I Feel Like Starting An Argument: Writing a fanfiction based on ANY story you've ever read is perfectly fine***

[MediocreAuthor]

***as long as you don't monetize it, and you credit the original author.

Warning: Everyone who argues with me will see one or more of their characters featured in my new massive multiverse spanning fanfic which is tentatively titled "Fucking Through the Litverse"

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*Just kidding ​

 

[AwkwardMD]

Definitely not allowed to write one about my series Dark Horse.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Definitely not allowed to write one about my series Dark Horse.

*Puts on glasses, and checks clipboard*

So which of your characters would you prefer to see in the fanfic?

 

[AndersonsBiographer]

If you want to have your cake and eat it too, you can always "file off the serial numbers." Take plot and characters, change names, change small details, add ideas and concepts of your own, and so on and so forth. Just keep changing, adding, and removing things until you're pretty sure you're out of lawsuit territory and then run with it.

That's pretty much what I did with Cedar Station. It's Stephen King's Tommyknockers or Salem's Lot (which itself was "Peyton Place meets Dracula" in his words), plus a bunch of other random stuff thrown in until it ended up seeming more-or-less like an "original work."

I'm not sure if a truly original work has existed at any point since the time of Babylonic cuneiform falling out of fashion.

 

[MediocreAuthor]

If you want to have your cake and eat it too, you can always "file off the serial numbers." Take plot and characters, change names, change small details, add ideas and concepts of your own, and so on and so forth. Just keep changing, adding, and removing things until you're pretty sure you're out of lawsuit territory and then run with it.

That's pretty much what I did with Cedar Station. It's Stephen King's Tommyknockers or Salem's Lot (which itself was "Peyton Place meets Dracula" in his words), plus a bunch of other random stuff thrown in until it ended up seeming more-or-less like an "original work."

I'm not sure if a truly original work has existed at any point since the time of Babylonic cuneiform falling out of fashion.

Honestly, I think that filing off the serial number is closer to plagiarism than fanfictions. If you're using other people's ideas, just be honest about it and don't monetize it.

But to be fair, you should always ask the author, and respect their feelings. If they say no, just don't do it.

Don't get me wrong, I understand your idea, and you're not wrong, but still...

 

[Devinter]

But to be fair, you should always ask the author, and respect their feelings. If they say no, just don't do it.

I stuck a reference to you (and half of everyone else from the AH) into Girl Cum and I didn't even ask permission. Whilst it admittedly is not a fanfic, I don't regret anything.

As for your argument; I can't really disagree with you there, so I guess I won't make it into the Litverse. Looking forward to reading whatever you cook up, though!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Not without explicitly asking for permission, which wouldn't be granted.

Besides, none of my characters do diacritics nor non-con, so there'd be nothing you'd want to fan-fic.

What is this, a slow Saturday?

 

[MediocreAuthor]

Not without explicitly asking for permission, which wouldn't be granted.

Besides, none of my characters do diacritics nor non-con, so there'd be nothing you'd want to fan-fic.

What is this, a slow Saturday?

So Emma and Bobby, are they down for tentacle rape normally? Or do I need to hit them with the mind control ray first? Meh... I'll figure it out in due time. Don't worry about the diacritics and NC/R, sweetheart. Adding that is my job

---

All jokes aside, I feel like if I wanted to write a fanfic based on your story, it would be impolite and rude to not ask you.

But if I asked you, and you never responded or you were dead or whatever, I think there's nothing wrong with writing a fanfic even without permission.

If you hate it that much, you should post a disclaimer in your bio.

It's like a NO TRESPASSING sign. If you don't want trespassers, you need to post a sigh. Even though, we all know that trespassing is generally considered rude, even when there's no sign.

 

[Bazzle]

Yes, next question?

 

[ElectricBlue]

It's like a NO TRESPASSING sign. If you don't want trespassers, you need to post a sign. Even though, we all know that trespassing is generally considered rude, even when there's no sign.

So for my house, I need to put up a sign saying, "Don't come in here unless you're invited"? I don't think so.

I thought it was an ethical given that people respect other people's property, that they don't just wander in and say, "Well, I wanted to come in, so I did, and while I was there I re-arranged the furniture and painted the walls, because I think you did a shit job in the first place."

Intellectual Property is no different. It doesn't need a sign saying, don't touch.

It's not yours to do with as you choose, not until my copyright expires, which is seventy years after my death here in Australia (it's the same in America, since our copyright law aligns with yours, as of 2005, when the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) came into being).

So the answer is always, legally and ethically, "Not without permission."

 

[Bamagan]

So Emma and Bobby, are they down for tentacle rape normally? Or do I need to hit them with the mind control ray first? Meh... I'll figure it out in due time. Don't worry about the diacritics and NC/R, sweetheart. Adding that is my job

---

All jokes aside, I feel like if I wanted to write a fanfic based on your story, it would be impolite and rude to not ask you.

