I read the post about using the word mana from final fantasy and I too use some words taken from that game world in my fictional writing. My question is: Is there some kind of copyright for it? I use machina, for machines, mana, for magic and airships taken directly from final fantasy. I want to know whether I'll get in trouble for it and have to change the words.
Posted by dpatridge (Member # 2208) on :
I think you should drop machina. As for the airships, they should be ok, but I would be careful to introduce differences, especially in the names. The reason I suggest introducing changes in the airships is more because of cliche, rather than copyright.
Very few things that Squaresoft uses in their games are truly original concepts. The machina name IS theirs, so don't use it. Mana is a real word and therefore NO ONE owns a trademark or copyright on it. Airships have been seen in many different forms of both science fiction and fantasy, and are, by now, a form of cliche.
[This message has been edited by dpatridge (edited July 27, 2005).]
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
Airship is another name for zeppelin. It's used outside of fiction.
Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :
More or less ditto to dpatridge. Be careful.
For a little bit more about plagiarism and copyrights, read these:
Just another note: Machina is a Greek word for machine. As in: "Deus ex Machina" ("Machine of the gods"). It is a real word and is therefore up for grabs.
However, consider what OSC says in his article about plagiarism. You risk turning some readers off if you borrow too heavily from one source. Homage is fine, but don't be afraid to make up your own words or names for things.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
"Airship" is also an existing term for dirigibles and so forth. I believe that few of the terms in the English translations of the Final Fantasy series are likely to be entirely novel terms, though some of them may be given new and unlikely meanings (which you should avoid just so you don't sound like an Engrish speaker).
But if you think that "mana", "machina", and "airship" all come from Final Fantasy, then you probably do need to broaden your horizons.
A lot.
As in, more than just playing games made by a different company
Posted by AstroStewart (Member # 2597) on :
I thought Final Fantasy usually just used "MP" as the measure of magic points. Which game used the term mana?
(Once again, mana is a widespread term in fantasy, so using it would be ok. Personally "mana" will always make me think of Magic: the Gathering)
Posted by Corky (Member # 2714) on :
Magic:The Gathering uses mana.
Posted by TL 601 (Member # 2730) on :
GURPS used to use mana in its original Yrth setting. (This was twenty years ago).
Use it. It's like ansible; sure it was coined by a specific person at some point, but it has become an established idea in the world of fantasy fiction. Everyone is free to use it. (Which is why so many do)
Posted by Glasgow (Member # 2668) on :
The world in which these terms exist is called Deus, and I realised after posting this topic that I got that from the term Deus Ex Machina, without realizing that I was using that word already. Which is odd. I knew airships were made for zeppelins but my airships are more on the lines of flying boats and so mostly separate. These are the only terms I have taken from somewhere else, other than the world and terminology that I created, so I don't feel to bad about doing a little stealing, if it is only a little. And I don't play game at all; I used to love final fantasy years ago and saw X-2 on sale and couldn't help myself. Dissapointed.
Posted by Gwalchmai (Member # 1807) on :
I for one would not connect any of these terms with Final Fantasy in the slightest, since all are recognisable from other contexts so I'd say don't worry about it and just use them.
And just to add a quick note on Deus ex Machina. Although it refers to the crane-like machine used to bring in the character of a god or goddess in Greek theatre, the actual words and phrase itself as we know it is Latin. The Greek is similar but not quite the same.
