Oooooh I get to put my law school training to work! Ideas are not copyrightable. The implementation of such an idea is. For instance, you could be wandering down the street and think of a way to fly using some exotic anti gravity particle. That's not copyrightable. Even if you address a crowd with the same idea. Now, if you take an idea, go home and start writing it down, fleshing out the ideas, then that's when you can slap a copyright on it. Right now I am working on my 5th novel. I actually came up with the idea for it while talking about wild fantasy concepts in my writers' group. Its in public and forum but its an idea. Not copyrightable. Now I am home writing it so I can put that little (c) on it. On May 11, 2004, at 9:40 AM, Bato001 at aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 05/11/2004 4:49:04 AM Eastern Standard Time, > fides at kludgeco.com writes: > Philip Hart wrote: > >> 1) Can anyone expect copyright on broad plot ideas expressed in a >> public >> forum? >> >> > > IANAL - it depends how specific it is and it is up to the court to > decide which is something you don't want. You cannot copyright a > stereotype for example - 'the wisearse sidekick' or 'boy meets girl' > but > when stereotype meets specific you start getting fuzzy legal gray > areas. > > Where an idea for a story is expressed doesn't matter otherwise no > writing whould be covered since you don't get much more of a publc > forum > than publishing something ;-) > >> 2) Wow, what a pain. >> >> > > The problem is that such things would have to go to court and could go > either way even if you had the idea first which is quite hard to > legally > prove. And anything that has to go that far is loosing even if you win > the case. > >> While the above is interesting, I really hope that we find out in the >> fullness of time what the prescient list idea was. >> >> > > Ditto. > > :-) > > Fides > Only an idiot would publish their idea to a public forum and then cry > when > someone else 'stole' it. I believe that anyone on this list who writes > 'it would > be way cool if.......' would be honored that Steve himself was > thinking along > those lines. I also highly doubt that Steve really needs to steal > ideas from > us humble peasants. As he said in the interview(a loose paraphrase, > allow me > some leeway here)- someone on the list came up with a story line that > he had > been considering and now he is not sure if he will use it. He > mentioned nothing > about reading the list and then thinking along the posted story line. > Methinks > that there may be some out there who suppose too much. > > > John D. Barbato, OD