J.R.R. Tolkien supposedly wrote The Silmarillion as merely the start of a universe that other authors could create derivative works within the fictional mythology.
This requires a different attitude toward copyright than how it is currently applied, which strongly protects against derivative works. Was Tolkien deliberately breaking with then contemporary copyright convention, or was that sort of weaker copyright commonplace in his era?
The freedom to create derivative works exists again as a centerpiece of GNU and some Creative Commons copyright licenses.
Nowadays, I think new works set in Tolkien's universe are protected by a parody exemption.
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