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Fan Fiction Explained
ContinuousPark writes: "Alternative narratives of Star Wars, Star Trek, X-Files, Buffy, Xena, Starsky and Hutch! Whole seasons never filmed can be read on the Web!
The thriving fan-fiction world has been revealed to me in this Slate Magazine article which raises some interesting questions: Who owns the characters? What can be done to them? Who owns the plots if they were posted on some official TV series' Web site? Could I, say, put together a book of these stories, how about a play, a videogame?" The wierdest stuff I've heard is fan fiction writers trying to sue the show when bits of their stories turn up on the show ... I bet someone could write a pretty good generative x-files plot generator to write a few hundred x-files plot synopses, and then just wait until their big chance to score :)
Well, If we see natalie portman pour grits down her pants in "Star Wars Episode II" /. has a case for prior art. ;)
Remember folks, you heard it here on /. first.
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I see fanfic as the reverse of Disneyfication: The Great Banal Mouse likes to take common folktales and appropriate the characters. (Go ahead, just try to make an animated movie about Snow White or Sleeping Beauty or Aladdin. These were part of the culture long before The Great Banal Mouse seized them.) Disney takes what is common property and fences it off as its own.
Fanfic does the opposite. It liberates fenced-off IP, moving characters and settings out of the realm of the few and into the hands of the society at large. Sure, most fanfic -- way more than Sturgeon's famous 90% -- is crap. But some are gems, and all of it is meaningful, to the author if no one else. People might be hackney writers, but they aren't hack writers. As such, the characters are freed from their status as a revenue source. Fanfic authors, in general, don't expect recompense, at least not in money.
In this gruesome, corporate, consumerist world, there's something beautiful about that.
The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
I hat the facist way that the TV studios attack people who are just trying to enjoy the show. If I have some Simpson's sounds/ pictures on my web site, I'm not hurting anyone!
In fact, I'm making the show more popular. I don't make money of of the stuff - it just hypes the show. It's the same way with fan fiction.
Add to that the fact that the actual scripts aren't very impressive. Taco might have been jokin, but you literally could write an xfiles plot generator.
shhh... I'll give you the secret xfiles formula!
monster commits a crime/murder. scully and mulder argue about coming to investigate. they come anyway. someone gets killed again. they argue about whether it was a monster or a person. before the next person gets killed, they figure it out and save them. the details of the monster are vague. it could go either way.
it's a really stupid formula. a couple times a year, they actually show the interesting government conspiracy plot. it's like two different shows - carter blew it.
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No comment at this time
Of course, I'm not addressing the fan fiction issue at all.
fan fiction? star trek? reminds me of the following scene in one episode (fan fiction, of course) Worf: "Captain, the Borgs activate their weapons!" Picard: "Fire at will!" (Worf takes his phaser and blasts Commander Riker into oblivion) Worf: "What was that for, Captain?"
You cannot just write a book or story containing the characters from the series. All of the names of the primary cast, as well as most of the regulars, have been carefully trademarked.
Even if you were to write fan art without any of the existing characters, you'd still build upon the (copyrighted) works and pre-established (and often copyrighted) events that shaped the universe in which your saga takes place. Your work can never be truly original and will therefore always be derivative.
Of course, "Beam me up Scotty" is common speech now, but AFAIK there are trademarks on "Make it so!", "Captain Picard", etc etc.
When it comes to Paramount taken your cozy Star Trek idea and implementing it.. since your work is derived from theirs, they would have a proper claim on most of the copyrights, especially since: a) when you submit it to them personally, you probably encountered one of the many statements that say "we don't take scripts, but if we do, you grant us all rights" or b) they take it from your website, which means you published a work that infrings on their original copyright of the Trek saga.
Just because copyright enforcement is not always that easy on the Internet and often bad publicity (hence the countless fan sites), doesn't mean the copyright doesn't exist.
Noone will sue your favourite Linux distribution for including a few Star Trek fortunes. If I were to OCR the "Star Trek: Quotable" book and publish it as fortune file though, I *would* probably get in trouble.
