Quote:
Originally Posted by tubemonkey
I disagree. I don't see eternal copyright as a restriction upon creativity. For example; even if Dracula was still under copyright, there'd still be plenty of room for innovation in the genre of vampires since Dracula was based upon folklore passed down for centuries. Anyone would be free to create their own stories based upon this folklore without infringing upon Dracula's copyright.
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I did not say that Stoker had a copyright on the
phenomenon of vampires; I realize that twilight as work is unaffected by whether Dracula is under copyright or not and that anyone can write about any vampire they wish to. But I think it is safe to say that the popularity of this genre would not have been what it is without the history of the vampire in films, books and plays, and much of this is due to the legacy of Dracula and the films of the 30's to 50's, and later works based on Dracula. The position of the vampire in fiction is due to the early use of Dracula in film and theatres.
Of course, it's impossible to tell what will be, and what would have been if the past wasn't what is is, but this is my personal opinion about this.