what I really hate about those anti-fanfic people is the fact that they caricature fanfic authors as lazy people who not only have no talent whatsoever to speak of, but who also purposely mock the original authors by telling the world how it 'should have been written'.
They have No. Idea. how wrong they are. I've never once met a fanfic author who claimed that their story was better than canon. Well, save some immature 13-year-old girls on FF.net who couldn't write if their lives depended on it, and who're just upset that [insert customary favourite character here] has died. And of course, these girls are the measure of every single fanfic writer out there.
I'd really like to see some of those essays you mention... I'll add them to memories, wait until I'm in a really foul mood, and then proceed to snark with some considerable fervor.
About copyright: you are right. Ideas cannot be protected by law, since otherwise there'd be exactly one story of the type 'A loves B but B loves C who in turn loves A'. However, what qualifies as an idea and what qualifies as opus depends on the 'producing height' (that term certainly doesn't make sense, but it's legalese German and I couldn't find a trans). That's something like the amount of individual creativity necessary for a work to fall under copyright protection, and it varies from country to country. In the UK the thumb rule is: everything that's not banal and neither plagiarised.
You see the problem: what exactly is plagiarism, and what isn't...
And there my knowledge of international law draws to its untimely end...
There's one real issue involved in fanfic: if the original author reads *any* of it, s/he runs the risk of being sued by psychotic fans when the next book comes out, for "stealing my ideas."
Certainly, a case could be made that JKR didn't come up with Bill/Fleur and Remus/Tonks on her own. (Not a substantial one, I think... but I bet there's some fanfic that predates HBP about how Remus & Tonks got together after Sirius' death. And Bill/Fleur was one of the background bits I assumed was fanon for lots of Snarry.)
An article about CNet article which seems to be about Star Wars fanfic & fan movies. Hard for me to follow; not my fandom.
Release Form required for Mercedes Lackey fanfic. Note: "No public posting of stories/fanfiction is allowed on the Internet. (This includes talking in character in chatrooms or sending stories via e-mail.)"
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/7/18/175640/391: a long thread (older stuff at the bottom, so read from there up) about the pros, cons & legalities of fanfic. Most anti-ficcers say "it all sucks, why would anyone support it?"
Wow, thanks, you certainly went to some lengths with this...
As for JKR 'stealing' from fanfic authors: well, I think every dog has its day every now and then... I've seen split-soul!Voldemort, lots of Hermione/Ron (of course), I've written halfblood!Severus myself, and that doesn't even begin to name the list of things that have been fanon before they became canon...
And to accuse JKR of plagiarism is the dumbest thing anyone could do. Ever. Since that would probably make her reconsider her opinion on fanfic, imho... and any fanfic writer with some ounce of self preservation would do well to think again.
Well, I'm going to be off for tonight, but thank you so much again for the effort you put into linking me those rants/propaganda/etc... I appreciate it a lot ♥♥♥
Suing an author over fanfic is monumentally stupid... but it's the reason Lackey doesn't read any of the fanfic based on her works; Marion Zimmer Bradley was once sued by a fan, and their publisher insists that, to avoid future problems, authors don't read fanfic. Which is really sad.
*Sensible, ethical* fanfic authors don't do that stuff. But nineteen-year-old wannabes sometimes do.
I didn't go to any extremes; these were easy google searches. And it's something I'd been wanting to do--I was hoping to find more essays like the first one, but mostly what I found was third-party references to this or that author who doesn't allow fanfic.
I suppose the proper reaction to Anne Rice's announcement would be to post crack!slash parodies of her stuff, which would be covered under "fair use" copyright laws. (Louis & Lestat hit the gay bar scene... Vampire Orgy at Mardi Gras...)
They have No. Idea. how wrong they are. I've never once met a fanfic author who claimed that their story was better than canon. Well, save some immature 13-year-old girls on FF.net who couldn't write if their lives depended on it, and who're just upset that [insert customary favourite character here] has died. And of course, these girls are the measure of every single fanfic writer out there.
I'd really like to see some of those essays you mention... I'll add them to memories, wait until I'm in a really foul mood, and then proceed to snark with some considerable fervor.
About copyright: you are right. Ideas cannot be protected by law, since otherwise there'd be exactly one story of the type 'A loves B but B loves C who in turn loves A'. However, what qualifies as an idea and what qualifies as opus depends on the 'producing height' (that term certainly doesn't make sense, but it's legalese German and I couldn't find a trans). That's something like the amount of individual creativity necessary for a work to fall under copyright protection, and it varies from country to country. In the UK the thumb rule is: everything that's not banal and neither plagiarised.
You see the problem: what exactly is plagiarism, and what isn't...
And there my knowledge of international law draws to its untimely end...
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There's one real issue involved in fanfic: if the original author reads *any* of it, s/he runs the risk of being sued by psychotic fans when the next book comes out, for "stealing my ideas."
Certainly, a case could be made that JKR didn't come up with Bill/Fleur and Remus/Tonks on her own. (Not a substantial one, I think... but I bet there's some fanfic that predates HBP about how Remus & Tonks got together after Sirius' death. And Bill/Fleur was one of the background bits I assumed was fanon for lots of Snarry.)
An article about CNet article which seems to be about Star Wars fanfic & fan movies. Hard for me to follow; not my fandom.
Release Form required for Mercedes Lackey fanfic. Note: "No public posting of stories/fanfiction is allowed on the Internet. (This includes talking in character in chatrooms or sending stories via e-mail.)"
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/7/18/175640/391: a long thread (older stuff at the bottom, so read from there up) about the pros, cons & legalities of fanfic. Most anti-ficcers say "it all sucks, why would anyone support it?"
Anne Rice does not allow fanfic. The idea upsets her.
I failed to find a nice useful list of authors who forbid fanfiction.
Pro-fanfic article: http://www.icybrian.com/freezer/glmonfanfic.php (wouldn't want to repeat stuff that's already been said.)
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As for JKR 'stealing' from fanfic authors: well, I think every dog has its day every now and then... I've seen split-soul!Voldemort, lots of Hermione/Ron (of course), I've written halfblood!Severus myself, and that doesn't even begin to name the list of things that have been fanon before they became canon...
And to accuse JKR of plagiarism is the dumbest thing anyone could do. Ever. Since that would probably make her reconsider her opinion on fanfic, imho... and any fanfic writer with some ounce of self preservation would do well to think again.
Well, I'm going to be off for tonight, but thank you so much again for the effort you put into linking me those rants/propaganda/etc... I appreciate it a lot ♥♥♥
Reply
*Sensible, ethical* fanfic authors don't do that stuff. But nineteen-year-old wannabes sometimes do.
I didn't go to any extremes; these were easy google searches. And it's something I'd been wanting to do--I was hoping to find more essays like the first one, but mostly what I found was third-party references to this or that author who doesn't allow fanfic.
I suppose the proper reaction to Anne Rice's announcement would be to post crack!slash parodies of her stuff, which would be covered under "fair use" copyright laws. (Louis & Lestat hit the gay bar scene... Vampire Orgy at Mardi Gras...)
Reply
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