Re: Sonic Story Legalistics Questions

From: Erich Schulman (KTN4CA) -- Team OS/2 <"Erich>
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 19:07:37 -0500 (EST)

On Tue, 14 Feb 1995, Shawn Wolski wrote:

> I forgot to ask about this in my last post. I was wondering
> if there were any legal matters involved for creating a Sonic
> story (besides the obvious "Trademark of...Based on charac-
> ters from", etc.) I've got a story that wants to come out, but
> I want to check on what the legal requirements (if any) are.

Not including any artwork will help a lot. The idea of a very fast
hedgehog who eats chili dogs is not legally protectable. Likewise, the
idea of a fox with two tails and can fly is not legally protectable. As
long as you don't lift anything from existing stories and don't use any
of the characters' visual appearances, an ASCII story will not have done
anything to run afoul of the copyright laws. You can even use the plot
of an existing story (like Tails telling Sonic-Con attendees he battled
Robotnik when he did not) as long as your telling of the plot is original.
All you've used, then, is the idea.

I don't even want to touch trademark law....

I did take a copyright law course; however, this message is not to be
construed as legal advice or an attempt to practice law. When in doubt,
consult a copyright law attorney.

Erich Schulman (KTN4CA)
Team OS/2

Received on Tue Feb 14 1995 - 19:11:51 PST