There are authors that don’t want fanfiction based on their products. I find that quite peculiar thinking, but those people are free to make that choice. If I ever got any of my works published, I would be pleased if I had fans writing fiction based on my stories. In this post I try to make clear my attitudes towards fanfiction.
I would welcome works of fanfiction writers, fanfics, for the simple fact that I could never get published more than one book per year. When I find a book I love and want to read more from the same author, a year is a very long time to wait for a new book. During those long months, I go to bookstores and libraries and find other works that intrigue me. I might forget the author in whom I once was so interested. However, if there are fanfics available based on the book I like, I might read those and keep my interest in the upcoming book fresh. I believe that fanfiction is a form of promotion for the work it is based on and for the author of the work, too. In addition, it is a form of promotion that doesn’t cost a dime to the author of the original work.
So, why are many author’s unwilling to solicit fannish activities? It is my assumption that such authors are thinking about copyright issues. Unfortunately, fans aren’t too knowledgeable of the laws. I’ve read enough of fanfics to know that there are works in which copyright infringement has been committed. However, also some writers misinterpret the most basic feature of copyright: what copyright protects.
Copyright protects the form that is given by the maker. Copyright does not protect the idea.
For example, in the Black Jewels books, Anne Bishop uses as her fantastic element a race called the Blood. She describes the race as looking like humans on the outside but inside of them resides the other. Because of the other the Blood is capable of using magic. The level of power each individual has depends on the depth of the Well that they have. The strength of the individuals is shown through the Jewels they get from a mysterious source: the darker the jewel, the stronger the individual. That is the form Bishop has given for the idea she came up with.
I must not copy that form and use it in my own work without Bishop’s permission: the form is copyrighted. I am of the opinion that it is not enough to call the race Kittens or to show the strength of their individual powers through the size of their tails. That would be the same form in disguise. The idea itself can be given other forms.
I could write about some hybrids that have magical powers because of one of the contained species. My hybrids would be combined of, say, four species: humans, cows, rats and ants. It would be ants that would have access to magical powers. The power would be something typical of ants…the hybrids would have the power of building steady structures. From there the form of the idea develops into something quite different from the form that Bishop gave the same idea.
One of the main forms that authors create is the story itself. I must not write a poem or a screenplay that tells exactly the same story than the book, without permission. That would be a copyright infringement. It would also be derivative work, not transformative.
Fanfiction should be as transformative as possible. In fanfics, the writers should give the ideas of the original new forms. They should use their own ideas. The writers should tell their own stories. But, fanfiction is a form of fiction that is based on borrowed elements. What are those elements? Typically, writers borrow characters from the original work.
For example, in Bishop’s series, there is a man who has been featured in many of the fanfics in that fandom: Daemon Sadi. What is copyrighted about that character? Apparently, in a fanfic, no excerpts from the books may be used to describe Sadi, but what about the fact that, according to Bishop, Sadi always wears black and white garments; could I tell that in my fanfic? In my opinion, Sadi’s preferred clothing colors are an idea, and I can give that idea a new form. I could write: It was apparent that Sadi was in a foul mood; he was clothed in black from head to toe. Less transformative thing to write would be: Sadi was, as usual, clothed in a black suit and a white shirt. But, unless the exactly the same wording can be found in Bishop’s books, the sentence could be used. I would prefer the more transformative expression, though.
So, in fanfiction, is it OK to write about Sadi or any other character? No, it is not. Sadi is a form that Bishop has given to her idea of a superior male. That form is copyrighted. As long as Sadi of a fanfic fits the role of a superior male, the character is Bishop’s form. Bishop has sold the right of copying that form to her publisher for a certain amount of time. That deal makes it impossible for her to give fanfiction writers the right to copy that character, too. For the time being, she has not that right to give; the publisher has it.
However, in my opinion, the fact that copyright protects the form and not the idea contains a loophole, and some fanfic writers use it to get from derivative fanfiction writing to transformative fanfiction writing. If I tell about Sadi that no longer can fill the role of a superior male, is he a form that Bishop created? I don’t think so. In the original, Sadi is the male that has greater power than anyone else. If I take away his power, in my opinion, the character will change essentially. He wears the same name and the same face, but he is not the same person. As far as I’m concerned, such a story would be more than derivative fanfiction: it might even deserve the title of original fiction.
In fanfiction, there are good works. Some writers are for a good reason proud of their stories. There is a chance that such a writer or her/his readers send the fanfic to the original author. I would not want to get such a post, and I would never read the fic. Why? Because of copyright problems. If I were aware of the copyright infringement, I should inform my publisher of the fact. Does the fanfiction writer want that? It may come to nothing, but why cause trouble? There’s also another copyright problem involved: the copyrights of the writer of the fanfic. If I read a fic and used, even unintentionally, a form from that fic, I would commit the crime of copyright infringement. I don’t need that hassle.
