[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Legal Scenario: Slytherin!Rowling vs. the Fanfic Author
Heidi Tandy
heidit at netbox.com
Fri Feb 7 02:08:43 UTC 2003
Barb replied:
> If the person who did the stealing copied what you wrote word for
> word, then, based on what Heidi already posted, that sounds to me
> like you, as the person who actually authored the words, would
have
> a case to make. (Suppose, instead, that a fic that was based on
> some peripheral HP characters showed up as an episode of Charmed,
> with a lot of dialogue that was identical to that in the fic. I
> believe, as a complete non-lawyer, mind you, that the fanfic
author
> could sue the writer and/or producer of that episode, even though
> the author was originally using JKR's characters and even though
the
> story was transferred to the Charmed universe.)
Serenadust replied:
I suppose (again, as a non-lawyer) the fanfic author could have a
case to make in the situation described above. I think that your
example is a bit different from the one in the original post
Now, me:
Actually, it wouldn't. If the fanfic is protectable by copyright, at least in terms of the original content, it wouldn't matter who infringed on it - whether jkr or a third party.
Once a work is protected by copyright, it's protected against any infringers.
The difference would be that jkr could countersue for copyright infringement, whereas the third party infringer couldn't.
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