The problem with giving credit for an idea is that there are probably a hundred folks who could claim that credit. That's why the saying "Ideas are a dime a dozen.". In almost every profession, the person who has the idea only is forgotten; it's the person who does something with it who gets the accolades. And rightly so, IMHO.
Actually, I believe Mickey Mouse is also a trademark. @mVd - There are other steps you can take, as well. For my recently completed historical novel, I have multiple draft files, a timeline file for character ages and two 5-subject notebooks with research notes, fictional vs historical timelines and my own notes describing the original concepts and important changes made to those concepts. I also have a review and editing plan, with dates completed.
Mickey Mouse is an actual character copyrighted by Disney, hence I can't use him in any of my stories without the permission of the company. He's not my character. Now, an idea about talking mice is not copyrightable. You have an infinite number of possibilities involving talking mice. That's why they say that ideas can't be owned. A story where people can control the elements is not necessarily Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel, Legend of Korra. These two are just one of the many, many ways the idea of 'people who can control the elements' can be interpreted.
You are right that the idea of Mickey Mouse is protected by copyright and that the idea of someone who controls the elements is not protected by copyright. That is evidence of what I referred to: the fact that the courts do not distinguish between ideas and expressions of ideas. Instead, they distinguish between ideas and other ideas.
I feel the need for a copyright lawyer. Do the courts really explicitly protect characters, rather than just concrete expression of characters, or is the fear of "stealing" characters just a mix of trademark law and the fact that the people who have successful characters can afford bigger lawyers? If it really would be a copyright violation (as opposed to a trademark violation) to write a story in which Mickey Mouse does...something, with no illustrations that take from copyrighted Disney material, and no dialogue that takes from copyrighted Disney material, then I certainly agree with your interpretation. It's just not how I thought it worked.
I suppose it firstly depends on whether Mickey Mouse is a Trademark or a copyrighted design of the Disney Company. Massive difference between Trademark and Copyright. When you think of Mickey Mouse, you automatically think of Disney so was he TM'd or just copyrighted? From a writer's point of view, I guess this is where it starts getting sticky: If you were to write a story that was very similar to Lord of The Rings and you used the same characters names then that would be a problem, but, how different would the story and the characters have to be in order for you to prove that your work was not an out and out copy? There are enough writers/books out there for some stories to be very similar to each other. Essentially, most books contain a character that wants something, has to overcome an obstacle/learn a lesson and save a life before he/she reaches his/her goal so who decides just how much similarities between two pieces of work, constitutes plagiarism? The same goes for phrases, how many people do you know that use the nickname "Sweetheart" for someone close to them. I recently read a book where one MC calls the other MC "Angel" as a term of endearment. If I were to make my MC call his love interest "Angel" would that be plagiarism?
Character names are another ball of wax. Here are some names off the top of my head: = Link (Link of The Legend of Zelda and Link of The Matrix: Reloaded) = Harry (Harry Potter and The Harry Dresden Files) = Tenzin (Of Uncharted 2 and Legend of Korra) Each of the names are names of characters from different medias. They each have the same name, but they are completely different characters who have their own roles and storyline. So theoretically, I could write a fantasy with a protagonist named Tenzin so long as my Tenzin and my plot do not resemble the Tenzin/plot of Uncharted 2 and Legend of Korra. That said, using names of well-known, trademarked characters such as Goku might land you in hot water. Everyone knows who Goku is, so if you make a tough badass warrior named Goku, they'll suspect you're ripping off of Dragonball Z.
Just for clarity, "Mickey Mouse" is both trademarked and copyrighted. One cannot trademark or copyright a common name, like Jane or John. One cannot protect the name "Harry" - they can most definitely protect the name "Harry Potter".
Never heard of "Goku"! Yes, I understand the names thing, but if you were to write about a young boy called Harry who found out that he was actually a warlord who was set to take over the world with the help of an evil troll called Ron and a cackling witch called Hermione, would that be too close to JK's book?
It would depend on a lot more than the names. The author would most likely collect a lot of cat-calls, but getting legal flack would depend on the story as well.
If you're that worried, just buy a copyright. It's around $100, and it's one of the government's easier forms. You can fill it out and pay online. If you're story is good enough to be worth protecting, it should make more than $100. http://copyright.gov/forms/