I've got alot of background dealing with copyright and storyline use, but, IANAL, so consult one if you need official advice.
Fan Fiction fits the definition of "derivative work" in copyright law almost to a T. Despite what the article says, it's pretty clear that all fan fiction (by definition, almost) uses the settings, characters, and plot histories of copyrighted works. I don't care if they go into places that the original never imagined. In fact, that's irrelevant. What is relevant (in the eyes of the courts) is that you are using a well-known character, with defined background and references, that is owned by someone else. Sorry, but that's a derivative work, period. Honestly, I can't see that Fair Use comes into this at all - I think that the studios have a solid claim that "publishing" on the Internet is well beyond the scope of Fair Use, and thus, any protections thereunder are void (the fact that people are making no profit off it is immaterial).
The thing here that studios are afraid of, is that derived works are a two-way street. That is, the new author has to get permission to use the original work in order to publish, but that doesn't mean that the original author owns the new work. What the studios are afraid of in this scenario is that their scriptwriters accidently (or maybe not-so-accidently) use a plot identical to one found in a fanfic story. Oops! Now, the fanfic writer has ownership of that, and you get into some nasty situations.
Basically, I don't have much of a problem with the copyright owners policing their fanfic followers. They are well within their rights to do such, and in fact, it's probably really necessary to protect the integrity of their original works. However, the manner in which some do this is far too heavy-handed, as fanfic is beneficial to the original author. It's a fine line, but, in my opinion, one which the original author has all the right to determine where it should be drawn w/r/t his or her works.
Think of it this way: suppose I write code that I decide to GPL (for whatever reason). Giving fanfic true, unencumbered legal status would be about the same as letting recipients of my GPL code use it in their product, and change the license to something they wanted instead. ( I know this isn't a perfect example, but you're all smart - get the analogy?)
-Erik
There are always four sides to every story: your side, their side, the truth, and what really happened.
Yes, many slashdotters wonder who owns and what you can do to Xena. :P
Mike Roberto (roberto@soul.apk.net) - AOL IM: MicroBerto
Berto
On the other hand, the copyright holders know that fanfic is inevitable for anything with a fan base. To stop fanfiction save in the case of misrepresting *childrens characters* would be the same as trying to stop kids from making up their own stories to use when they play with GI Joe or Transformers. As the article states, most fanfic authors are not in it for the money, they are trying to improve their writing and get commentary back. So as long as fanfic people do not put their work as 'official' or benefit any more from it, I see no reason for copyright holders to get involved.
That said, there are a few isolated cases of fanfic that crosses these rules. Obviously some ametures try to make money off the fanfic, which is in poor taste. Some go beyond reasonable: sure, a slash Buffy fic might not appeal to everyone, but its still considered fair use, but on the other hand, if one used the fanfic to slander and libel the producers, there's call for action.
While lawsuits regarding the MPAA and RIAA and Am. Broadcasters Assoc, and a whole bunch of other people that feel they are in charge of lawsuits, fanfic have been skimming underneath all this trouble. It would be helpful or potentally problematic to have a once-and-for-all legal ruling on fanfic, but the risk is high; fanfic protection is not 100% guarenteed.
Hopefully, the IP producers will release that fanfic is not losing their business and in fact can help it, and thus continue to encourage it. Some go a bit too far; the starwars.com site mentioned in the article, as well as WB's Acme City; post your fanfic and it becomes their. Sure, they encourage it, but you lose all their work for it. I certainly don't hope that the IPs don't try to push the model that fanfic is only valid if it is off their site (and therefore their property).
"Pinky, you've left the lens cap of your mind on again." - P&TB
"I can see my house from here!" - ST:
First segment--introduction to new world or life form. Crew displays initial horror at new culture.
Second segment--get review of Star Trek equipment and personnell--Hah, let's go down to Engineering and see Scotty. I wonder if that ol' bastard will ever go out of fashion.
Third segment--"what's that on the screen, Captain, it appears to be a Giant Plot Complication, and it's headed our way."
