RSS
Yet Another Person Sues, Claiming James Cameron Copied The Idea For Avatar
from the and-on-and-on-and-on dept
People really have an incredible ability to assume that only they could possibly have a very common idea. Lots of people have pointed out that James Cameron's Avatar seems similar to all sorts of stories. In fact, the site io9 put together a giant list of books and movies that some claimed were copied by Cameron. And, of course, we've already mentioned two separate lawsuits. Well, now we can add a third one to the list, and it has just as much a chance to succeed as the others. In this case, it's made even more ridiculous by the fact that the book in question was written after Cameron was already working on Avatar.
In most of the cases with these types of lawsuits, it seems like those suing are really just filing what they likely know is a bogus lawsuit to get publicity for their book/movie/etc. (which is why we're not naming the book in this case). But, it does highlight an important point that we've discussed plenty of times in the past: lots of people have ideas that are similar. Ideas, by themselves, are neither unique nor protectable. It's the execution or (within the copyright realm) the expression that is unique. Yet, too many people overvalue the idea and assume that only they could possibly have had it. The idea behind the story of Avatar is pretty simplistic and common, really. It's been done plenty of times before. The reason the movie is getting so much attention is because of the execution.
In most of the cases with these types of lawsuits, it seems like those suing are really just filing what they likely know is a bogus lawsuit to get publicity for their book/movie/etc. (which is why we're not naming the book in this case). But, it does highlight an important point that we've discussed plenty of times in the past: lots of people have ideas that are similar. Ideas, by themselves, are neither unique nor protectable. It's the execution or (within the copyright realm) the expression that is unique. Yet, too many people overvalue the idea and assume that only they could possibly have had it. The idea behind the story of Avatar is pretty simplistic and common, really. It's been done plenty of times before. The reason the movie is getting so much attention is because of the execution.
I have an app...
Marketing And Monetization Strategies For Free Apps
Top 5 Reasons Why Mobile Analytics Is Important
I have a business...
How To Successfully Get Your App Into China
To Understand The Data Move It Closer
I’m looking for research...
Why Data Is The New Oil, With Dan Foreman Of Lumi Mobile
Geography Of The App Economy
Reader Comments (rss)
(Flattened / Threaded)
The reason the movie is getting so much attention is because of the execution.
:)
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
I had a movie idea that has been infringed upon
Quite a few movies have brazenly stolen my unique and original idea! I should sue. I could make billions.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Yes - but
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Romeo & Juliet, Dances with Wolves, etc
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
The funny thing about this is that people couldn't even agree about which movies Cameron was ripping off, there are so many with the same theme.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
I was fortunate to be given a RtB. CVS had a release-day special. Buy $25 of merchandise and get the movie for $5. I needed the merchandise anyway, so the movie was a bargain I could not pass up.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Question...
Is the reverse still true? What if the execution and/or expression is fairly similar, but the ideas are different? I've noticed that in my writing I tend to take on the tone, pace progression, and even some (very) vaguely similar actions and settings to whatever fiction I happen to be reading at the time I'm writing, but the plot/idea/theme is ENTIRELY different. I've worried that if the similarity is too close, that might mean trouble down the road.
What's the ruling on something like that?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Question...
Answer probably lies somewhere in how the law treats derivative works and transformative uses.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
JinX
So why are people calling jinx on James Cameraon for Avatar?
It is entirely possible for two people to have similar ideas!!! Even when it comes to the complexities of a movie, book, song, whatever. Not identical... but similar.
So how does patent/copyright law even begin to define if one person owns the rights to an idea over another person? This is getting rediculous.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Why? He's done it before
To be sure, this doesn't indicate that accusations about Avatar are necessarily true (or for that matter untrue), and it's a certainty that some of them are mere attempts at legal extortion because he has large pockets and a high profile, but it's not as though he doesn't have a track record of appropriation of others' work.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
I figured out the plot progression and the outcome...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Published in 2003 to the Internet...
If Avatar would have tanked no "author" on the planet would care. Its only because it made a crap load of money.
This story of this woman is just ridiculous.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Yet Another Book ( or so ) to add to the list
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
The story of the Navi, being screwed by (almost entirely caucasian) mining groups, and the Navi culture seems to be almost entirely derived from African history rather than North American.
And cue the claims that Cameron ripped off 'Blood Diamond' and 'The Power of One'.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Which doesn't deny the probability that he also referenced the African Land Grab of the 1880s; or for that matter, the hideously undemocratic and underhanded way the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Dept of Energy plotted against the Navaho and Hopi for the mineral wealth beneath their reservations.
Injustice is not confined to any one period in history ... sadly ...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Add Your Comment