Copyright Suit Backfires

[ruddygore]

For those of you that right fanfiction, do not, I repeat, DO NOT sue the original copyright holder for copyright infrigement.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2...kfires-on-lord-of-the-rings-fanfiction-author

 

[TheRedChamber]

Going to wait for the inevitable deep dives on this one as, based on the article and some others I had a look at, it is perplexing on some many levels why the guy thought he'd have any kind of case.

Calling you book 'The Fellowship of the King' is all kinds of wrong-footingly evil.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Oh, read about that one and I've been waiting for the verdict. The mother of all self-owns.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Did anyone send the Guardian money to help them fight the good fight of reporting on the stupidity of the world? Not me; no PayPal, check, or cash under the table. Not one single cent, or penny, as I think it's in the UK.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Oh, read about that one and I've been waiting for the verdict. The mother of all self-owns.

Which just goes to show when you think you've seen utter stupidity, someone comes along with complete and utter stupidity. What a knob jockey that the guy even contemplated he had a case.

"Where'd you get the name Aragorn from?"

"I made it up, your honour, God's truth. I've never even heard of this Tolkein guy!"

 

[Djmac1031]

 

[SimonDoom]

This should quiet somewhat the voices that keep saying fanfiction is a fair use under copyright law. No, it isn't.

 

[Bamagan]

I'll be curious to see if he can succeed in an appeal regarding the requirement to destroy all copies of it, or if that only applies to copies intended for distribution. Barring a change in copyright law in the interim, he could maybe sit on his original copy until 2044 when LotR becomes public domain and release it then.
Or maybe he's too burned from his experience to even bother now, haha.

 

[mirafrida]

This should quiet somewhat the voices that keep saying fanfiction is a fair use under copyright law. No, it isn't.

I'm not saying fanfic is or is-not fair use -- but this case seems quite different in involving commercialization of the work (not to mention following that up with a lawsuit against the rights-holder), no?

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm not saying fanfic is or is-not fair use -- but this case seems quite different in involving commercialization of the work (not to mention following that up with a lawsuit against the rights-holder), no?

Whether or not someone makes money off a work is "a factor" in determining whether it's a fair use, but it's not a determinative factor, and I'm not aware of any case that definitively says that just because you don't make money off it your fanfiction is a fair use. I don't believe that's true.

This is all just legalism. As a practical matter a great deal of fanfiction is tolerated, and I think it's because many copyright owners have become savvy enough to understand that fanfiction adds value to rather than detracts value from their intellectual property.

 

[mirafrida]

Whether or not someone makes money off a work is "a factor" in determining whether it's a fair use, but it's not a determinative factor, and I'm not aware of any case that definitively says that just because you don't make money off it your fanfiction is a fair use. I don't believe that's true.

This is all just legalism. As a practical matter a great deal of fanfiction is tolerated, and I think it's because many copyright owners have become savvy enough to understand that fanfiction adds value to rather than detracts value from their intellectual property.

Like i say, you may very well be right. I just didn't get the impression (albeit from only looking at a couple of articles) that this particular case had much relevance to the question, one way or another.

 

[boytoyjoy]

This particular book had extensive copying (with attribution) from Tolkien's works. It didn't simply re-use characters, settings, or that sort of thing.