About that- are you supposed to put a disclaimer at the beginning of the story if you are writing fanfiction? And if you are supposed to, is it just for the first chapter or is it for all of them? I can't see anything in the FFnet rules about doing so, but everyone seems to and I don't know if it is peer pressure or what.

I mean, I didn't notice at first that song lyrics are banned, and writing about the actors themselves is banned, but there is nothing about putting in a disclaimer.

 

Short Answer: It's not a requirement, but it's a good thing to do. Putting it on the first chapter is sufficient, but it doesn't hurt to put it on every chapter.

Long, Wordy Answer: Fanfiction is a grey area of copyright law. It depends on whether the story is derivative or a transformative in nature. Copyright law gives the author of a work exclusive right to make derivative works. However transformative works (stories that take one thing and change it into something new) are argued to be a fair use of the story.

Putting a disclaimer does not mean you can't get in trouble, but not putting one doesn't automatically mean you will lose if you get sued. The disclaimer acknowledges the source of the original story--making them less likely to want to sue you--and provides a basis for a legal argument that will mitigate the seriousness of an offense if you are eventually sued.

This will not protect you from claims of plagiarism if you do not reference any lines you directly take from the source. You still need to do that regardless of any disclaimer.

The real defense for fanfiction is that it does not harm the revenue of the author. So long as you don't make money and don't reduce the money the author makes, the chances of having a problem are very slim.

But whether you are ever sued or not, it is best to acknowledge the source.

 

>Every one of those 'reading the book' abominations that have spawned.

 

It was a stickied topic. It's not like I necro'd it from 15 pages back.

 

True, it means the mods like OZ are not doing their job and removing old sticky posts.

 

wtf.

This is a place to talk about plagiarism, the instance doesn't matter.

Oh and have you checked which forum is Oz? might not be his forum even you derp.

 

Doesn't matter, it is still his fault.

 

Depends - if it was Hel, I'd probably offer her a movie and a dinner; if it was, say, Osiris, I'd probably offer him some Shredded Wheat.