Jan Coffey wrote:
>
>> I think this can cause some problems. Copy from one
>> is plagiarism, copy from many is research :-)
>>
>> They probably can claim that they were taking ideas
>> from many books so they can escape being accused of
>> stealing from only one.
<devil advocate>
>
> Disny and WB would definatly sue if you made a cartoon
> about a mouse named nicky and a bunny named biggs.
>
Stealing characters is obvious. Stealing _ideas_
is not.
> Or how about "Alian Terminator" a movie about a T-14
> cybernetic unit sent back through time to kill a woman
> before she could spawn an insect like alian
> that was growing in her stomach.
>
Again, stealing characters.
> Marvel and DC would have a problem if you made a movie
> about Bat-gent and Spider-boy 2 supper heroes that
> battle a ridieling clown and a goblin like
> mutation, both dressed in green.
>
Again II, stealing characters.
> It's theft and something sould be done!
>
I agree. I am not sure *what* should be done.
It's like stealing a patented process for, say, extracting
oil. In this imaginary example, the thieving company can
change a small detail in the process and claim that
it's an entirely new process. The morale is that the
company with more money to pay lawyers will win over
the company who hired the better engineers.
</devil advocate>
FWIW, what about Clarke's idea of a Geostationary
Satellite? I guess I don't pay him any cent whenever
I maneuver my satellites back to the geostationary
arc.
Alberto Monteiro
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