Why Sympathico Thinking Doesn’t Mean Copyright Theft
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Go to Hollywood and everyone you meet has written a great script, so that goes to show you fantastic story ideas are a dime a dozen, but not anything that should concern you.
When two or more writers tackle the same topic, they might accuse each other of copying. In reality, they’ve experienced sympathico thinking: coming up with similar ideas independently, sometimes within days, sometimes years apart. It happens more often than you think.
What Actually Matters: Your Voice, Style and Execution
Two authors interpreting the same scene in different ways
“Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” – Gore Vidal
Every writer has their own voice, style, and unique way of choosing words. Readers resonate with some authors and feel “meh” about others, not because of the theme, but because of how that story is told and gets executed in the author’s voice and style.
No matter how similar a topic might be, it all comes down to execution: how you share, show, and tell the story in your own distinctive way. A specific reference or symbol matters far less than your unique voice and execution.
Why Common Symbols Work
Dark clouds for negativity, butterflies for transformation, light for hope, stars for dreams. These resonate across cultures and age groups because they’re archetypal. They’re visual shorthand that young readers intuitively understand.
What Actually Differentiates Your Book:
- Your specific story and emotional journey
- The quality of illustration and how the symbol is depicted (when applicable)
- Your authentic voice and message
- The educational value you build around it
When It Becomes a Problem:
- If your execution is nearly identical to a recent, popular book
- If you’re in the same sub-genre using the same symbol the same way (readers might confuse them)
The Dan Brown Case: What the Courts Actually Said
Scales of Justice
“The law is reason, free from passion.” – Aristotle
Dan Brown was sued in 2006 by authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, who claimed he lifted core theories from their non-fiction book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail for The Da Vinci Code. They argued he copied their “architecture”: the idea that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children forming a hidden bloodline.
Brown won.
The UK High Court ruled he used common historical theories and facts (which aren’t copyrightable) and adapted them into original fictional expression. The appeal upheld this decision.
The key legal takeaway: you can’t copyright ideas or facts, only the specific, original way you express them.
My Own Title Disaster (And How I Fixed It)
The Stomp-Clomp-Clump Monster Above the Bed Book Cover
“A mistake is simply another way of doing things.” – Katharine Graham
I wrote a book and thought I came up with a great title, but my editor said it was too on the nose and should be more mysterious. What they suggested instead was brilliant, and I was mad I hadn’t thought of it myself. I searched online and couldn’t find a book by that title. I was so giddy, I changed the name on the spot.
Then, the week I planned to upload the book files to Amazon and IngramSpark, I ran another search in Google.
That book title didn’t only come up once. It turns out four different authors used the same name in their book title. It doesn’t matter why this happened, but it did, and finding that out gutted me.
Sure, I could have kept the title too, but I didn’t want readers to be confused when they searched online, and I didn’t want any of those other four authors to sue me, saying my book title impacted their revenue and reputation.
Thankfully, I already had a great word in my book: stomp-clomp-clump.
So, I inserted it into the book title, and legally I was safe to do this. No readers would be confused by which book they found, the book went on to be an award-winning bestseller, and it didn’t impact the other authors’ revenue or reputation either.
Practical Steps to Protect Your Work
Practical Steps to Protect Your Work Check List
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” – Benjamin Franklin
If you want to take extra steps:
Step 1: Certified Mail You can send yourself a copy of your book via certified mail, but don’t open the envelope. At least it shows when you mailed yourself a copy.
Step 2: Library of Congress Registration Another thing you can also do – register your book for copyright with the Library of Congress, and even go one step further to obtain a Library of Congress Control Number (LCN). And the only request and requirement is you send them a copy of your book after.
And for awareness, all works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years according to the U.S. Copyright Office.
Step 3: Document Your Timeline If you were to go to court, you could show the dates you took all of these actions (which is excessive but if you’re anal-retentive like me, it’s simply what you do).
Bottom Line: Write Your Book
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
Continue to write and publish the books you want to write. Do your due diligence. Find out what similar books exist. Make necessary adjustments. Publish with confidence, knowing you’ve protected yourself without ever having to fight it out in court.
And if you do have to appear in court someday, at least you’ll know how to take a couple of extra steps that might allow you to show you wrote and published your content before the other person did.
About the Author
J. W. Zarek is a Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author who has written or co-authored seventeen books, with nine published including seven #1 bestsellers. His picture books for children ages 4-8 focus on his “I am enough” mission.
With over 40 years of combined military and federal service, Zarek brings systematic analysis to complex problems. He’s developing the Authors for America nonprofit concept to connect schools that want author visits with qualified authors who want to visit schools, and fully fund those visits.
After retirement, he plans to do author visits full-time and pursue an MA in Folklore Studies at George Mason University with a concentration in Slavic mythology.
Learn more: www.jwzarek.com
© 2026 J.W. Zarek. All rights reserved.
