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DerynifanK

March 17, 2024, 03:48:44 PM
Happy St Patrick's Day. Enjoy the one day of the year when the whole world is Irish.

Two FindLaw columns on fanfic.

Started by Elkhound, June 23, 2009, 09:51:21 AM

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Elkhound



Elkhound


Elkhound

Quote from: Elkhound on July 21, 2009, 03:05:12 PM
Here's another on a related theme: http://writ.lp.findlaw.com/commentary/20090720_hodes.html

The idea of a character from a work of fiction confronting the author has been done before.  There was a British made-for-TV movie in which Hercule Poirot (played by David Suchet) appeared on Agatha Christie's doorstep.

Which of KK's characters would you use in such a story?

JulianneTK

If you check out the newest edition of Deryni Archives the Zine (as soon as Staples gets done copying!), there's a story where a character confronts not the author but a fan....

Shiral

#5
Quote from: lenni on June 23, 2009, 11:43:20 PM
Quote from: Elkhound on June 23, 2009, 09:51:21 AM
http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/hilden/20080121.html

http://writ.lp.findlaw.com/hilden/20090622.html

Thanks.  Very interesting.

Kathleen

I have to admit while being grateful to Katherine for her generous Fanfiction policy, I'm  rather on the side of the original author(OA) in this debate.  Writing an original work of fiction is hard work that can take years and for which the Original Author will realize a modest financial reward. By modest, I mean in comparison with what a millionaire athlete or successful movie actor or actress gets paid to do. It's a labor of love. I think it should be up to the original author to make their own policy on fanfic, up to and including prohibiting it altogether and that they should always have the last say.  

Fanfic a legal and ethical gray area, for me. When it's for the enjoyment of fans with no money changing hands  and with the approval and permission of the original author with all fan authors being respectul of any limits set and of the intellectual property belonging strictly to the OA, then a lot of pleasure can be derived from Fanfic, and nobody gets hurt by it. 

I don't claim to speak for anyone but myself, but I'd never dream of telling Katherine "Hey you stole MY idea!" I think it would take rather a lot of gall to accuse a the OA who did all the original work of stealing material from a fan  who based their stories on his or her original works in the first place.   Here I am, playing  with Katherine's characters in a universe she spent thirty years lovingly developing.  (And yes, with the willing input of her fans, but she did all the hardest parts.)  Who am I kidding to claim she stole anything from ME?  I believe fanfic authors should always be mindful that their stories are derived from the OA's work in the first place.  

And...to be honest, while fanfiction is fun and all, a lot of what I've seen on sites like Fanfiction.net --and I'm talking ALL fanfiction without singling out any individual author or any particular universe here-- is not writing of a professional, publishable standard at all. To suppose the OA would steal it would be gross self-flattery on the part of a lot of fanfic authors.


   Intellectual property is   like nailing jello to the wall already.  The burden of proof should be on the Fanfic author.  How do they know they didn't  stumble on a plot thread the OA was already thinking about adding to their newest book by sheer coincidence?  If I ever found myself in that position (If I should BE so lucky as to have fans who wanted to base anything on what I wrote), I'd probably pull the plug on any permission to write Fanfic at all after an experience like that.  

       Elkhound I don't mean this as an attack on you in ANY way. The Findlaw articles you posted  the links for were very interesting, and I understand that you don't necessarily agree or disagree with what they're  saying.  Nor am I in favor of plaigiarism by anyone. Nobody should get away with that if they're truly guilty, no matter how big or famous they are.  I'm simply stating my own discomfort about an Original Author ever being accused of stealing from their fans and getting into legal trouble for it after they've already proven they can write a good story on their own with no help or any need to steal  any other person's work.

Melissa
You can have a sound mind in a healthy body--Or you can be a nanonovelist!