Copyrights

[fcbkid15]

I have a few questions about what creatures are copyrighted. First I need to know if gnomes are copyrighted to dragonlance. Not garden gnomes, but gnomes that are pretty much like hobbits. Anyone can post here questions like these, but I just started it off with this. I need an answer.

 

[SeverinR]

Gnomes:
World of warcraft
garden gnomes
Dungeons and Dragons

A gnome (/noʊm/[1]) is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characteristics have been reinterpreted to suit the needs of various story-tellers, but it is typically said to be a small, humanoid creature that lives underground.[2]

Gnome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Basically it is four centuries old so copyright is not an issue.

 

[fcbkid15]

haha okay thanks

 

[Shadoe]

You can't copyright a concept or an idea - such as "gnomes." If your gnomes are exactly like the ones in a copyrighted work in some specific way that is unique to that work, you might have issues.

 

[Ravana]

Yup, what they said.

If your gnomes exhibited features that were specifically original to the Dragonlance material, and are (or at least were) not associated with them in any other source, then you'd be skirting the edge. Even there, though, you're probably safe–because, let's face it, you aren't worth suing.

On the other hand, you should avoid blatantly stealing copyrighted material, because it lacks class, because it's rude, because doing so will reflect on your image as an author, and because there's always that off chance that some day you might become worth suing.…

 

[Donny Bruso]

Not to be the obnoxious moral person at the party, but also because it's wrong...

 

[Ravana]

That, too, though I generally find that to be the least convincing argument I can bring to bear.

Here, I can't use my best one, though: "You want to make the Dean's List? Because he keeps one. First time you make it, it's an automatic F for the course; second time is suspension for one term; third time is permanent expulsion." –All of which is true. (Not only that, far from being discouraged in reporting plagiarism, our instructors are required to.) Community colleges are so much nicer to teach at than major universities.…

 

[SeverinR]

In that spirit,
I prefer to make my creatures mine completely.
I make background, mannerisms, and positives and negitives, that are mine alone.
I can write knowing their limitations rather then trying to work with someone elses limits.
They might be "generally similar, but not specifically the same.