I am a fan of the book "Machine of Death"; http://machineofdeath.net/pdf/MachineofDeath_FINAL.pdf
PDF Page 452 of the above link details the copyright for the material contained within the book. However I cannot determine if the actual concept of a "Machine of Death", that determines your cause of death from a drop of blood, is copyrighted.
So basically can someone create a "Machine of Death" story that is completely original to the stories within the book except that a "Machine of Death" as described above is within the book (and indeed is a major plot device)?