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It can't be true that there are no precedents for this in intellectual property law. Sure, Internet fan fiction is a modern phenomenon, but there are plenty of
by dmurray 6y ago
It can't be true that there are no precedents for this in intellectual property law. Sure, Internet fan fiction is a modern phenomenon, but there are plenty of examples where multiple authors draw from the same folk sources. For example, I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to make an adaptation of Snow White, the famous story told by the Brothers Grimm among others, and ignore letters from Disney's lawyers. But if I call my supporting cast Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful and Doc, Disney will win in court. Of course there are grey areas and Disney could overreach, or I could be scared out of staging a legitimate production, but I refuse to believe there is no precedent at all here.
- dharmab 6y agoThose old stories are in the public domain since they predate 20th copyright law.
- dmurray 6y agoIs that so different from the Omegaverse case? The earlier authors aren't claiming copyright infringement there (that might actually make for a novel case), the case is being fought between two authors both inspired by the same source material.
- dharmab 6y agoEven if you don't "claim" copyright, the work is still copyrighted. It is not possible to release work into the public domain prematurely.
- chrismcb 6y agoNot all of them, which was my point.
- chrismcb 6y agoYou can look at Sherlock Holmes. The character is in public domain, but some aspect of his character isn't, as the last few stories are still protected by copyright.
- 6gvONxR4sf7o 6y agoDMCA (and its abuse) seems to be the novel piece.