Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Maryland

Re: This is a book publishing question

Ideas are not the subject of copyright. Think of copyright infringement in terms of how your high school English teacher would react when you turn in a paper based upon library research. If you describe the ideas in your own words, great; if the word "plagiarism" comes to mind, then this is bad.

Now, the problem comes when you originally produce a work without knowledge of the other work (as you posit in your hypothetical). There is no defense if the copyright infringement is literal (i.e., looks like plagiarism) even if you never saw the other work.

My sense is that you really have nothing to worry about inf your facts are correct.

Re: This is a book publishing question

I agree with my colleague L. Graves that on the facts you state you should not have a copyright infringement problem. This, howeve, does not stop someone from making a claim against you if they think otherwise. Being sued is risk even when you are right and the other person is wrong. You can help the situation a little by placing a statement in the forward of the book that "This is an original work considered to be unique and the first of its kind and any resemblance to any other book or article is purely coincidental and unintentional." or some similar statement.