I want to add a magical newspaper in my novel. In the newspaper, all the images are moving, like the newspapers in Harry Potter.
Is it copyright infringement for me to include a newspaper with moving images in my novel?
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2 Answers
No. A newspaper with moving pictures is an idea, and ideas cannot be copyrighted. The only way you would be infringing on Harry Potter's copyright would be if you included actual characters or locations from it, such as Harry himself or Hogwarts Castle.
If your novel takes too many ideas from Harry Potter, you can be sued for plagiarism, but that's an entirely different concept than copyright infringement. A single idea (in this case, the moving newspaper) is not enough for you to be sued for plagiarism.
No, it's not copyright infringement. But it's boring. It's not a novel idea.
Be creative and come up with another idea... like a newspaper that:
- Telepathically injects images into the reader's mind
- Bursts into flames when the reader opens it, and the ashes fill the air, then the cloud forms the images
- Projects holograms onto the reader's retina so that bystanders can't read it
- Connects to the cloud to downloads the latest news, but only when the reader blinks or looks away. Thus, the reader can never seem to get to the end of the newspaper.
I came up with these ideas after 30 seconds of thinking. If you can't come up with a decent idea after spending an entire day of thinking (and I hope you have thought about your book!) nobody will read it.
