannot be copied. You're really asking about derivative works, and what is yours and yours alone in this case will be decided during a lawsuit. Outside of actual "black and white" copying, much of copyright law is very, very grey.
I do have one definitive answer! Characters are copyrightable in and of themselves (as decided by case law, in the 40s or 50s I believe).