If some work such as a movie, a textbook, or any other published/copyrighted work inspires you, how much can you borrow before you cross that line? What if it was published with an open source license?
I am only on the rough draft in either case, so it's far from too late to change some things.
Furthermore, how do you give due credit if you're writing a novel?
Thanks in advance. :)
plagiarism...sigh.
How much are you putting in there? Honestly, if you can't say it without saying it with someone elses words, then you should rewrite.
credit if your writing a novel?"
Edit! And I am only trying to help! It's you're not your.
Thanks, clearly I need to learn how to proofread, hah.
No worries, we all make mistakes. If you want me to take a look at the quote and surrounding text you can.
I need to be more specific for my quandry. I'm writing a book about Hell. There's "lore" in "Dante's Inferno", but 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons has a sourcebook (Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells) which changed many things.
Now, can I borrow names, characters or locations from them, or is that plagiarism? Is giving credit enough? Is it necessary to entirely create my own version of Hell?
You can use stuff from other people (it's called fair use), but it's restricted to how much you can use. I would Google "fair use" and see what you find. I'm not sure how you cite it, but probably on your copyright page (when your novel is published). Though you could probably cite it when you use it in the text with a bibliography type citation.
Read over "fair use" stuff online and see what you come up with.
You can use anything you want from Dante's Inferno because it's in the public domain. You'll be sued within an inch of your life if you try to use D&D's stuff.
EDIT: The problem with D&D stuff is that a lot of it is trademarked, which I think makes it trickier to use. But I'm not a copyright/trademark attorney, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
I don't think names or alluding to lore would be terrible. I would do it sparingly though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons
Licensing
Further information: Variant Dungeons & Dragons games
Early in the game’s history, TSR took no action against small publishers' production of D&D compatible material. This attitude changed in the mid 1980s when TSR took legal action to try to prevent others from publishing compatible material. This angered many fans and led to resentment by the other gaming companies.[68] Although TSR took legal action against several publishers in an attempt to restrict third-party usage, it never brought any court cases to completion, instead settling out of court in every instance.[112] TSR itself also ran afoul of intellectual property law in several cases.[113]
With the launch of Dungeons & Dragons’s 3rd Edition, Wizards of the Coast made the d20 System available under the Open Game License (OGL) and d20 trademark license. Under these licenses, authors are free to use the d20 System when writing games and game supplements.[114] The OGL and d20 Trademark License also made possible new games, some based on licensed products like Star Wars, and also new versions of older games, such as Call of Cthulhu.
During the 2000s, there has been a trend towards recreating older editions of D&D. Necromancer Games, with its slogan "Third Edition Rules, First Edition Feel"[115] and Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics range[116] are both examples of this in material for d20 System. Other companies have created complete game systems based on earlier editions of D&D. An example is HackMaster (2001) by Kenzer and Company, a licensed, non-OGL, semi-satirical follow-on to 1st and 2nd Edition.[117] Castles & Crusades (2005), by Troll Lord Games, is a reimagining of early editions by streamlining rules from OGL[118] that was supported by Gary Gygax prior to his death.[119]
With the release of the fourth edition, Wizards of the Coast has introduced its Game System License, which represents a significant restriction compared to the very open policies embodied by the OGL. In part as a response to this, some publishers (such as Paizo Publishing with its Pathfinder Roleplaying Game) who previously produced materials in support of the D&D product line, have decided to continue supporting the 3rd Edition rules, thereby competing directly with Wizards of the Coast.[120][121] Others, such as Kenzer & Company, are returning to the practice of publishing unlicensed supplements and arguing that copyright law does not allow Wizards of the Coast to restrict third-party usage.[122]
Now, the main book I'm borrowing from is a 3rd Edition book, so...that probably means that D&D allows independents to develop products using their system, and then to publish said products....but the authors of said products are likely protected by their own publishers copyright laws.