But if I asked you, and you never responded or you were dead or whatever, I think there's nothing wrong with writing a fanfic even without permission.

If you hate it that much, you should post a disclaimer in your bio.

It's like a NO TRESPASSING sign. If you don't want trespassers, you need to post a sigh. Even though, we all know that trespassing is generally considered rude, even when there's no sign.

Trespassing is more than merely rude, it's illegal (everywhere I've been, anyway). No signage is needed to make it illegal, although the trespasser can plea ignorance in situations where there's a reasonable doubt that their transgression was deliberate. If they get caught wandering onto someone's unposted acreage, for example, especially if it's an undeveloped property, they will probably get nothing worse than a warning not to do it again, as long as they did nothing else illegal while there. Rolling up into someone's yard obviates any defense via ignorance, although a first offense is still not likely to get more than a warning, so long as all the offender did was walk around or something. And entering someone else's building/vehicle/etc., whether posted or not, is probably going to net the offender a fine and possibly a stint in the pokey, depending on the circumstances.
I kind of feel like this whole thread is a sarcastic piece of performance art, and that you're not necessarily making a serious argument in 'defense' of trespassing, so chalk my pedantry up to an abundance of caution.

 

[AlinaX]

Always? Is all fan fiction unethical? Is there not a point when a story crosses a line into public consciousness?

I agree that once money is involved that the author should get a fair share, and I certainly understand an author's passion for and investment in their own creation, but isn't fan fiction also about passion and investment, about breathing life into characters?

 

[Devinter]

So the answer is always, legally and ethically, "Not without permission."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's illegal to write fanfiction, but rather that if requested by the original copyright holder, you have to take it down? So long as the creator of the fanfiction didn't profit from it, the copyright holder can't demand legal monetary compensation, right? Unless, of course, they could prove that the fan fiction somehow hurt their own financial streams perhaps.

But I get it. I wouldn't want anyone to, for example, continue my work without asking for my permission. I'm not famous enough that one couldn't just reach out and ask, you know? So therefore it just comes across as unnecessarily rude. If I became a best-selling author, then perhaps I would be more understanding, and take it as more of a compliment than anything else.

 

[BBlaketbv]

This is exactly what I'm doing right now.
One of my favourite stories has such a good concept that I wanted to rewrite it and add my own part.2
I've already contacted the author, asking if he wants to read it, giving him the option to let me change something.
He has replied that he is okay with it and wants to read it before I publish it.
The author is question lost a hard drive with his part.2 of the story (I believe he mentioned that is his bio earlier).
story link: Government Mandated Family Fun

 

[Bamagan]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's illegal to write fanfiction, but rather that if requested by the original copyright holder, you have to take it down? So long as the creator of the fanfiction didn't profit from it, the copyright holder can't demand legal monetary compensation, right? Unless, of course, they could prove that the fan fiction somehow hurt their own financial streams perhaps.

But I get it. I wouldn't want anyone to, for example, continue my work without asking for my permission. I'm not famous enough that one couldn't just reach out and ask, you know? So therefore it just comes across as unnecessarily rude. If I became a best-selling author, then perhaps I would be more understanding, and take it as more of a compliment than anything else.

Fanfiction is generally illegal, assuming a valid copyright exists. It's often more or less tolerated, at least by major intellectual properties, in part because it becomes too much time and effort to stomp out every instance of it. So they tend to pick their battles for anyone trying to monetize their fanfiction, because in those cases they might actually get some return on their investment of time if a court deems it a violation.

 

[LoneMilf]

I'll add a controversial opinion here:
Fan fiction doesn't take anything away from the original work. The whole foundation of progress is to be inspired by what others have done and build on it. This should be a non-issue. Plagiarism or pretending to be an official continuation of somebody's work is a different story of course.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Trespass is a civil matter in the UK. Refusing to leave when requested may become a crime, but merely walking across someone's land is not illegal (not to mention the huge number of public rights of way that cross private land).

Back on fanfic, I see it as similar - you can write whatever, but it would be bad manners to use someone else's characters without asking, if they are both not professionally published and you have a means of contacting the author. Once professionally published, they're fair game for non-monetarised stories, in my book.

 

[Devinter]

Fanfiction is generally illegal, assuming a valid copyright exists. It's often more or less tolerated, at least by major intellectual properties, in part because it becomes too much time and effort to stomp out every instance of it. So they tend to pick their battles for anyone trying to monetize their fanfiction, because in those cases they might actually get some return on their investment of time if a court deems it a violation.

I did not know that, but that's interesting. Do you happen to know where the line is drawn regarding what can and cannot be said about a copyrighted piece of work, then? Say, for example, that I write a story - and sell it for money - about some teenager that's really into one of the popular superheroes, such as Batman for instance. Am I allowed to make references to this famous superhero character multiple times throughout the story, if I write that MY character collects Batman toys or posters or whatever? Or could that also be considered copyright infringement?

