: Re: Can I use already used fictional language? When creating a world where there are either aliens or fantasy races, you know that they should speak their own language. But the truth is, that for

@Sue2132873

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Serious Edit:

The lowdown, as pointed out by Lauren Ipsum, is that it's probably not a good idea. Since the Tolkien languages - among other constructed languages - are within copyrighted works, and are probably subject to copyright law.

There haven't been any serious legal limitations to using a constructed language, but that's mostly because it hasn't come up in any form of lawsuit. It makes copyright a hazy murk in this part of artistic expression.

There are arguments pro and con for the use of someone else's artificial language, so a strong case for "semiotic democracy" would probably win any potential lawsuits against you, if they would ever show up in court. You can see them in this publication by Harvard Law: jolt.law.harvard.edu/articles/pdf/v27/27HarvJLTech543.pdf
If you were to write in such a constructed language, you would most likely have to receive explicit permission to use it in your text. Otherwise, you are opening the gateway to litigation.

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