Where is the line between inspiration and a Rip-Off?

Hello writers,

I am currently writing a three book series. When I was watching my favorite show Trailer Park Boys I saw how much my book is inspired on that show. That brought me down into a rabbit hole of (over)thinking.
I am kinda scared to upload them somewhere because they use the premise and similar (some slightly, some drastically changed) characters of that show but are very unique on their own. This is sad because I think they are my best stories so far...
So, let's get ethically.

When does inspiration end and where does a Rip-Off start?

 

I don't think you can define it.

If you had a story about a girl wizard named Harriet Porter who enters a wizard school called Swinesores and had to fight the evil Lord Walmart, I'd say that was a rip-off.

On the other hand, if you have a story about a bunch of kids in a dystopian setting forced to fight each other for survival, that's generally accepted as being "inspired by" now, rather than being a rip-off of Battle Royale.

It's a matter of degrees. How many elements of the original work have you incorporated into your own with no, or only minor changes?

 

Hello, interesting point. Thanks for the reply.

I took the world of the series (but not the same place), playing in a trailer Park in Nova Scotia Canada. The three dudes get in trouble because of the same things the boys do in the original series, growing weed and you could see that the three friends are based on the boys in the series (but their personalities are changed and the plot is not based on comedy). Whats different is: It is through the lens of a young woman visiting her cousin and getting slowly pulled into their crime. So she's the protagonist and the heaviest part of the story is about her. The inspired part is kind of a b-plot (but you can clearly see the inspiration). When I wrote the story, I haven't thought about that aspect. I think I will put at the beginning pages, that there is inspiration from that series in that book.

 

If it's in the same world, and based on a plot in the original story, I'd call it a fanfic, or a tribute story. Nothing wrong with that, I've done similar things with various authors.

 

The "three friends who grow weed in a trailer park in Nova Scotia" bit will raise some eyebrows I'd think. I don't know how integral to the plot the setting, or the fact that there are three of them, and all male, would be, but maybe it would be simple to change some of that just a little?

Ultimately if these characters are not there for any kind of comedy, and they're very much different persons than Julian, Ricky, and Bubbles, it's probably fine. If it were a comedy, then no, definitely would not be okay.

 

Yeah I think about changing the world around the plot as well. I had ideas like getting it into a dark district of Halifax, that so the trailer park aspect is gone and I might change their way of doing crime.
Thank you for your impulse.

 

I think the most important part of making it clear that your work is inspired, as opposed to plagiarized, is a strong sense of personal identity. Frankly, in my eyes, the core premise of your story could be top-to-bottom, side-to-side, front-to-back identical to another work, and all that really matters is that you have a unique sense of personal identity in your story. Something that shows an earnest attempt to expand on the potential of the idea you're using, whether it's narratively or stylistically. Nobody ever got onto The Flintstones for having the same dynamic as The Honeymooners, or for the amount Nolan's Interstellar obviously borrows from 2001: A Space Odyssey. While it might seem like a nebulous and unhelpful answer, it really is all in the amount of you that you put into it. Stories are so much more than just their premises, and there's a lot you can do with three guys hanging around a trailer park selling weed. As long as the work is unambiguously you, most people will probably still notice the set-up similarities but find them "charmingly inspired" as opposed to "flagrantly derivative".

Also, the older the work is, the more like it is that a modern work inspired by it will be appreciated as nostalgic. It's not uncommon in video games for "[Classic Game]-likes" as a genre to spawn from whatever classic video game series people are currently nostalgic for. This isn't entirely actionable advice, but I guess I'd also say "timing is everything" in terms of how your inspiration is perceived.

 

I'm not sure you want to do this unless it is actually fan-fiction you are trying to write, and it doesn't seem like that is what you're doing. Writers take inspiration from so many places, but I don't think it's necessary to spell out the specifics of this. I don't see any benefit to you or the readers in mentioning the series. Sure, people might pick up on some of the similarities between your story and the series, but if you are taking a different approach (you're not writing a comedy) and your storyline is different, it sounds like you are trying to make it your own. Maybe you need to play around with your characters a bit more. Really flesh them out to fit the story you're writing so you don't feel like you're lifting them from the series so much. It does seem like you're doing that. A story comes down to how it's written. Chances are, by the time you're done writing it, it will be more yours and not feel like you're ripping off someone else's tv series.

 

Hello people!

Thanks a lot for your insightful answers. From time to time I trip into these ethical issues. I thought a lot (so much, that I got literal headaches) and decided to do what Deadrats and Seven Crowns were saying. I will work over my story again and flesh out the characters more. I actually had some cool new ideas. After that I will need to work on the upcoming books and change them as well (not as much as the story I told you about).
In the end you can still see it is slightly inspired but WAY LESS then before. I will remove the trailer park context.

Thanks a lot for your replies and have a great christmas time! =)

 

There are so many different elements that come into a story, and it is almost impossible for none of those elements to resemble another work. And to be honest, most stories are built like a wedding dress. That have something borrowed, something new. It sounds like you borrowed the setting and the criminal occupation of three characters. Honestly, if you feel weird about it, there seems like there is a lot you could change. You've already mentioned changing the setting. And maybe the kids could grow mushrooms instead? Maybe they are chemists making LSD?

I definitely wouldn't mention your inspiration. If I were a reader getting into your story, I would hate to be pulled out that way, especially since I've never heard of Trailer Park Boys. (I'll probably watch it now, though. Ha!). It's funny how hard it is for readers to spot your inspirations. I wrote a story once and had three or four people tell me I must have been inspired by X, Y, or Z author. Some of the authors were people I'd never read. But none of them mentioned the authors I'd actually felt inspired by.

 

Thanks for your reply. I can highly recommend that series. It's great! I found myself now entirely rewriting that book. But I will use the structure of the old one, but will change the world / crimes and the occupations of the characters.