Geez, there's only so many plot themes you can use,,,

Wow, long title...

But I just started reading Darker Than Black and it struck me how similar this appears to my own Canticle.
Granted, I'm still way too early in DtB to generalize, but there seems a certain commonality. Namely, the young girl who commits murder, or thinks she does, and either represses it or beats herself up over it.
Sure, Meghan's delusion is externally imposed, and never fully takes...
I guess it's all in the details and presentation, huh? If we were locked in to base theme with requirement to get previous author's permision to use it or any variant, we'd be a dull species.


My point... seems I've talked myself out of one...

Anybody see any correspondence between the limits on story theme, and IP copyright? Growing up as anarcho-liberal as I have, then trying to get into the storytelling industry, I'm starting to worry about IP control on my efforts.

Any thoughts from others on any of these points?

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Unless something is blatantly ripped off it's hard to prove that you took something.