Isaac A. Penzev scripsit:
> 1. Some conlangs *are* copyrighted. According to the Klingon Language Institute
> site (www.kli.org), thlingan Hol is, and rights on it belong to Paramount.
Can you point to this? All I can find is the general claim that "Klingon"
and "Star Trek" are trademarks and copyrights of Paramount. "Klingon" may
well be a trademark (though you could probably still call your used car
dealership "Klingon Kars" without a problem; Apple Records and Apple
Computers don't step on each other's trademarks).
> 2. When I visited several sites about Native American languages, I saw there a
> warning that all linguistic material mentioned on the site, is a part of
> cultural heritage of a certain nation and therefore may not be used in
> culturally alien contexts like choosing a Native name, simulating Native talk
> in novels, producing spells etc.
These statements have no legal force. Natlangs clearly don't belong to anyone.
> 3. Esperanto was realizing "controlled evolution" long before all those
> copyright things, and succeeded.
In all lands custom is king.
> But if a guy wants to take my
> Hooba, call it Perduc and say that green two-tailed aliens from Aldebaran talk
> it, I'm gonna tear him into small pieces even without any copyright laws.
By all means! The court of public opinion (on this list and elsewhere)
will be on your side. But don't expect help from the law.
--
John Cowan http://www.ccil.org/~cowan cowan@ccil.org
To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all. There
are no words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language
that they learned of elves in the days when all the world was wonderful.
--_The Hobbit_