In order to keep me happy, a fanfiction writer who wants to base his/her fanfic on my story must follow these rules:
1. Never use excerpts of the original work without my permission.
2. Never write a derivative work like a poem or a screenplay without my permission.
3. Make your fanfics as transformative as you can.
4. Never expect me to read your fanfic, be it derivative or transformative.
I would welcome works of fanfiction writers, fanfics, for the simple fact that I could never get published more than one book per year. When I find a book I love and want to read more from the same author, a year is a very long time to wait for a new book. During those long months, I go to bookstores and libraries and find other works that intrigue me. I might forget the author in whom I once was so interested. However, if there are fanfics available based on the book I like, I might read those and keep my interest in the upcoming book fresh. I believe that fanfiction is a form of promotion for the work it is based on and for the author of the work, too. In addition, it is a form of promotion that doesn’t cost a dime to the author of the original work.
So, why are many author’s unwilling to solicit fannish activities? It is my assumption that such authors are thinking about copyright issues. Unfortunately, fans aren’t too knowledgeable of the laws. I’ve read enough of fanfics to know that there are works in which copyright infringement has been committed. However, also some writers misinterpret the most basic feature of copyright: what copyright protects.
Copyright protects the form that is given by the maker. Copyright does not protect the idea.
For example, in the Black Jewels books, Anne Bishop uses as her fantastic element a race called the Blood. She describes the race as looking like humans on the outside but inside of them resides the other. Because of the other the Blood is capable of using magic. The level of power each individual has depends on the depth of the Well that they have. The strength of the individuals is shown through the Jewels they get from a mysterious source: the darker the jewel, the stronger the individual. That is the form Bishop has given for the idea she came up with.
I must not copy that form and use it in my own work without Bishop’s permission: the form is copyrighted. I am of the opinion that it is not enough to call the race Kittens or to show the strength of their individual powers through the size of their tails. That would be the same form in disguise. The idea itself can be given other forms.
I could write about some hybrids that have magical powers because of one of the contained species. My hybrids would be combined of, say, four species: humans, cows, rats and ants. It would be ants that would have access to magical powers. The power would be something typical of ants…the hybrids would have the power of building steady structures. From there the form of the idea develops into something quite different from the form that Bishop gave the same idea.
One of the main forms that authors create is the story itself. I must not write a poem or a screenplay that tells exactly the same story than the book, without permission. That would be a copyright infringement. It would also be derivative work, not transformative.
Fanfiction should be as transformative as possible. In fanfics, the writers should give the ideas of the original new forms. They should use their own ideas. The writers should tell their own stories. But, fanfiction is a form of fiction that is based on borrowed elements. What are those elements? Typically, writers borrow characters from the original work.
For example, in Bishop’s series, there is a man who has been featured in many of the fanfics in that fandom: Daemon Sadi. What is copyrighted about that character? Apparently, in a fanfic, no excerpts from the books may be used to describe Sadi, but what about the fact that, according to Bishop, Sadi always wears black and white garments; could I tell that in my fanfic? In my opinion, Sadi’s preferred clothing colors are an idea, and I can give that idea a new form. I could write: It was apparent that Sadi was in a foul mood; he was clothed in black from head to toe. Less transformative thing to write would be: Sadi was, as usual, clothed in a black suit and a white shirt. But, unless the exactly the same wording can be found in Bishop’s books, the sentence could be used. I would prefer the more transformative expression, though.
So, in fanfiction, is it OK to write about Sadi or any other character? No, it is not. Sadi is a form that Bishop has given to her idea of a superior male. That form is copyrighted. As long as Sadi of a fanfic fits the role of a superior male, the character is Bishop’s form. Bishop has sold the right of copying that form to her publisher for a certain amount of time. That deal makes it impossible for her to give fanfiction writers the right to copy that character, too. For the time being, she has not that right to give; the publisher has it.
However, in my opinion, the fact that copyright protects the form and not the idea contains a loophole, and some fanfic writers use it to get from derivative fanfiction writing to transformative fanfiction writing. If I tell about Sadi that no longer can fill the role of a superior male, is he a form that Bishop created? I don’t think so. In the original, Sadi is the male that has greater power than anyone else. If I take away his power, in my opinion, the character will change essentially. He wears the same name and the same face, but he is not the same person. As far as I’m concerned, such a story would be more than derivative fanfiction: it might even deserve the title of original fiction.
In fanfiction, there are good works. Some writers are for a good reason proud of their stories. There is a chance that such a writer or her/his readers send the fanfic to the original author. I would not want to get such a post, and I would never read the fic. Why? Because of copyright problems. If I were aware of the copyright infringement, I should inform my publisher of the fact. Does the fanfiction writer want that? It may come to nothing, but why cause trouble? There’s also another copyright problem involved: the copyrights of the writer of the fanfic. If I read a fic and used, even unintentionally, a form from that fic, I would commit the crime of copyright infringement. I don’t need that hassle.
In order to keep me happy, a fanfiction writer who wants to base his/her fanfic on my story must follow these rules:
1. Never use excerpts of the original work without my permission.
2. Never write a derivative work like a poem or a screenplay without my permission.
3. Make your fanfics as transformative as you can.
4. Never expect me to read your fanfic, be it derivative or transformative.
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