Recent Feedback
I have a couple of questions about copyright law: if I borrow a concept and site the source in an e-book, do I need permission from the original publisher to use the information in the book (the citation does not follow a direct quote from the original source, the original source is used as evidence of a statement in the book) ? Secondly, on a somewhat similar note, if an individual suggests a change to my e-book, and I make the change, do I owe the individual royalties or a citation?
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): Colorado Already Tried: Looking up the answer myself.
Thank you for using JustAnswer. I am researching your issue and will respond shortly.
A concept (or idea) is not protectable by copyright, and therefore doesn't need to be cited in the first place. Citations of ideas act more as support for your own arguments and ideas rather than attribution of copyright ownership. If you use your own language and put an idea in your own language, you don't need to worry about the copyright issues.
If you have a change suggested, but it's not a particularly lengthy change (rather an idea, or a couple of words or short phrases) then you don't need to cite anything or give any royalties, because short phrases, individual words, and ideas are not protectable copyrights.
Hope that clears things up a bit. If you have any other questions, please let me know. If not, and you have not yet, please select the "accept" button. If you have already clicked "accept", or if you will in the future, please let me know so I can track these for my own reports and customer satisfaction stats. Thank you, and again, good luck to you!
Experience: Licensed Texas General Practice Attorney