Monthly Archives: March 2012

Last week, I posted about the now infamous (for all sorts of reasons) 50 Shades of Grey and some of the ethical and legal questions its existence raises.

One of those issues is copyright.  In short, if work is the subject of fanfiction, who owns the rights to the resulting writing? We aren’t talking here about the right to be recognised for having created a piece of writing, but the right to exploit that piece for profit.

For completely original writing (insofar as anything is completely original – we are all products of our influences) the distinction is clear and supported by existing law in many countries.  The author owns the copyright, until they assign those rights to someone else (such as in a publishing deal).  There are exceptions, such as if the work is created as part of your paid employment, in which case the employer usually owns the copyright.  (This applies to magazine articles I wrote while editing a magazine, for instance.  But it is seldom the case with fiction.)*

But things get hazy when the work is created as an offshoot of something else and with the input and contribution of a community or communities, as is the case with fanfiction. Continue reading →

Posted by Imelda Evans in Monday on Writing Tags: Books, FanFic, Plagiarism, Writing, Writing craft, Writing ethics