Artistic Merger Doctrine

The Artistic Merger Doctrine is a legal principle in copyright law that states if an idea and its expression are inseparable, the idea might not be protected by copyright. This means that when a creative work expresses an idea in a specific way, the unique expression may be protected, but if that expression is the only way to convey the idea, then others may freely use that idea without infringing copyright. Essentially, it balances protecting creativity with allowing freedom of thought and inspiration in the arts.