| Firstly though, I think it's really important that we have clarity on terminology and definitions: IP isn't the ownership of an idea. I can't own the idea of, say, a suave British secret agent who travels the world seducing hot women and saving civilization with dignity and aplomb. What creators own is the expression of an idea, hence Ian Fleming owns the copyright and trademarks of the James Bond franchise.
[...] and that they can, or should have the right to, control it and exercise ownership rights over it thereafter.
Shouldn't they? Ian Fleming did all of the creative work (and creating something is work) of putting together a fascinating although somewhat misogynistic hero and the world in which he operates. Fleming took the risk in putting his work out there, and the publisher took the risk of investing in it and marketing it. If John Smith came along and wrote his own James Bond novel and made a mint from it thanks to Ian Fleming's branding efforts, isn't that a little unfair?
Also, Smith likely would bollux Fleming's universe. :p |
