Re: That was my thought, too. by
Miah
on 2010-06-30 03:52:00 UTC
Reply
I borrowed that disclaimer from IndeMaat's last story. I think it is aimed at the author of the badfic, really, because in the case of Sherlock Holmes, the original is in the public domain, so there was no copyright violations in using the characters.
Of course, the whole issue of parody/satire really is bizarrely convoluted in American law, so it might even apply to regular fanfic, which is weird, but possible. I once read a law brief that argued that Mary Sue fanfic falls under the fair use clause because the intentional kick butt Mary Sue is a parody of say an all male kick butt cast. It wasn't an actual case, just a case study type thing done by a law student, but it did highlight for me how weird the fair use laws are. (No, I don't have the link any more, sorry.)