Expanding upon another author's work?

Can anyone tell me if there is a Literotica policy or community consensus about continuing a story by another author. Obviously my first step would have been to ask the author for approval, but he seems to have left Literotica about 5 years ago and turned off any options to contact him.

I'm also aware there's a bit of a legal gray area surrounding pornography/erotica, parody, and fair use laws, but not being an IP lawyer I hesitate to jump into this headfirst without some sort of guidance.

this question has been asked before, or at least something similar. i'd be pissed off unless i was asked - which isn't likely to happen! yes, the author appears to have dropped off lit, so that's out.

me, i'd leave it alone. which is just my opinion. there will be others to follow.

I come to writing from music where expansion and variation are common, and nothing is sacred. Put it on paper and its fair game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c33q87s03h4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_with_fan_fiction

Basically, you can get away with it, but if the original author comes back and doesn't like it, you can expect to lose any argument. As long as no one is making money on either the original or your derived work you probably won't end up on court, but you might be wasting your time. Spend time websearching fair use before proceeding.

Bottom line you can probably do it - fanfic is everywhere - but honestly why bother?

phil_t said:

Can anyone tell me if there is a Literotica policy or acommunity consensus about continuing a story by another author. Obviously my first step would have been to ask the author for approval, but he seems to have left Literotica about 5 years ago and turned off any options to contact him.

I'm also aware there's a bit of a legal gray area surrounding pornography/erotica, parody, and fair use laws, but not being an IP lawyer I hesitate to jump into this headfirst without some sort of guidance.

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It's quite simple. Unless you have the approval of the original writer, you are in breach of copyright. Probably, if the writer has been away for 5 years you might get away with it, but it is still theft.

Don't do it.

In theory, eveything Lit publishes is totally legal. I just find they haven't come to terms with trademarks.

For starters, it's unethical, if it's still under copyright, without the expressed permission of the original author. (If they can't be found, the answer is no.) So, you'll have to abandon ethics to go any further with the question. After abandoning those, you are free to go, but if the original author notices it and objects to the site administration, your versions likely will be pulled. It's all up to the sort of person you want to be.

sr71plt said:

For starters, it's unethical, if it's still under copyright, without the expressed permission of the original author. (If they can't be found, the answer is no.) So, you'll have to abandon ethics to go any further with the question. After abandoning those, you are free to go, but if the original author notices it and objects to the site administration, your versions likely will be pulled. It's all up to the sort of person you want to be.

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^^^^^pissed cuz nobody steals his stuff.

phil_t said:

Can anyone tell me if there is a Literotica policy or community consensus about continuing a story by another author.

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Hey honey, welcome to the board.


As you can see, there is very rarely consensus here about anything.

I think you are asking, not to plagiarise and steal, nor even to parody and rewrite someone-else's story. Even parodying and rewriting is OK, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.

You've found a story which has been deserted for five years, right? and you admire it so much, you would like to continue it. You made every effort to contact the author but they have disappeared.

(If you want to be REALLY sure, you could say who the author is. It's just possible someone on here knows them in RL and can drop them a note.)

I personally think there ought to be no problem with you writing some follow-on chapters to the story. Perhaps you can link to the original story - ask Laurel (in a PM, she never replies to email) if this is OK. I know you can list links to other material on Lit in stories. If you put in a message to say how you admired the original chapters and have had the awful temerity to attempt - in an incredibly humble way blahblah - to write a sequel, I can't see there'd be any problem at all.

Done all the time in the Big Boys' publishing world. Endless new Sherlock Holmes and Biggles and other stories. Somebody wrote a new Peter Wimsey novel a long time after Dorothy Sayers had passed away and it is quite successful although nothing like the original stories, OF COURSE.

Good luck! Make sure you come back and give us a link to the story when you're done so we can go and see how well you've transitioned from the original.

Pretty much the only thing I agree with in NaokoSmith's post is that you might want to check with Laurel, the site editor (by PM), on what she thinks. She's the only one who ultimately decides what you can post here and what you can't.

sr71plt said:

Pretty much the only thing I agree with in NaokoSmith's post is that you might want to check with Laurel, the site editor (by PM), on what she thinks. She's the only one who ultimately decides what you can post here and what you can't.

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I like that Four Coins cover. Is the story actually set in Rome?

NaokoSmith said:

I like that Four Coins cover. Is the story actually set in Rome?

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No, in Key West. The four coins are the options of lovers the protagonist has to choose among.

sr71plt said:

No, in Key West. The four coins are the options of lovers the protagonist has to choose among.

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I suppose it would spoil the story to say why they are coins?

I know, I should go and read it. I'm just trying to work my way through some of the Nude Day stories. There are some really fab inventive ones this year. And I expect the imminent return of Piglet from a school trip so now isn't quite the moment to immerse myself in some exciting gay porn.

NaokoSmith said:

I suppose it would spoil the story to say why they are coins?

I know, I should go and read it. I'm just trying to work my way through some of the Nude Day stories. There are some really fab inventive ones this year. And I expect the imminent return of Piglet from a school trip so now isn't quite the moment to immerse myself in some exciting gay porn.

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He has to flip coins to decide "which one will it be" (a line from the Doris Day song/movie, dontcha know. The song, of course, which represented the choices as coins, is referenced in the book). You couldn't read it here; it's still solely in the market. The coin flips become irrelevant in the twist of the book.

phil_t said:

Can anyone tell me if there is a Literotica policy or community consensus about continuing a story by another author. Obviously my first step would have been to ask the author for approval, but he seems to have left Literotica about 5 years ago and turned off any options to contact him.

I'm also aware there's a bit of a legal gray area surrounding pornography/erotica, parody, and fair use laws, but not being an IP lawyer I hesitate to jump into this headfirst without some sort of guidance.

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I think you might consider a story, in the same manner as others wrote a James Bond novel. You'll need to be seen to try and contact the previous author, OR you might take his characters and do something slightly different.

Handley_Page said:

You'll need to be seen to try and contact the previous author,

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Again, hate to bop on this (but it keeps coming up). There's no legal defense in "I tried to find them but couldn't" explanation. In copyright law you have to find them and obtain written permission or it's a no go. (In mainstream publishing, the publisher won't publish without you providing this to the publisher.) So, rather than even floating this false defense, you should just go ahead and do it if you insist on doing it. "I tried to find them" provides you no defense whatsoever.

sr71plt said:

Again, hate to bop on this (but it keeps coming up). There's no legal defense in "I tried to find them but couldn't" explanation. In copyright law you have to find them and obtain written permission or it's a no go. (In mainstream publishing, the publisher won't publish without you providing this to the publisher.) So, rather than even floating this false defense, you should just go ahead and do it if you insist on doing it. "I tried to find them" provides you no defense whatsoever.

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Thanks.
Oh well, it was just a thought.

Thanks for the input guys. I appreciate it.