Intellectual Property

[airbolt]

I had a story idea - an alternate version of the postwar era. Then a Graphic Novel ( Ministery of Space ) came out and it was practically everything I wanted to write!

It raised an interesting point - especially after the Dan Brown Court Case. If ( for the sake of argument ) i wrote my story just how different would it have to be in order to avoid plagiarism charges ?

[jno]

I think most plagiarism cases have involved taking chunks of actual prose rather than just working on the same ideas (which is what Dan Brown did). But that leaves a big grey area, which it would be up to a court to decide on. Plagiarism isn't a charge in the sense of being a criminal offence; I think it's more a civil matter where another author would sue you for breach of copyright.

[jno]

PS you might get a more technical answer in the Law section

[Matheous]

This is very interesting....although quite different.
I had thought of all the energy which is generated by people just walking along the pavement and how it could be harnessed to mechanically create enough electricity to power something -and I heard a BBC4 radio programme covering the subject of energy which underlined a project designed to create the same thing I imagined!
I am sorry if that bored you but it was a fact and not quite an 'intellectual property' issue

[airbolt]

I was watching a programme about hurricanes and they casually tossed in that the hurricane generates huge amounts of power . Imagine harnesing that - however it would be a bit of a techical marvel if it was possible,

[Matheous]

airbolt -Tesla had visions & I think, theories on moving Electricity around the country WITHOUT pylons! Like Lightning!!

[Peter Pedant]

The Dan Brown case turned on the fact that the plot was almost the same but the words different.
Who ever it was who was suiing lost expensively

So you can write your book the only problem is that you can't let any of his prose into yours or you will get done