Dragaera

Artificial release dates and online publishing

Mon Dec 16 14:20:34 PST 2002

J.Jasper wrote:
> Fides wrote:
>>
>> David Dyer-Bennet wrote:
>>> Joshua Kronengold <mneme at io.com> writes:
>>
>>>> The point is that fixing copyright to anyone's lifespan is
>>>> ludicrous unless you think the possibility of someone writing a
>>>> parody or fanfic (or even commercial variant on same) is a
>>>> tragedy.  And as much as it might feel like one (just like, say, a
>>>> negative review), it's not -- it's just a thing.
>>>
>>>
>>> Parody is protected fair use, so that's not at issue.  Most fanfic
>>> *is* a tragedy.  The better fanfic is a tragedy *twice* (they should
>>> have been writing something original).
>>
>> Why? I have read some very good fan fic that wouldn't have been half
>> as effective if had been totally original and some that would have
>> been impossible if they had been original. If fan fic writers wanted
>> to write something totally original they would (and some do that as
>> well) but that isn't what they are trying to do when they write fic.
>
> From a legal standpoint, fanfic is a copyright violation.  It
> endangers an author's right to work within their own creation.
> Propagating fanfic in public without permission is an insult, not
> praise.
>
> Doing so with permission is fine.  Some TV show copyright owners
> intentionally turn a blind eye towards fanfic because they like the
> fans who write it and are unconcerned about having their rights
> violated.  As a personal choice, that's OK, but if you intend to
> publicly release fanfic, ask the author first.  If they say no,
> respect their wishes.

Right, well most of these people likely don't even bother to contact the
original creator.