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Q&A How to tell readers your story is a re-imagination of a popular story?

I would suggest you read this link (with actual lawyers responding). Basically if you are not infringing on a copyright, you don't have to say anything. Your example of Romeo and Juliet is in the ...

posted 5y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-19T22:13:40Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42298
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:54:49Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42298
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:54:49Z (almost 5 years ago)
I would suggest you read [this link](https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/how-closely-can-my-novel-follow-the-plot-of-a-copy-141663.html) (with actual lawyers responding).

Basically if you are not infringing on a copyright, you don't have to say anything. Your example of Romeo and Juliet is in the public domain; but for other works you MIGHT be infringing on a copyright. Here is the part of the 2nd answer at the link which provides detail:

> By Pamela Koslyn, intellectual property rights attorney: Copyright infringement is a difficult concept and not easily explained in a forum like Avvo. Basically, courts will look at the total look and feel of two works, and compare how "substantially similar" they are. The entire work is considered, but its unprotectable elements get disregarded. Disregarded elements include themes, ideas, facts, and obligatory to the genre or cliche scenes , called "scenes a faire," such as doomed young lovers, with a scene of angry parents forbidding the love. The original creative elements, such as tone, setting, dialogue, characters, pace, etc. etc. are compared point by point, and if enough of them align, there's infringment, especially if you can also show access to the work. Where access is obvious because, in your example, "Harry Potter" is a famous published work, then the standards for similarity are lower, and where the access is questionable, more similarity is required to find infringement.
> 
> Plot points, or "beats" in tv-speak, are among the creative elements that can be infringed, so it's not true that plots aren't part of a what's protected in a work's copyright. [... more material by Ms. Koslyn clipped for brevity ...]
> 
> Ms. Koslyn's Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-02-17T19:34:21Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 11