posted Tuesday 23 of August 2011 by Jessica [copyrights]

Because the free exchange of ideas is an essential element of a democratic society, ideas themselves cannot be monopolized via the copyright laws. It is only the artist's particular expression of his or her ideas which may be protected. Therefore, it is permissible under the copyright laws for someone to express the same ideas to others, even when the ideas used represent a new concept, developed by another author.

For example, if one artist is known for his original works of art depicting, for example, penguins in tuxedos, it is probably not an infringement of copyright for someone else to copy the theme of penguins in tuxedos. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld this interpretation in a case in which it stated that a painting based on the same theme as a copyrighted work, does not infringe the copyright if it's only similarity is the use of a common thematic concept.

However, the more bizarre and original the theme (bowling balls in tuxedos on the French Riviera?), the more likely it is that a court will carve out an exception, or find a rule of law or statute with which to protect the artist's original creation. Trademark law ,the common law of unfair competition or misappropriation law are other fields of law which might come into play in certain instances.

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