#technotale au

[flakey-stuff]

Chara and frisk refs! :3

[baaikha]

About that Technotale idea you came up with so long ago. A friend of mine made her own Undertale AU and has posted several pages of a comic about it. She didn't realize that the name "Technotale" was taken until she got Anons hating on her about it, saying she "stole the name" from driku12 (who did not come up with the name either as is explicitly stated in several places). My friend is a little upset right now, so I'll contact driku too. Feel free to direct message me so we can find a solution.

First and foremost, I am very sorry that your friend has been harassed and bullied for their work. It is not cool and as fans of a game about acting with love and mercy, we should all be absolutely ashamed.

You don’t realize it, but you are actually talking to the exact right person about this because Copyright Law is my bread and butter.

So, let’s talk Copyright:

TITLES ARE NOT COPYRIGHTABLE!!!!!!!!IDEAS ARE NOT COPYRIGHTABLE!!!!!

Only the EXPRESSION of an idea can be copyright.This means your friend can title her AU ‘Technotale’ and that is TOTALLY AND PERFECTLY COOL. It is perfectly legitimate and legal. No one can stake a claim to a name or idea, only the expression of the idea.

So what does that mean?

Using Technotale as an example:

Title: Technotale - Not copyrightable. Cannot own it. (I can trademark a title and have control of it’s use but that is a commercial process, limited in scope, and not applicable to this situation..)

Idea: Frisk is an artificial intelligence. - Not copyrightable. Cannot own it.

Expression: F.R.I.S.K. is the Fase Reality Intelligence System Kore designed by Gaster for the express purpose of breaking down a technological barrier that traps monsters in the Underground. - Copyright

Let’s head back to your friend and her work:

Is her Technotale using any of the elements of my expression?

If Yes, all your friend needs to do is add a disclaimer to title page of her comic that says Technotale was created by Baaikha/Nicolle.

If No, your friend doesn’t need to do anything other than keep working and enjoying the creation of her AU and the story involved. 

Let’s talk about @driku12:  

He’s using my specific expression of Technotale to make a cyberpunk story that is TOTALLY AWESOME! (I know Driku, and his work is the bees knees!) Because he is using my specifically expressed AU, he provides a disclaimer crediting me and that’s all he has to do. 

He also owns the copyright to his work on his story, art, and comic. The same way that your friend owns the copyright to their work and you own the copyright to yours.

In closing…

To everyone harassing somebody else over Undertale AUs:

BACK OFF.

You are not ‘protecting’ anything or ‘helping’ the original author/artist. You are making the original author/artist look like a jerk, and stifling the creative flow and exchange of ideas necessary for cultural and societal growth. 

@animeartist88