copyright infringement - using

[Hecate]

Are we erotic writers violating copyright when we write our stories based on "existing" characters? Like Xena or Hercules? Are we violating any law when we use those characters in our stories?

Am I violating copyright law when I write an erotic story that is easily recognizeable based on a fantasy series and uses one of the monsters that were appearing in that series?

The story line itself is totally "self-made", and not even according to the "original" in detail, creating eroticism where there was none in the basic work.

Question: Should I fear to get sued some time or am I rather "save"? Anyone knowing about the "kinks" of that subject?

 

[Closet Desire]

parodies...

I think Hercules was around before anybody even thought of copyright protection, however if somebody, somewhere has managed to get a trademark for the character then it is possible you would violate the trademark for that character. Would you get sued? Probably not unless you became really popular and were published someplace other than the web. Say you decided to cast Wonder Woman in more of the English "Jane" version, making her an erotic character called...say...Lusty Lady. You change her name but she still wears red, white, and blue and carries a magical golden lasso. Then you could be taken to task for trademark infringement by DC Comics.

It gets really ticklish if you write about characters or stories that are readily recognisable as orginating elsewhere. Then it becomes a question of whether you have copied or whether you are writing a "parody" (the current war over "The Wind Done Gone").

Since you're in Europe it's even worse because there are some privacy laws in place that can prevent you from even including places that are real. France, in particular, has started to take a pretty hard line on this. I'm wrestling with this issue in my latest book which is based in Valldemossa, Mallorca. I still haven't decided if I need to change the name of the village or the name of the composer (Chopin) who lived there.

It's ticklish for me because I live in England, publish in the US, and distribute world wide. My rule of thumb? When in doubt, take it out. I don't make enough selling books to duke it out with some moron and an agenda.