David Dyer-Bennet <dd-b at dd-b.net> wrote: > >"H. T." <electrictwilight at hotmail.com> writes: [after much snippage] > >> Of course, before anyone comments on this analogy, inspiration without >> plagiarism and/or stealing, wherein one creates something totally >> unique is usually another thing. > >And yet nobody, least of all David Gerrold or Robert Heinlein, thought >_The Trouble With Tribbles_ plagiarized _The Rolling Stones_. Or for >that matter the Hornblower books. In literature, if you borrow from >enough sources and rub off enough serial numbers, it really does stop >being plagiarism. Actually, during production of the episode the people at Paramount did bring up the question about whether "The Trouble with Tribbles" was too close to _The Rolling Stones_ for legality. David Gerrold talked about it in his book _The Trouble with Tribbles_. I think he ended up sending Heinlein an autographed copy of the script with thanks for his inspiration, but it's been decades since I read that, so I may be remembering incorrectly. -- Adina