Quote:
Originally Posted by carpetmojo
Harry's right, in my opinion - if you look at it objectively, the "fans" are basically stealing the original conception or idea, and characters or derivatives, and more often than not, the settings and storylines. In other words, the author's work, which is invariably legally protected.
Reviews are totally different in that they are used in a fair use sense, as part of a perfectly legal and acceptable discussion of the work concerned, as are any positive or negative effects.
The author may dislike/like a reviewer's write-up, but that is the nature of one person's opinion about another's work.
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What's the difference between a character study & critique written as a "review," and one written as "fiction?" What makes the fiction more infringing? Neither directly copies the original (other than a few words or maybe phrases); both attempt to show the reader's reaction to and perspective on the original.
If the fiction began with, "I will describe my reaction to this [book/movie/tv show] by describing a hypothetical situation involving the characters, and showing how I think they might react to that hypothetical situation," would that be less infringing?
That, of course, doesn't address parody, which is also legal fair use. A great deal of slash fiction falls under the legal definition of "parody" even though it's not intended to be funny.