 

[StillStunned]

One issue with fanfic, I think, is that it depends on how recognisable the source material is.

If I write about Luke and Leia on a diplomatic mission to win over a planet to join the Rebel Alliance, everyone knows that I didn't create the characters or setting. Disney isn't competing with non-canon stories because the whole world knows what's real Star Wars and what isn't.

But if @MediocreAuthor writes about Sligh and Avilia fighting a demon-summoning sorcerer, everyone except perhaps a few thousand readers will assume they're her characters, in her world. And if she gets a positive response to her story, and she's a more prolific author than I am, I might just find myself losing control of my creation.

 

[Bamagan]

I did not know that, but that's interesting. Do you happen to know where the line is drawn regarding what can and cannot be said about a copyrighted piece of work, then? Say, for example, that I write a story - and sell it for money - about some teenager that's really into one of the popular superheroes, such as Batman for instance. Am I allowed to make references to this famous superhero character multiple times throughout the story, if I write that MY character collects Batman toys or posters or whatever? Or could that also be considered copyright infringement?

Caveat: I'm not a copyright lawyer, but referencing copyrighted materials in an original work is unlikely to be treated as an infringement. The precise line is murky, and moves around a bit thanks to ongoing litigation, but there are a number of 'tests' in US law for what constitutes fair use of copyrighted materials.

 

[oneagainst]

MA... I'm actually writing a Lit-spanning multiverse epic as we speak. Does that mean I can feature a diacritic-speaking pandimensional demonic spirit in my story?

Would that mean you would have to write a fanfic about my characters in a 4th wall fanfic of your main character?

Your move, hotshot

 

[Plathfan]

So the answer is always, legally and ethically, "Not without permission."

With this strict approach, people will simply change the names and do it anyway, and you'll lose the credit, which indeed happens all the time.

Intellectual Property is no different. It doesn't need a sign saying, don't touch.

Only in this analogy, your property isn't located in a residential area but in the heart of a public park, surrounded by thousands of visitors day and night. So, you probably should put up that sign.

***as long as you don't monetize it, and you credit the original author.

From my limited perspective, users on these types of free platforms are rarely genuine creators. Regardless of their skill level, much of what they share is confined to their inner world and drawn from personal experiences or based on people they know. They’re incapable of expanding beyond this personal realm (which is fine, I guess, given the clear popularity of such content).

Therefore, even when they shamelessly borrow names and setups from others, they can never truly recreate the essence of the original characters or plot devices, which, in their own right, aren't truly original.

In this ocean of unoriginality and predictable patterns, few openly acknowledge that many of their ideas were sparked by exposure to others' work.

It's always right to acknowledge one's sources, if only as a nod to inspiration. Regrettably, many are hindered by fragile egos from doing so.

 

[mildlyaroused]

Trespassing is more than merely rude, it's illegal (everywhere I've been, anyway).

TBF, trespassing is not a criminal offence in the UK. It's a civil matter. That's why prosecutors try to look for any sort of damage or disruption to the property in an attempt to charge the trespassers.

Yes, I'm being pedantic. This has nothing to do with my opinions on fanfic, it's just a fun fact.

 

[THBGato]

Serious question, but on topic:

a) At the end of The Third Date it's revealed that the song "Morning" which Melissa and Priya wrote together has been used as the theme song to a Netflix adaptation of "A ghost of a chance" by @careythomas

b) Similarly, at the end of Eve & Lucy, three of the characters audition for and are cast in an adaptation of "Hope a Little Longer" and other stories by @Limentina

I'm acknowledging those stories as works of fiction, rather than using their characters, but I didn't seek the author's permission to mention their stories and characters. Should I have done? I mention (and include hyperlinks to) loads of Lit stories in my own stories. Is that a massive breach of etiquette?

 

[Bamagan]

TBF, trespassing is not a criminal offence in the UK. It's a civil matter. That's why prosecutors try to look for any sort of damage or disruption to the property in an attempt to charge the trespassers.

Yes, I'm being pedantic. This has nothing to do with my opinions on fanfic, it's just a fun fact.

I'm admittedly even less expert in UK laws than US laws, although there's a fair amount of similarity thanks to colonial inheritance or whatever you'd like to call it. But, I believe the fact that the penalties are handled differently, i.e., a matter of civil law versus criminal law, does not change the fact that trespassing is still illegal in the UK, which is what I said, as opposed to describing it as a crime.
Property owners in the UK are, I believe, considered to have the right to generally or specifically refuse access to their property, and people violating that right can, if no less coercive method is successful, be compelled by court order or other legal remedy to desist and, if necessary, make restitution. So: still against the law, although perhaps less likely to wind up in gaol over there than in jail over here.