Copyright on ideas, or themes? Is this possible?

Copyright on ideas, or themes? Is this possible?

Hi everyone,

I'm going to keep names and places out of this, so I will create a hypothetical scenario to help pose my question.

Lets say you build an amusement park, and it starts doing really well. You have a growing members list, and your events are well attended, and everything is going great. Now lets say there is another amusement park in SL, and it has been around for just a little longer than yours. Lets say members from that amusement park start making their way over to your build, and sign up as members, and have fun there. The 2 amusement parks don't really share too many qualities, apart from the fact that there are rides, games, and well...they are both places to go for amusement.

Now, one day the owner from the other amusement park comes to visit your park , and feels that you have copied their park. They think the 2 parks are too similar, and that you have some of the same rides. The rides are prefab, and can be bought at stores in SL, not stolen or anything. Also, your amusement park happens to be quite tame and light hearted, where as the other amusement park is a harsher scarier theme.

My question is, can someone claim ownership of an idea or a theme in sl? Does this person have a leg to stand on in this accusation? They are saying they will take it up with the Lindens.

thank you.

nope, using and placing prefabs any one can do, besides, you can`t copyright themes as far as i know unlike art work, inventions/creations

just your average day bully, patentant stuff you can take directly to court and get their info from LL, he`s just treathning to call for mommy wich will just laugh

No leg to stand on if you're buying prefab rides. The theme idea of an amusment park is not a theme, that's abuisness venture. If it wasn't, then Disney and Six Flags would be fighting it out in court lol

Only the names would matter here. As long as your amusment park name and group isn't close to the other's then you have no worry.

It's not "copyright" to run a simular buisness. That's called "compitition". Buy the other owner a dictionary ^.~

~Jessy

Thanks everyone!

Yes...I thought as much. I mean, look at all the clubs out there that have similar themes (goth etc). They are allowed to co exist.

this person is being a cry baby because we are legit competition.

Copyright only covers specific concrete expessions of ideas. Assuming they bought all their rides and other items as prefabs, it sounds like the only specific expression they own is the way the park is laid out, and even that would have to show some originality or creativity. So unless you put most of your rides in the same relative positions (more or less), or copied something specific and unique about their park, it seems unlikely they have any claims. The prefab stuff is clearly not unique to their park.

The certainly can't claim any copyright on the idea of an amusement park, nor can they prohibit you from using rides that you both bought from a third party.

No leg to stand on, either in RL or SL.

Copyright only protects the EXPRESSION of an idea. That is, the specific words, or images. General themes and ideas are not protected by copyright.

Example: A story about a school for wizards. If Ursula LeGuin could copyright that idea, "A Wizard of Earthsea" would have been the only book ever written using the idea. But no, we have "Harry Potter", plus a slew of imitators. Same basic idea, different expressions.

If you laid out your sim exactly the same as your competitor's, used exactly the same rides, the same textures, the same logos and text signs, the same notecards given, etc...THEN he could claim copyright violation, perhaps. But simply having an amusement park with some of the same, prefab, attractions? Nope.

I have two different types of Chinese restaurants around the corner from me. Based on this jerks reasoning one of them should be forced to stop their "theme".

Not just one of them, both of them. They are both copying the very first Chinese restaurant. Which was of course itself copying the very first restaurant etc etc etc.

SO both amusement parks in SL are violations.

Because Spitoonie was first!!!

There is only one way to truly compete in SL.

Via excellence in what you do.

Because even if you held the rights, unless you have a team of lawyers backing you up for free, it will cost you more to hold your turf than it will to just 'be better'.

lol...it isn't actually an amusement park. It's something else, but I used this as an analogy to keep this issue a private one.



thanks for all the advice everyone.

Did you go to their park and hang out for a while, see what type of customer hung out at the park and then edit some rides and find out the creator's name and then go out and get those rides? I suspect you did some research at his park.

Well, Imitation is the best form of flattery.

An idea can't be copyrighted; only a specific expression of an idea is copyrightable. The person complaining is clueless.

"patentant"?