Coincidence or plagiarism? Twilight zone/comic book story

[Acsenray]

@RioRico

Ideas, themes, plots, are not copyright-able. Depending on whose analysis one favors, maybe 3 or 7 or 22 or 87 or 154 basic plots exist, and each has been written-over thousands to millions of times. Mark Twain’s 3-act structure: 1) chase them up a tree; 2) throw rocks at them; 3) see if they come down. Kurt Vonnegut traced 7 basic story arcs, with an 8th if nothing much develops. (Graphs provided upon request.) Spin-off your own version and blame inspiration, adaptation, re-visualization, correction, parody, whatever. Change enough words and it’s not plagiarism unless the source copyright owner retains better lawyers than you do.

The thread title ask about “plagiarism.” I just want to ensure that people understand that copyright is not relevant to plagiarism. Something may constitute plagiarism but not constitute copyright infringement, and vice versa.