Quote:
Originally Posted by murraypaul
The situations are not the same.
The fanfic authors chose to be in this situation, the original authors didn't.
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In a way, they did. No one begins to write with a goal of producing a mediocre book that will have no impact? Every author believes (or wishes) that he/she will write a great book in their chosen niche. And such books have always inspired others, which in today's situation equates to fan fiction. To be clear, I'm in no way advocating for a laissez-faire attitude towards actual copyright
infringement. However, I believe that we are at a point where successful literature now contains the implication of fan fiction. The fact that some authors haven't gleaned on to this yet doesn't change things, especially not when the bulk of their readership understands and practices this.
The difference is that today, unlike centuries years ago, there are both greater gains for original authors, and greater burdens imposed on those influenced by them to create fan fiction. Cervantes might have actually been harmed from the falsified second book of Don Quixote, and he couldn't touch whomever made the false sequel.
Harry Potter, on the other hand, might not have turned into a wildly successful film franchise without a dedicated fan fiction community spreading the word. And yet one word from Rowling could end it all.