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Writing a book... Question about Copyright issues?

by Alexis Claire
3 replies
Hey guys,

So I decided to take the plunge and write a book, it's about Mindfulness and Meditation go figure.

Any who, I wanted to talk about the 7 chakras since it is the most easily understood concept as far as the west goes when it comes to energy centers in the body.

I traced it back to this guy a few decades ago that translated some texts so he wrote a book about it. Then a few other people wrote on it.

My question is, since this concept comes from Buddhism but was introduced by a few authors in the 20th century to the west. Do I have to worry about copyright issues at all when talking about the 7 chakras?

Thanks!
#book #copyright #issues #question #writing
  • Profile picture of the author trevord92
    So long as you're writing in your own words (rather than copying and pasting someone else's words) you should be fine.

    It's difficult to copyright ideas (for instance, recipe ingredients can't be copyrighted, only the precise instructions on how to make the recipe) and there's enough information about chakras including a Wikipedia page and lots of Amazon books.

    Good luck with your book!
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  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    the concepts are fine if you put them in your own words as you said many authors have mentioned them and it is easy to find on the net..

    just uses your own explinations and check the others to make sure you are not plagerizing ..
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  • Profile picture of the author scott m harvey
    Ideas can't really be owned. Anything can be adapted and tweaked to provide just enough variation to be considered different. As others have mentioned, the only copyright issues you'll have is with plagiarism should you choose to copy word-for-word one of those authors that have already written it.

    The Law in the UK

    Rights covered
    The law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions, rights to control the ways in which their material may be used.

    When rights occur
    Copyright is an automatic right and arises whenever an individual or company creates a work. To qualify, a work should be regarded as original, and exhibit a degree of labour, skill or judgement.
    Interpretation is related to the independent creation rather than the idea behind the creation. For example, your idea for a book would not itself be protected, but the actual content of a book you write would be. In other words, someone else is still entitled to write their own book around the same idea, provided they do not directly copy or adapt yours to do so.

    Good luck writing your book!
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