I am a novelist, and I was wondering what is considered copyright infringement? If I was to write a book about a character fighting a monster such as a zombie, werewolf, vampire, demon, etc. would places like Capcom and other places pounce on me? I’m not saying that my story would be a total rip-off but, it has concepts that appear in a lot of horror movies/books. Can you copyright things like government cover ups, secret organizations, etc. ?

All Answers To Questions

You can't copyright ideas. Copyrights protects original works of authorship that are fixed in several forms of expression.

Fighting monsters isn't a copyright issue, though you may run into originality issues :o). What constitutes a copyright is previous written works (other peoples actual characters, story-lines, make-believe worlds). Things such as Coke, Kleenex, Ford... those are all trademarked items and as long as they're being used by mention only (not negative!) are allowed in most works. Agencies such as FBI, CIA, Secret Service, these are all government agencies and not under copyright or trademark. Though if your going to use an agency be sure to do your research. You can't 'borrow' another storyline unless you're doing something not serious, like Fan-Fiction. Try your hardest to come up with your own plot-line or don't write the story if its been done a thousand times. Publishers/agents/editors want NEW work, not the same old stuff. And remember, as previously stated, always, without question, do your research!