[HPFGU-OTChatter] Lucas, was Re: Fanfic

[Neil Ward]

Jen F wrote:

<<No amount of (egotistical...) protest on George Lucas' part is going to
change that.  Do I think other people should be able to
 make money off his creations (rip them off in a legal sense, then)? No.
But neither are they just his anymore.>>

Noel said

<< What, uh, "egotistical protests" do you speak of? SW is one of the freest
fandoms out there- IIRC, the only person who ever got in hot water over
appropriating SW trademarks was Ronald Reagan! >>

I recall that George Lucas, or his advisers, were said to be very sensitive
about their trademarks.  I band I know of, for example, were forced to
change their name from Skywalker to Solar Race, as this was reckoned to be a
misuse of the character's name.  A few years later, there was a DJ (IIRC)
called Skyywalker, who got away with it because of that extra 'Y'!  It seems
to be something of a myth that Lucas is any more possessive than any other
'creator' of work, but there were some examples that fuelled that
reputation.

When it comes to fanfiction, I imagine it's not a problem unless people plan
to make money from it, and, as Jen implies, the Star Wars characters are no
longer just Lucas's any more than Harry Potter belongs exclusively to JK
Rowling (in our heads, we all own a version of Harry Potter).  I'm sure
there aren't enough hours in a lifetime to chase up and examine the legal
aspects of use of 'owned' characters or universes in fanfiction.

Neil

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