Have you heard of Fifty Shades of Grey? Originally a fan fiction, posted on FF.net, the rights to publish the trilogy have been obtained by Vintage for a 7 figure sum!
Vintage have asserted that Fifty Shades of Grey deviates substantially from the original fan fiction, but a report from www.dearauthor.com shows that 89% of the text remains the same.
We want to hear your thoughts on this. Is it ok to adapt fan fiction for publication? Does this infringe Stephanie Meyer's copyright? Should Vintage have offered so much money?
A lot of people's work has inspired others to write something of their own, and that is a good thing. But when you develop a story that is based on another's work, a prequel or a follow up, or even a spin off, using the same characters, the same work and creation of another writer, than I believe that writer should receive credit and revenue because it is his work used!
Not to mention that I believe the writer is even entitled to refuse and stop the publication of work that is connect to his. It's the writers right, isn’t it? Isn't his work copyrighted to him? Isn't he the owner? Isn't this an infringement of those copyrights and ownership?
If for instance I say I read a book and it inspired me to write another story, and it is something totally different with different characters (maybe something in the same style and category) then it is my work! But if I take that story and do what I consider an improvement on it, I can't see that work as my own (unless of course I have the approve of the writer)
Isn't that why they always write the creators name when they make movies based on their work? For instance batman and superman, two famous super heroes, any work done and released is always giving credits to their original creators, their name is always mentioned, and I assume the right people get paid for the copyrights? (most likely the people owning the copyrights of the heroes today. Unless of course I am mistaken about this), but either way, if the work is obviously based on someone else’s work, then that someone else should get at least paid, and in my opinion even have a say if the work should be released or not.
It's where you draw the line that's the problem. Jane Austin, Conan Doyle and Ian Fleming are all dead, so it's okay to re-use their characters, is it? I don't think so, but it looks like I'm in the minority.
You could argue fan-fiction drives readers to the original author. But maybe it's the other way round so perhaps revenue-sharing with the inventor is the way forward. Then everyone wins.