Fourth segment--$spacecraft gets nearly destroyed y GPC and crew figures out why this GPC is different from all other GPC. I believe, however, that all GPC's are the same, just with a different look on the outside. Maybe they use a GPC skins repository and just change them for each show.
Fifth segment--the 7th person on the landing party gets eaten by the GPC. Hint--he's the new guy introduced in segment 2.
Sixth segment--somebody at the last second pulls a fix-all out of their backpack/posterior and neutralizes the GPC. Hint--he's one of the regular characters that we spent an unusual amount of time checking into in segment 2.
seventh segment--weak crew members say goodbye, and our anti-climax procedes. We say goodbye to new life form/world and get a good Space Stillshot as the $spacecraft pulls away to wander yet again.
Eigth segment--buy our merchandise. Get a model of $spacecraft. Go to a convention. Spend money buying uniforms and makeup special effects to make you look like a new life form.
Hey, if my non-writing ass can come up with the formula, anybody can write their own Trek-derivative story. Go for it. Make lots of money.
I do what the voices on my console tell me to do.
I did a quick search and came up with an X-Files Erotica page, although there aren't a ton of stories. I also found an X-Files choose your own adventure story (here's another).
-- Diana Hsieh
-- Diana Hsieh
GeekPress: The Weirder Side of Tech News
So I guess that answers that question, at least from a legal standpoint. I know Paramount has gone after people writing porno stories about Counselor Troi getting raped and stuff like that, but I would imagine they don't want to stifle independent stuff too much because it's what keeps the "legend" alive.
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rooooar
From id software: Slashdot: CmdrTaco's Revenge Feel the excitement as you take the role of CmdrTaco as he goes berserk with an assault rifle, hunting down people who e-mail him about the stock market. Co-starring Gabriel and Tycho of Penny-Arcade, and Natalie Portman. (I'm being sarcastic! Not a troll!)
Got Rhinos?
The production company owns the characters in virtually all of these arrangements. That's why you can NOT go and produce a "Simpsons" movie without Fox's permission, and you can't write (duh) a Star Trek movie without Paramount's permission. Same goes for a video game, etc.
Posters talk about how...as the phenomenon of a particular movie grows, it's ownership rights expand to include that of the public. I'm not so certain this can be entirely true. Because the Toyota Camry is the most popular selling car in america...does that devalue the trademark on it? Certainly not. Works written by Shakespeare and Voltaire have become public domain because they have been around for so long. Public domain doesn't happen over the course of a few decades, It happens over the course of centuries. Believe me: if you try to write a story about the new adventures of Holden Caulfield - J.D. Salenger is still going to put the smackdown on that ass - (ebonically speaking)
While it may be unfortunate (this is more of a moral/ethical issue) that the popularity of a product has nothing to do with the rights of the author, it is nevertheless the case. If I write a song, or a book that becomes so popular as to inspire a new genre of film or literature or whatever else. It is still a fact that i own that book. The rights to it are mine and it is through my own benevolence that i lease artistic license to any other individual wishing to use that art in some other fashion.
What i'm trying to say here is that, while indeed it is good that we have hundreds of Star Trek or Star Wars based books to choose from, even socially beneficial, it does not decrease the rights of the original authors. Those books are allowed to be published and reproduced because the creators were "nice", so to speak. I believe that if they allow you to make money off of that fact, then it is a mutually beneficial situation. If they DON'T allow you to make money off of the creation of something based on their work...I'm sorry, but you don't have a legal leg to stand on. - If you recreate a novel based on the characters created and trademarked by Gene Rodenberry and try to sell it without express written permission of [his wife now i guess?] - then we're honestly talking about trademark infringement. You may argue that it should be otherwise, that everyone's creations should be public domain, etc. etc. - well then you're living in the wrong country...the wrong planet for that matter. It's capitalism, and it's going to be around for a while.
FluX
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -David Hume
That was, unquestionably, the most respectful coverage of a subculture I have ever seen in popular media. It was also thereby the most interesting and informative.
