Do you think that Hetalia has exclusive rights to the idea?

[DoraWritesBL]

So, if no one has heard about Hetalia, that is an anime and comic about the human personifications of nations. The thing is, it is crack treated seriously. My country is presented like some teen who gets drunk to avoid his problems. It is obvious that the creator of Hetalia does not know much about Bulgaria.

Now, I will spare you the history lesson because they might actually be wrong, I don't know. Most of our history got erased when the Turks broke down our monuments when they took over us.

So, my question is:

If I create an original story with human personifications of nations, but use nothing from Hetalia (no names, no description of the characters, no personalities from Hetalia.) will the author sue me?

The anime was funny at the start, but now it is just a random slice of life with stereotypes which one can find on the internet.

There is also the country human movement on YouTube, where the personifications are drawn with spheres for heads colored in their flags' colors.

So, do you think I will get in trouble if I write an original story?

 

[PancakesWitch]

The author will not sue you, I am fairly sure they aren't checking english forums of webnovels about it. An idea like that cannot be copyrighted. And even if it was, it would only be within Japan, not the rest of the world. The series is old and mostly forgotten anyway, aside from some old fujos that like it too much for their own mental health. So it doesnt really matter. In my stories I've created Gods born from continents and countries, so really, you can give it any spin you want.

 

[DoraWritesBL]

The author will not sue you, I am fairly sure they aren't checking english forums of webnovels about it. An idea like that cannot be copyrighted. And even if it was, it would only be within Japan, not the rest of the world. The series is old and mostly forgotten anyway, aside from some old fujos that like it too much for their own mental health. So it doesnt really matter. In my stories I've created Gods born from continents and countries, so really, you can give it any spin you want.

Thanks! =)

 

[ThrillingHuman]

The series is old and mostly forgotten anyway, aside from some old fujos that like it too much for their own mental health.

That subtle dig...!???

 

[Daitengu]

I mean there's Kantai Collection, then Azure Lane rolled up years later. I'm pretty sure it don't matter in this case.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

One of the first collections of AI-generated art I've seen anywhere was of either states of the US or nations generated as people, and I have seen both. The idea has been out there for a while. Heck, given some of the stereotypes they had back then, back around 1980, Marvel sort of did this with "Contest of Champions" - one hero from each nation brought together and forced to fight.
Odds are, if you can avoid using similar names and the same stereotypes someone else did, you're safe.

 

[beast_regards]

Author? Not really. Sony, on the other hand ...

 

[mysterious_cube]

Human personifications of nations have been around for centuries. Hetalia didn't come up with the idea

 

[beast_regards]

Human personifications of nations have been around for centuries. Hetalia didn't come up with the idea

Nintendo didn't come up with "aiming objects at characters" yet they could patent it retroactively.

So, if you throw a soda can at me, you violate the Nintendo patent.

 

[Leti]

Go ahead. The author won't stop you. I am still disappointed Himaruya-sensei didn't name my country Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz.