Copyright issues -- help please

Question

I read a short story with a cool concept. If someone keeps the concept for a script but changes everything from characters to story line/plot and events... does one have to give credit to the "short story" as in "based on the short story by"? if given credit to the short story author, would I have to pay for the rights of the short story?

Answer 1

If the work is copy righted it will make it illegal without getting permission from the author themselves.. and also most things like that if someone alters the story of there story line where its copy righted, it would be illegal..

Answer 2

thats using ur words and his words would be a mix. although since u read the book its like rephrasing some stuff to make it better. i dont think u wud have to pay for it.

Answer 3

We'll try an answer written in English this time....

Copyright does not cover ideas.  It covers specific words and stories (in this case)

If you are significantly altering the plot, the characters, etc, then there would be no copyright infringement.  A concept (let's say the idea of a spacecraft haunted by a ghost) is not something that has copyright.  

So if I wrote a story about a haunted ship which was sent on a quest to find a new planet, and then you came along and wrote one about the efforts of the crew of such a ship to find the source of the ghost, those could quite easily be totally separate and individual copywritten stories.

If you have taken the other story and rewritten it, just changing superficial items like character names, but retaining the basics pf the original story, you then have a problem.  Incidentally, just acknowledging the other work is not sufficient.  You also have to get permission (and probably pay for that).  Copyright means exactly what it says: the author has the right to control any use of their work.