The level of control they try to keep over the rule-set is not necessarily the same as what they will try to keep over other intellectual property such as monsters and demons and such.
I should write them a letter, maybe they'd publish me...hah.
The best way to avoid plagiarism is to use your own imagination to come up with things.
As far as I know, only the rules of the 3 core books of 3rd edition are OGL. The flavor text of those and all other sourcebooks are not. They are copyrighted.
So it depends on how general the terms used are. For example, you couldn't use the Lake of Amanish'antai in your book, but if you describe a lake of fire filled with the damned (because that's pretty nonspecific).
If you're just talking about the types of demons, then stuff like this wiki page and Dante's Inferno are fine. Everyone uses Dante and the Bible. And then you can take the demons you find, create your own backstory for them, and make it your own lore.
Are you trying to turn your D&D game into a novel, or something from the D&D game published material into a novel? Your stuff into a novel shouldn't be too hard, just leave out the terms that are D&Dish and you're good. D&D stuff into a novel, pretty much a no. They don't/can't own the word wizard, barbarian, monk, etc. although fighter and rogue sound to much like them so switch just for flavor.
The d20 system is open license, but none of the settings, specific characters, nor published novels are. You can't have it in the Realms, and nor can you have Melf or Morticiden stop by. You can have Bob the fighter (although I'd rename him almost anything else) in your homebrew beat up the dragon.
Write about Cthulhu.
Write about Cthulhu.
Yes, please, somebody write about Cthulhu. There's an open invitation for anyone to write about Cthulhu, so just do it. I'm going to do it one day, you should too.
I think most of my short stories have at least a little nod to Lovecraft. I hate his stories, but I love the mythos. I'm re-reading Night Shift again, and Stephen King really knew how to write a good Mythos story.
D&D has mind flayers that always reminded me of fun-size Cthulhus. Cthulhuen? I would maybe use a Mythos figure, but I woldnt call it a mind flayer - I have a feeling WotC is fairly litigious. Corporations have plenty of lawyers on retainer, and those lawyers have a vested interest in maintaining the brand, and in keeping themselves busy and rolling in dough.
So by all means take inspiration from books, games, movies - but don't use the creative work of other people. Nothing good will come of it.
Thanks for all the input...nerds.
I could be misreading, but it sounds like most of you don't realize the most of D&D is under some type of open license. People can use it how they way, the work also becomes open content for others to use, but it is legal.
3.x D&D version
http://www.earth1066.com/D20FAQ.htm
4th edition D&D version
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/welcome
Some folks already have a novel series based on there open license world, and a game that sells better the D&D so it seems they aren't going to sue.
Plus you can't copyright a game.
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html
@Jeff - And they'd be right to sue, legally speaking. The Mind Flayer was never open content. They did put literally hundreds of monsters into open content, and lots of groups have used them for lots of things but not the Mind Flayer.
Now all that being said, it's still probably best to limit your novel to mostly things you came up with. If you want to throw in trolls or something they probably can't sue, but you still have to be very careful with something like this and actually make sure you are using open content.
I, Cthulhu by Neil Gaiman
How about this aspect:
It is startling to realize that some of our most cherished memories may never have happened—or may have happened to someone else...Losing conscious memory of what I have said before, and having no text, I discover my themes afresh each time, and they often seem to me brand-new. This type of forgetting may be necessary for a creative or healthy cryptomnesia, one that allows old thoughts to be reassembled, retranscribed, recategorized, given new and fresh implications...Sometimes these forgettings extend to autoplagiarism, where I find myself reproducing entire phrases or sentences as if new, and this may be compounded, sometimes, by a genuine forgetfulness...Webster’s defines “plagiarize” as “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own: use (another’s production) without crediting the source …to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.” There is a considerable overlap between this definition and that of “cryptomnesia.” The essential difference is that plagiarism, as commonly understood and reprobated, is conscious and intentional, whereas cryptomnesia is neither.
