In my story, most legends, myths, and folk tales are real. Including this guy, who is actually a support character. However, I've got a question. Would my portrayal of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde count as copyright infringement? Because characters like him and Dracula seem to be object of so constant use I think it wouldn't... Anyway, correct me if I'm wrong. :redface:
I've always thought everything was public domain 70 years after the death of the creator. Just check out Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen(the graphic novels not the crappy movie) and see how many different characters he uses.
I'm pretty sure Jekyll/Hyde has become such a widely recognised, referenced and recycled concept that you could incorporate it into your text without comitting any infringements.
Haha, good one. Have you seen the map of Alagaesia? Once you do, search for Lake Isengard. Woops, my bad. It is Lake "Isenstar". Oh, and how can I forget the Beor Mountains. Wow, isn't Beorn the badass bear-man of The Hobbit? Yup, he is.
But don't get me wrong. The cliche-ridden pages of the Inheritance Cycle couldn't stop me from enjoying the books. Really, I liked them.
Jekyll and Hyde is in the public domain. And Paolini's LotR/Star Wars/Dragonriders of Pern rip-off was awful.
Yet he managed to get a fair-sized fanbase. Personally I think that it is mostly attributed to the age he had when he published Eragon, though. I wonder how the world would react if a Mexican like me published something in English at such a young age. I'll just hope that if it came to happen, that there are no Force-using wizards seeking to destroy the too-powerful-to-be-destroyed-by-normal-means ring in the chasms of a space orbiting weapon that destroys planets and one-hunded years old teenagers with glittering skins and an unnending thirst for blood. Yup, it's 2 A.M. and I'm feeling witty and sarcastic.
Lol. I think it largely was because of his age to be honest. The media and advertising peoples latched onto it, painting him as some sort of child prodigy, which he really isn't. If it had been written by an an adult author, it would have been seen for the below-average fantasy archtype fest that it was. Also, I find it a bit insulting that the reason he was published was because his parents owned a publishing house. There are so many people of his age who can write at a much better standard, but who wouldn't get a look in because of their age and because mummy and daddy don't own a publishing house.
I agree with you. I mean, if my parents owned a Publishing House and I pestered them enough with a book I'd just recently written, I think that my mom's motherly eyes would think of it as the best piece of prose ever written. But that's the way with moms.
Well, if parents had own a publishing company or had self-published every piece of writing their child did, almost every single book/poem/script/ and maybe fanfic with different charaters and settings (hey, it's thats what Eragon is) there would be nothing out there from 2001 up that would be worth reading.
This is kind of a fun hypothetical idea, if my parents owned a publishing house, would I expect exceptions to the expectations of the publishing house based on my parentage. First of all I wouldn't even involve my parents in any part of the reading until it was in publishable form. I would probably use some strings to get a meeting with an editor, avoid the slush pile, and have some work read. But I would expect the harshest possible criticism from them, because I was related to the owners. If it belonged in the trash can, I wouldn't want it published just because my parents can. Sorry, not meaning to hijack the thread. Yes, you can use Dr. Jekylll/Mr. Hyde. If you can find the story in that literary project...I forget what it is called, it started with a "G" I believe, then it is in public domain. There are quite a few websites that have the classics for free viewing.