I'm not a fanfic writer, but I do belong to other subcultures (even in addition to being a geek). Even self-portrayed "enlightend" media such as salon.com don't seem to be able to transend the urge to present subcultures as consisting as freaks and feebles. I am astonished and delighted they managed to write that piece without a sneer, a wink or a nudge.
Kudos to Slate. salon.com should take note.
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Yes, legally the characters are the IP of their creators or the studios if their creators either sold the IP or created it while under contract to a studio. However, non-commercial use of intellectual property is protected by fair use doctrine, and fan fiction is all done by amateurs. While, as the article points out, no court has ever addressed the issue of fan fiction using characters who are the intellectual property of others, even a very clueless judge would uphold the right of a private citizen to write a story about a character and distribute it non-commercially.
:-o "That 70s Blow" anyone, or "The Secret Sex Life of Alex Mack"? Okay, so it gets lonely here at my workstation... hehe...
It's not just about fair-use doctrine, it's also a first-amendment matter--a very valid point could be made that the right of free speech outweighs intellectual property claims in such cases, and that fan fiction is protected speech. This at first might seem quite odd, but look at it this way: much of fan fiction is artistic or even political in nature, and hence protected speech. Just look at the "slash" genre mentioned in the article--it could be argued that portraying well-known fictional characters as gay is a form of political, pro-gay-rights speech. If the use of someone else's character is "fair" use, then there isn't even an issue here.
Even if a very clueless court decided that using someone else's character doesn't fall under "fair use," it could perhaps be argued on more general principles that such use is legally protected: the entire system of copyright and intellectual property is founded on one simple notion, that copyright law exists to "promote the advancement of arts and sciences." That's not an exact quote, but language to that effect exists in the language of the Constitution when it refers to the right of Congress to grant exclusive rights to certain works to their creators. Therefore, if use of a character in fan fiction is promoting the creation of new "literature"--and rest assured many intellectuals would refer to fan fiction as a sort of populist literature--then it would go against the very spirit of IP law to forbid the practice.
On a personal note, I love fan fiction. There's nothing like going to alt.sex.stories and reading stuff like "7th Heaven's First Orgy" or "A Very Brady Gangbang," or my personal favorite, "Star Trek: Deep Space 69."
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws."--Tacitus, *The Annals*
Heh, this month's Brill's Content had an article on the phenomenon, specifically how female writers were approaching it, complete with an illustration of Spock and Kirk making out. <SHUDDER> I haven't read it yet, so I don't know if it's an entertaining read or not, but it's on their web site here (http://www.brillscontent.com/features/slash_0500. html).
Anne Rice, for example. I find her works to be incredibly moving, the characters wonderfully broad, and so on. She recently posted a comment about fan fiction to her site (www.annerice.com):
To Anne, her characters are a part of herself. For someone that's not her to write situations and events involving those characters that for all we know may completely destroy the chracterization set up for them is almost like abuse.Are they going to come after you with a team of lawyers if you write something using the characters? Maybe, maybe not. I'd hope so.
Would you disappoint, dismay, and disturb the author you're supposedly paying homage to with your ripoff? Almost certainly.
It's really not that difficult to make up your own characters within the genre, if you really want to write fan fiction. It allows for far more breadth and development...you can choose where the path leads, not someone else.
Sometimes the debate is more than just laws. Sometimes you have to consider the people who poured their souls into their characters...and how the person might be affected.
--Tsu
--- Now, go away 'cuz you all up in my Kool-Aid!
My examples are going to be from anime/manga, that's what I know...
Not all companies out there take a dim view of fanfiction. How many of you out there are familiar with doujinshi (sp?), the fanfic comic zines put out by comics/animation fans in Japan? They're considered free promotion and a breeding ground for new talent (e.g. CLAMP, who since created X, Rayearth, and CardCaptor Sakura - coming soon to a TV set near you! - etc.). They're left alone by the lawyers there, and if anything are considered an art form of themselves and a natural part of the scene. The mags that cover the comics industry devote pages to doujinshi, and even allow advertising for them. I wish the North American entertainment industry was that far-sighted. I have no doubt that the popularity of Sailor Moon here, or many other anime series, has far more to do with fanfiction and fan websites than any promotional efforts on the part of the show's producers.
