"The Mortal Instruments" (TMI) novelist Cassandra Clare has fired back at fantasy author Sherrilyn Kenyon who accused the former of copying the material in her book. Clare said she is "surprised and disappointed" by Kenyon's accusations, which she claims are baseless.
Sherrilyn Kenyon filed a complaint on Feb. 5 against Cassandra Clare "for trademark infringement, copyright infringement, unfair competition, false advertising, and trade dress infringement." The Guardian reported Kenyon alleges that Clare "knowingly and willfully copied" some portion of Kenyon's "Dark Hunter" series to create her popular YA tomes "The Mortal Instruments."
Kenyon's "Dark Hunter" series was first published in 1998, while Clare's "The Mortal Instruments" first came out in print in 2007.
The complaint cites that both book franchises tell the story of an "elite band of warriors" that save humans from paranormal forces. These warriors, referred to in the books as hunters, maintain the balance between good and evil to protect humans from succumbing to maleficent powers.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Kenyon also pointed out Cassandra Clare's use of the term "Shadowhunters" to identify her main protagonists. Kenyon owns trademark rights to the terms "Dark-Hunter," "Dream-Hunter" and "Were-Hunter" which are used extensively in her books. Clare initially used "Darkhunter" for "City of Bones," the first installment of the TMI series. She subsequently changed it to "Shadowhunters," and allegedly assured Kenyon that she and her publisher would not expand the use of the term.
In response to Kenyon's complaint, Clare's lawyer, John Cahill said the complainant failed to cite a particular instance of plagiarism. Cahill also refutes Kenyon's claim that the books have become so similar and identical.
"There is little chance of anyone confusing Cassie's young adult themes and orientation with the sometimes very adult storylines in Ms. Kenyon's books," Cahill stated.
"The law does not protect ideas and myths; it protects only the expression of those ideas," Cahill said, adding that the concept of human warriors fighting supernatural forces is not a novel idea invented solely by Kenyon and to which she can lay claim to.
Cassandra Clare reveals on her website that the idea for "The Mortal Instruments" came to her when she was in a tattoo shop, where she started to imagine a secret legion of "demon-hunters" whose magic was derived from an intricate system of tattooed runes.
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