Q: I'm curious about the legality about using someone else's story all the while using your own characters in a comic book.
I'm an amateur comic book artist and I was thinking about writing a similar plot from a TV show, but using MY characters instead and possibly putting in little different aspects. Will that be safe to do without permission or no?
A:
It depends on the story.
If it is about a young man trained by a group of people with super powers and he fights an evil empire, as long as you do not steal the names, looks and name, you may be ok.
There are tons of examples, but the plots and characters are different, Star Wars, Galactica, Harry Potter, etc.
Consult with an attorney.
www.legalbizglobal.com
A: Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. It could be that the "story" your are interested in is really an "idea" like: boy meets girl, boy looses girl, boy finds girl and they live happily after ever. If that is the case, then anyone can write their version of that idea for their story, for example: "Romeo and Juliet" and "West Side Story." It would be best to consult with local copyright counsel so that what you are really using is an "idea" and not the TV program's version of the idea.
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