Meanwhile, if North American companies had any idea what kind of shenanigans happened in some of those fan comics with characters from Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, etc. they'd have a coronary. But the companies can't launch a lawsuit on someone here who makes or distributes such naughty stuff without acknowledging publically that, yes, Pokémon porn does exist (*shudder*).
There's also the issue that many of the writers are minors, and the stuff they write is an extension of outgrown make-believe play, crossed with adolescent fantasies. (The Sailor Moon cast has assembled a frightening number of Sailor Suns, Sailor Earths, and magical boyfriends of American extraction) Isn't this what they want kids to do - to get caught up in the characters and make their own stories? Didn't we all write Transformers or She-ra or such stories when we were 7?
Yes, the companies own the characters. But while they have every right to tightly control the characters' images in merchandise and in canon, I think that trying to restrict people's imaginations to non-distributed media is pretty self-damaging, and practically impossible to boot.
I've been writing fan fic for several months now (f/f slash, mostly), and I've never seen a writer who fails to put the "Disclaimer" at the beginning of their fics. I've seen some cuss-out the producers while doing so, but they all seem to do it. :)
Also, most producers and writers of TV shows refuse, for legal reasons, to read fan fiction. Steven Sears, ex-writer and Co-Producer of Xena, was asked consistently at conventions whether he read fan fic, and his answer was always that he wouldn't, because he wanted to play things completely above-board.
-- "God, Root, what is difference?" - Pitr, "User Friendly"
Since I'm not making money off it, I'm not stealing. Additionally, the reader base for fanfic is lilliputian compared to material published through the larger media outlets.
Furthermore, the legality of fanfic seems to be in favor of the authors. The Slate article discussed how fanfic most likely falls under "fair-use" laws.
So I think its safe to say fanfic is not theft, nor illegal.
Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I'll never know.
Yah know, I've always thought it would be justice if BBC sued Paramount's balls off for that.
Jellybaby?
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At least for TV. Star Trek fans have been writting this stuff for a long time, and some of the, like David Gerrold, have had the show produce them. Do a bit of research into it, and you will see this has been a long-time phenomena. I have FanFic going back to the '70s, others I know have it back to the '60s while the show was still being produced. It is part of what held together Star Trek Fandom before the Second Comming (AKA Star Trek: The Motionless Picture).
The only time that Paramount has been real iffy about FanFic is the whole Kirk/Spock (now known as "Slash") fiction. I'm not sure about it myself, but if it turns your crank, and no one gets hurt, it is O.K.
ttyl
Farrell
Science Fiction and STrek fan
CAN-CON 2019 - Ottawa's only book oriented Science Fiction Convention! October 18-20, Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Canada h
Quantum Leap was banal? Sure banal describes every Scott Bakula movie I've ever heard of, but Quantum Leap was a great show. I can even see how its episodic nature particularly lends itself to fanfics (even though personally I think fanfics are lame as hell).
I mean what other show has a holographic quasi-angelic lecherous former-Vietman-POW, who's constantly yelling at a sentient computer named Ziggy?
(typo)
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
Of course, there is a difference, since MST3K was a TV show, they had to be very careful about the rights. In some cases, old MST3Ks will never be seen again (wink, wink) because the use of the film by the MST3K creators was incorrect or expired.
Of course, you can't expect people who write free fan fiction to do this... eventually most of the content on the Internet created by fans will be destroyed. Fortunately, political screeds by demented political extremists (like my own Website ^_-) will be there to take up the slack! Oh, and don't forget the billboards, lots and lots of Internet billboards will be up too... a great future, eh?
Of course, some smart companies with small advertising budgets may take advantage of this and give fans the right to make limited, non-commercial use of their products. (Just don't expect any of those companies to be in MPAA...)
All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)