Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK
Depends what you mean by "valid."
If by "just as valid" you mean "should be allowed to publish and/or profit from someone else's IP" then, no. In that case the difference between fanfic and tie-in writers is clear...the latter has permission, the former doesn't.
If by "just as valid" you mean every bit as potentially important, creative, expressive, significant, enjoyable, valuable, literary, challenging...,"then sure.
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It's the second meaning I had in mind, definitely.
Ideally, this is what we would have: 1. original work, with an author who retains all the rights due to them; 2. authorized derivatives in any/all/some media, for which permission would be obtained/royalties paid to the author; 3. non-profit transformative works clearly marked and credited as such, free of C&D letters and threats of lawsuits.
If at any point the original author decides they do not want transformative works to be written about their characters/world, they should make their opinion known and that opinion should be respected. (In fanfiction circles, when a fan author develops an Alternative Universe - say, a show set in the Wild West is reimagined as happening in modern day law enforcement - they may declare it a Closed universe, with only them writing in it until all the details are fleshed out, after which it's declared an Open universe.)