Subject: I think it's up to the author.
Author:
Posted on: 2012-04-20 04:16:00 UTC
They have every right to be pissed off that people are using their characters. I mean, if I was JKR and read My Immortal, I'd want to puke a little.
Generally speaking, fanfic is rarely hurting the author; the copyright-weakening issue is at least given lip-service with those "I DO NOT OWN X" disclaimers, and it's not like people are reading fanfic in place of buying the book/movie/game/what-have-you. (At least, discounting straight-up plagiarism like "The Girl Who Lived" or Cassandra Claire's stealing whole paragraphs worth of text from The Secret Country)
If I lived in some magical alternate universe where I actually finished the things I started and somebody wrote badfic about one of my stories, my reaction would probably be to write a scathing anonymous review, or else to just ignore it.
But then, I suppose I'm biased, what with the fact that I've pretty much lived on the Internet since I was around 12.
... to The Battle of Goldberg back in 2004. Ah, I remember it well...
hS
That's... wow. *shakes head*
They have every right to be pissed off that people are using their characters. I mean, if I was JKR and read My Immortal, I'd want to puke a little.
I can understand that, but what I don't like is all the 'fanfic is immoral' crap that came out of that. I mean, if you don't like fanfic, sure, tell your fans not to write it- but don't insult anyone in the process, you know?
(BE WARNED - POSSIBLE NON-SENSICAL RANT AHEAD)
In my opinion, I think it comes down to a number of factors. Mind, these are from what I have gleaned from the authors' comments and may not be the "correct" interpretation:
- Commercial impact - Writers need to maintain a living, so will said fanfiction be illegally profiteering beyond the bounds of non-profit writing? (e.g.: rewriting "The Hunger Games" with a few minor changes and selling it as your own work)
- Perception of original content - Will repeated, altering depictions of content unintentionally result in the fandom gaining a differing, incorrect assumption of said content?
i.e.: Think if the horrors of "My Immortal" reached a mass audience level and impact - could it alter fan perception of the H.P. series as a whole?
- Public domain - Is the content in question clearly defined as being under copyright and is said copyright being maintained by the author/benefactor/author's estate? If not, how true to the original content would said derivative work maintain itself?
- Author authority - Has the author of the original content made it clear whether they'd allow/deny the publication of derivative works based on their own?
- Reliance on other's work (minor concern) - Could reliance on writing fanfiction only unintentionally impact on an individual's ability to create original content?
Any opinions?