Re: Conlang music

> From: gijsstrider@GMAIL.COM> So, in the end, whether you'd like to copyright your
> language depends> on your goals for the language.
 
Exactly. The best contrast is between Esperanto (deliberately released to the general
public - Zamenhof refused any copyright ownership of the language, to
distinguish himself and his creation from Schleyer's Volapuk.) Compared to
Okrand's Klingon, which was created specificially for a for-profit enterprise
(pun intended.)
 
Somewhere in the middle is the various works of JRR Tolkien -- his languages themselves
were intended for his own enjoyment above all else. What he did with them (the
Middle Earth books) was definitely under copyright.
 
If I write a book in Esperanto, it's equally copyrightable as if I'd written it
in any natlang. If I write in Klingon, I'd need approval from either Okrand or
Paramount, whoever is listed as the copyright owner. If I wrote in Quenya, it
might fall either way, depending on the opinions of the Tolkien estate.
 
(Incidentally, I've been professionally published in English before -- but have never taken
any money for my work -- so even copyright is no guarantee of income.)
 
:Chris
 
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