So, I assume that's implicit permission for someone else to continue the narratives in this thread, even though it's not yet even abandoned, right?*







*It's this kind of smartassery that gets me in trouble with the wife.

 

Err I thought it was fairly clear that no one other than JKR (or those she permits) owns any creative rights to any derivative works of Harry Potter.

As such, no permission is necessary and you may do whatever with any fanfiction as long as it stays within the bounds of what JKR has approved of. You putting your label on it is just as meaningless as the original author putting his/her label on it.

 

Legally you're (relatively) fine. What this is about is not being a dick, and DLP not supporting such dicks in their dickery.

 

Legally, JKR owns Harry Potter and only Harry Potter. So, for example, she owns Voldemort and Hermione Granger and Hogwarts and the Mirror of Erised. She does not, however, own wands, schools of magic, boy heroes, prophecies, etc.

Therefore, JKR's rights to derivative works exist only up to the extent that the derivative work is, in fact, derivative i.e. uses material owned by her. Any original material in a derivative work is technically the intellectual property of the derivative author.

Of course, the reality of the situation is that no fanfic author will have the resources to fight any legal challenge, so this law is practically unenforceable, but those are technically the rules. JKR can't lay claim to the whole just because she owns the part. Otherwise JKR could claim ownership of all of Doctor Who because they said "expelliarmus" in an episode one time.

That said, most of this thread has addressed what is morally the case, not what is legally the case. We're a community, as such people are expected to behave in a way that is decent towards each other, which sometimes means going beyond your strict obligations. It's perfectly possible to stay within the law and still be a dick. But in a community, you shouldn't be a dick.

 

Just curious what is DLP policy for GRRM? Didn't he come out with not wanting fanfiction written?

 

1) If a fanfic author'd want to sue another fanfic author for stealing their stuff, every lawyer and judge out there would laugh them out of the room.
2) If you ban these people, they're gonna be back in a heartbeat.
3) And what has fanfic authors stealing from other fanfic authors to do with the author banning fanfcition using their works (the copyright laws went too far, anyway)?!
4) If there'll be enough people wanting it, someone's gonna open a fanfic site on a Tor hidden service and than Anne Rice'd be out of luck.
5) This ain't plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking other's stuff and label is as our own.
5a) "You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means" - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
6) "Good writers borrow, great writers steal" – Robert A. Heinlein

 

You people just don't know when to quit, do you?

 

This thread is mind boggling. Are people actually getting upset that DLP is protecting us so we have a say when people can and cannot copy our works?

 

You're stifling the creation of hood literature just like the authors, who forbid fanfiction for their works. Just because copyright has gone too far doesn't mean, that DLP has to do the same.

They're trying to ban continuation of stories. Continuation != copying.

 

I don't think anyone's most people are complaining about the rules - it's more a discussion on the morality/legality of derivative works. Personally, I'm enjoying hearing what people have to say on the matter.

I didn't realise we weren't allowed to have discussions in announcement threads; if this is the case, could a mod clarify on it and perhaps move some of these posts elsewhere?

 

The mods aren't trying to do anything. These are the rules. There is no try.

 

Yeah, I don't see how anyone could be okay with someone continuing the Denarian Apocalypse without Shezza's permission, and then using this site to host it. That's like stealing from someone, then spitting in their face afterwards, and then they probably butcher the plot anyways. Yeah, that's what we want to see, right?

Like, all the complaints seem like a complete non-issue to me.

 

>Implying it's stealing to begin with.

That's easy to say, if that's the party line.

 

Seems to me that this is a matter of common courtesy. After all, you ask to borrow things from friends before doing so. If they say no, you don't take it, and if they don't get back to you then you don't go ahead and take it anyway on the assumption that they'd say yes. Doesn't matter if the friend would be fine with it afterwards; it a matter of not being an immoral asshole who takes things without permission.

 

Immoral? Taking an idea and making a story off it? You consider that stealing? That kind of thinking is, what lead to the ridiculously restrictive copyright we have today and the Damocles' Sword hanging over fanfic in general (it just takes a fucking cunt as Anne Rice to forbid people doing fanfics off her stuff). You shouldn't damn derivative works, you should welcome them!

 

Yes, immoral, because using another person's stuff without their permission is a dick thing to do. There's nothing more to it than that.

 

Just imagine what Stephenie Meyer must be thinking.

"That cunt James... I should've cracked down on her when I had the chance. I could have made another 100 mln bucks."

As with everything, too much of a good thing is bad. And this whole issue isn't the same as fanfiction of officially published fiction. It's about people being wilfully ignorant or actually so obtuse that they just don't get it.

And lastly, do you want these guys to pick up Stranger? Or the Inner Eye? Do you?

 

Yes. Yes I do consider it immoral to steal without permission. As someone who has been stolen from on multiple occasions, I don't feel the least bit welcoming towards my work being shat all over by a complete stranger who can't even be arsed to ask me if I'm okay with that.

It's not just about morality, it's also about respect. Enjoy and appreciate the authors who give you leave to play in their sandboxes. But for fuck's sake, respect the wishes of those who don't. It's that respect that gives us space for fanfiction in the first place.