What to do when author doesn't reply to anyone's mails and I want to continue the story ?

[lovecraft68]

All this copyright bickering is moot. It's up to the site and whenever they have found a story posted without the original author's consent they have removed it.

Issue is, they don't know unless someone reports it and how many will recognize that fact? Not to mention I'd imagine most greedy free hawking readers would just be excited to see the story continued and not care anyway.

So, that comes down to is it ethical? As we see in these endless threads, a lot of people aren't.

 

[AALP]

I emailed the author many times and some other writers did too. The author never replies . So how can I ask for permission to continue the story? He left the story unfinished many years ago.

You did ask for permission, the author ignored you every time.

You're not allowed to do it without permission. Nothing else matters.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

You did ask for permission, the author ignored you every time.

You're not allowed to do it without permission. Nothing else matters.

We don't know that. We only know the OP did not get a reply.

 

[yowser]

Fair use doesn't apply to written work.

That's nonsense. Of course, at least in the US, fair use can include written works, along with all manner of created works under the broad umbrella of Intellectual Property.

 

[lovecraft68]

This topic

 

[SimonDoom]

Fair use doesn't apply to written work.

This is incorrect. Written works are just as subject to fair use principles as any kind of copyrighted work. An example is SunTrust Bank v Houghton Mifflin, where the federal 11th Circuit held that The Wind Done Gone was a parody and fair use of the copyrighted Gone with the Wind.

 

[MillieDynamite]

When you create characters in a story, specific plots and arcs, and a series of novels with those characters, they are yours. Another person cannot appropriate your work and make it the basis for their continuation of your universe. Excerpts from writing are permitted, so long as the original work is cited. But had E.L. James not changed her work from Twilight fan fiction, she would've found herself in court on the losing side. And while parody is allowed, that's not what is being discussed here.

 

[Cali_Love]

I get it. Not finding closure after an emotional investment in a story is excruciating. It’s why I try to be choosy when perusing the list of stories to read. It doesn’t always work out well. I generally won’t read chapter stories because of this. I require closure to some level of satisfaction.

I did come across a story in two parts that was utterly fantastic, like way too good for a trash bin (mostly) like Literotica. Part one was left without closure as the writer had disappeared. Eight years later, another writer finished the story, wrapping it up in a beautiful and heartwarming conclusion.

After the end, there was a touching postscript. He or she had painstakingly discovered that the original author had died. Between the nagging angst left in the wake of unfinished work, and appreciation (more like worship) of the original author, it was too compelling to leave it alone.

I enjoyed both parts immensely, so I’ll sit on the fence for this argument.

But when I die, nobody better finish any of my trash. Capiche?

 

[iwatchus]

The Wind Done Gone was a parody and fair use of the copyrighted Gone with the Wind.

My favorite example of parody fair use I use for my students.

 

[alohadave]

We don't know that. We only know the OP did not get a reply.

Lack of response is a response.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Lack of response is a response.

Not if the original author is deceased or no longer on this site.

 

[filthytrancendence]

But had E.L. James not changed her work from Twilight fan fiction, she would've found herself in court on the losing side.

I mean, this is a pretty excellent example of how trivial it is to file off the serial numbers, as they say.

It's real easy to circumvent copyright in this way. If somebody's not even willing to change the character names with a couple hours of ctl+f-ing, which is more or less the legal bare minimum, they are officially even lazier than EL James...

 

[Gamblnluck]

So, that comes down to is it ethical? As we see in these endless threads, a lot of people aren't.

Yep ethics and morality is not an issue for most. Readers or Authors

 

[MillieDynamite]

James changed the whole concept of the story, BDSM, and nothing supernatural about it. You may be able to rip off story lines and get away with it, but you must do the work to create new characters and at least some creativity. This thread is about adapting a story and taking it in a new direction, rather than simply appropriating it. Nothing else needs to matter, not the copyright, not the original author's wishes, not the site rules; just run with it. That is wrong, unethical, against the site rules, and not something I'd do. But if you feel comfortable doing it, more power to you. I'm not anyone else's conscience.

