roseembolism (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
roseembolism) wrote2005-11-09 11:58 am
roseembolism) wrote2005-11-09 11:58 am
This years winner in the "Scary/Stupid IP law" contest...
Is the guy who wants to patent storylines. As in, specifically, he wants to be able to charge IP fees or sue anyone who uses this concept:
The fictitious story, which Knight dubs “The Zombie Stare,” tells of an ambitious high school senior, consumed by anticipation of college admission, who prays one night to remain unconscious until receiving his MIT admissions letter. He consciously awakes 30 years later when he finally receives the letter, lost in the mail for so many years, and discovers that, to all external observers, he has lived an apparently normal life. He desperately seeks to regain 30 years’ worth of memories lost as an unconscious philosophical zombie.
Note that this isn’t a case of copywriting a story- this is patenting the concept. As in, he wouldn’t need to write anything more than that outline above, and then patent it. And then anyone using a plot too similar to this would be sued. Or make that, anyone who patents a plot idea could sue anyone else who they feel infringes on their IP.
I ( and other writers) see this a scary and immensely stupid misuse of IP law, one that would stifle creativity. Publishers would only accept stories that have plots that are in the public domain, and Hollywood would be even more inclined to only use rehashed plotlines. This is even leaving out the possibility of a major media conglomerate running a “plotline factory” to hash out and patent as many possible plotlines as possible.
This is worth contacting your congressperson over. Seriously, it is.
The fictitious story, which Knight dubs “The Zombie Stare,” tells of an ambitious high school senior, consumed by anticipation of college admission, who prays one night to remain unconscious until receiving his MIT admissions letter. He consciously awakes 30 years later when he finally receives the letter, lost in the mail for so many years, and discovers that, to all external observers, he has lived an apparently normal life. He desperately seeks to regain 30 years’ worth of memories lost as an unconscious philosophical zombie.
Note that this isn’t a case of copywriting a story- this is patenting the concept. As in, he wouldn’t need to write anything more than that outline above, and then patent it. And then anyone using a plot too similar to this would be sued. Or make that, anyone who patents a plot idea could sue anyone else who they feel infringes on their IP.
I ( and other writers) see this a scary and immensely stupid misuse of IP law, one that would stifle creativity. Publishers would only accept stories that have plots that are in the public domain, and Hollywood would be even more inclined to only use rehashed plotlines. This is even leaving out the possibility of a major media conglomerate running a “plotline factory” to hash out and patent as many possible plotlines as possible.
This is worth contacting your congressperson over. Seriously, it is.
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