From the thread of "Best Discontinued Stories" I started thinking about what some folks asked about continuing stories that were dropped for whatever reason. My question is, could that story be continued by someone as Fan Fiction? If you can write about Superman, why can't you write about Scott or whatever his name was in Human Phoenix?
If you can write about Superman, why can't you write about Scott or whatever his name was in Human Phoenix?
Technically, you can't legally write about either without a license (preferably in writing) from the copyright holder.
However, as a practical matter most publishers/studios(Disney is a major exception) are tolerant of fan fiction as long as you don't try to make money off of it.
So, probably all the Fan Fiction on SOL is breaking a law? Lazeez seems to be very careful about laws, is this something that has slipped by?
I suspect that if any intellectual property owner complained to Lazeez, he would immediately pull the story(s)in question. No complaint, no problem.
So, it would be OK as long as no one complained? Is that what you are saying?
No, no one is saying it's okay from a moral / ethical perspective. In my opinion, it's not as simple as yes/no.
Lazeez's legal liability for any copyright violations that do occur is likely limited. Any liability would fall mostly on whoever wrote and/or posted the story.
And on the issue of copyright violations, only a complaint by the legitimate copyright owner would have any legal effect, Lazeez would have no legal obligation to act on complaints of copyright violations received from third parties (which is not to say that he wouldn't act on such complaints).
So, it would be OK as long as no one complained? Is that what you are saying?
I reread my post. I never said that. I reread it again - nope, never said that. Ethics is a personal choice. Writing fan fiction is a lot like gambling - win, lose or break even. Do ya feel lucky?
@Wheezer
No complaint, no problem.
I thought this is what you said.
He probably meant legal problems.
I thought this is what you said.
So, it would be OK as long as no one complained? Is that what you are saying?
I said no problem. (implied for the fanfic author & Lazeez) I never said it was ok, just that the fanfic author and Lazeez would have no problem if there was no complaint.
So, probably all the Fan Fiction on SOL is breaking a law? Lazeez seems to be very careful about laws, is this something that has slipped by?
Well, I don't know that much about Canadian copyright law, but if it's anything like US Law,
1. It's a criminal violation only under very narrow circumstances so he doesn't need to worry about criminal prosecution by the government. This is unlike the underage sex stories issue.
2. Copyright enforcement is generally done as a civil tort action and suits can only be brought by the copyright owner.
3. Under US law, sites like SOL are immune from liability for copyright violations by user posted content provided certain criteria are met. One of those criteria is taking down content after being notified of a violation by the copyright owner. I have no idea if there are similar provisions in Canadian law.
Depending on the owners of the intellectual property, fanfic may be ignored, welcomed, or it may be prosecuted as theft.
You would be fine posting it on another website. But if you write fanfiction without the author's consent and want to post it on the same site, expect issues.
No, I wouldn't do it even if my stories were in the 9's like Refusenik. I think mine would average mid 7's. I was just wondering why it had not been done. I am sure others have wondered also.
People have done it, but like I said, without consent, it is most likely on another site and not here.
Wildbow's epic "Worm" is just a webnovel and story like you would find here on SOL. It has thousands upon thousands of Fan-Fiction stories on different sites.
It helped him immensely. There are entire forum sections on genre sites dedicated to his works.