Question on derivative work copyrights

[Redrobes]

So ilets say I make a worldmap for a client, all the shapes of coastlines etc ... copyrights to use it are paid etc, what if the client decides wants to make a future new map based on that work , that follows same coastlines and geography traced but with a different style and another artist may be , is that considerate a derivative work ? should be considered copyright linked to the original still?

Yes - if the coastline shapes are sufficiently recognizable. That bit of the map is derivative. In the same way that Ed Sheerans songs are unique to him he still gets to take a trip to court to argue whether bits of it have been taken from previous tracks.

and the second point, selling maps made on like Tolkien , westeros , or other notable franchises worlds is a copyright proibited?

Yes obviously. Whilst a lot of people make fan art, and forums like this talk about orcs, beholders, the Lannisters and whatever else, the selling of art based on this stuff definitely crosses the line. You are also into the area of trading under someone elses trademark too.

Whilst all this is the case, IMO the bar is set too low for all of this stuff and people should be able to make their own creations with some flexibility over the minor details. I am only saying what it is not what it should be. It would also help if there was some method by which you could get a known up front liability for making derivative works. The justice system around the world is a bit of a sham and a grift. The fact that there is no definitive way of asking _if_ something is legal or not is an utterly ludicrous situation. And that to this day there is still no method of actually getting a free searchable text description of the laws is a farce and a scam perpetuated by the legal institution to maintain the state of quo where people cannot challenge it without having to go through barristers and all the other the same people maintaining this scam system.

This is another area where the new ChatGPT and similar will have great effect. In fact this week is the first court case where an AI is doing the legal arguments.

EDIT - Ahh of course, real lawyers shut down the AI case - what a surprise. Didn't take them long... Still, if there was ever an area for disruption then this is it. Its only a matter of time.