From the US Copyright Office (and property there of) in regarding derivative works
A typical example of a derivative work received for registration in the Copyright Office is one that is primarily a new work but incorporates some previously published material. This previously published material makes the work a derivative work under the copyright law. To be copyrightable, a derivative work must be different enough from the original to be regarded as a "new work" or must contain a substantial amount of new material. Making minor changes or additions of little substance to a preexisting work will not qualify the work as a new version for copyright purposes. The new material must be original and copyrightable in itself. Titles, short phrases, and format, for example, are not copyrightable.
Me again... This is case does not impact Cliff notes or academic musings on the size of Harry's wand or anything of that nature. This is PLAGIARISM plain and simple. If he handed this into any academic institution, they would not publish it and if this was his master's thesis he would fail and get kicked out of the university with a letter of Reprimand attached to his transcript. This is not a derivative work.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-16 04:48 pm (UTC)A typical example of a derivative work received for registration in the Copyright Office is one that is primarily a new work but incorporates some previously published material. This previously published material makes the work a derivative work under the copyright law. To be copyrightable, a derivative work must be different enough from the original to be regarded as a "new work" or must contain a substantial amount of new material. Making minor changes or additions of little substance to a preexisting work will not qualify the work as a new version for copyright purposes. The new material must be original and copyrightable in itself. Titles, short phrases, and format, for example, are not copyrightable.
Me again...
This is case does not impact Cliff notes or academic musings on the size of Harry's wand or anything of that nature. This is PLAGIARISM plain and simple. If he handed this into any academic institution, they would not publish it and if this was his master's thesis he would fail and get kicked out of the university with a letter of Reprimand attached to his transcript. This is not a derivative work.