I mean, this is a pretty excellent example of how trivial it is to file off the serial numbers, as they say.

It's real easy to circumvent copyright in this way. If somebody's not even willing to change the character names with a couple hours of ctl+f-ing, which is more or less the legal bare minimum, they are officially even lazier than EL James...

 

[filthytrancendence]

That is wrong, unethical, against the site rules, and not something I'd do. But if you feel comfortable doing it, more power to you. I'm not anyone else's conscience.

Not sure how you got that from anything I said. My only point is that copyright is trivial to circumvent with a bit of effort, as evidenced by Master of the Universe -> 50 Shades of Grey. Stephanie Meyer is famously un-litigious, so a decent argument could be made that if she were more like James herself in that way, there might have been a decent case to be made against 50 shades. That's just not a fight Meyer ever wanted to fight, clearly. And I think that's for the best, personally.

I've never even published fanfiction period. It's not really something I'm interested in. I just think it's a mistake to conflate the ethics of it with the legality of it, because the legality of it is frankly silly and fully of holes.

At some point being too intensely judgmental of derivative work becomes an exercise in cutting off our noses to spite our faces. There's surely a line somewhere, but it's often something like the Supreme Court's famous opinion on pornography, 'you know it when you see it.'

 

[Bramblethorn]

You have not been here long enough to make jokes like that without a lol or a winky face.

Not sure there is a "long enough" for that.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'm a proud Jewish Israeli.

Probably shouldn't take that at face value:

In our culture , married women are looked down upon if they leave their husband. (islamic culture)
...
I'm atheist.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I'm a little teapot.

 

[lc69hunter]

You need to honor the non-response. I have actually received permission from one author, and a flat NO from one other, as I wanted it to go in another direction.

 

[Djmac1031]

I've never understood this desire by so many posters here to "finish" someone else's story.

Why not instead focus all the energy you're wasting into trying to contact a MIA author and / or posting about it here into actually writing your own story?

As many have pointed out, you can most certainly make it similar to the story you wish to "finish," as long as you're not directly copying it.

So... just do that.

 

[Baztrachian]

I've never understood this desire by so many posters here to "finish" someone else's story.

You really need to call the motherfuckers at Disney and talk to them about the absolute twaddle they keep passing off under the Star Wars name.

They're pissing me off and they're pissing off George Lucas, too.

 

[Baztrachian]

It says notice is optional for works created after 1989.

Optional is fine right up until you go to court.

 

[Voboy]

You really need to call the motherfuckers at Disney and talk to them about the absolute twaddle they keep passing off under the Star Wars name.

They're pissing me off and they're pissing off George Lucas, too.

Lol. After the shenanigans he pulled? I couldn't care less on his behalf.

He shat his golden goose and then killed it. His endless meddling with a genre classic, his bullheaded insistence that he knew better than anyone else, his turgid and senseless prequel plotting, his shit-tacular writing, and his stupid invention of Jar Jar Fucking Binks disqualify him from being pissed off about what Disney is doing IMO.

On a less strident note? He sold the IP. That means his pissed-off-ness no longer matters.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Lol. After the shenanigans he pulled? I couldn't care less on his behalf.

He shat his golden goose and then killed it. His endless meddling with a genre classic, his bullheaded insistence that he knew better than anyone else, his turgid and senseless prequel plotting, his shit-tacular writing, and his stupid invention of Jar Jar Fucking Binks disqualify him from being pissed off about what Disney is doing IMO.

On a less strident note? He sold the IP. That means his pissed-off-ness no longer matters.

He not only sold it, but enthusiastically endorsed Katheleen Kennedy who oversaw the destruction.
He literally picked the form of his destructor.

 

[MajorRewrite]

On a related note, does anyone actually reply to emails? I’m fairly certain I’ve never replied to a Lit-related email.

That kind of one-to-one contact seems a bit creepy. I prefer my readers keep their distance, thank you. (Maybe I’m just weird).