Anybody know the legal rules for self publising fan-fiction?

[Guest]

I see advertisements on Facebook for trademarked series like Aliens and Terminator ect. Is it allowed to publish for nonprofit or profit or both?

[Gene]

Then again, "Fifty Shades of Gray" was fan fiction with the characters renamed. SEe if you can transplant your story into a new setting and sell it that way. No borrowed characters, no borrowed universe, no infringement. If your writing is any good, it'll stand on its own.

[Clara]

You can't make any profit unless the original work is in the public domain like Peter Pan or The Illiade. Anything made after 1920 is probably still under copyright as Disney keeps forcing the laws to change so they can keep Mickey Mouse as a trademarked character. Alien and Terminator are definitely still under copyright.

[Sharon]

Make changes including names, settings, minor details and character descriptions and you can probably publish as your own work. This depends greatly on how much your work resembles the original. We’ve all read fanfics that seem like they are truly a part of the series and we’ve read ones that are so far flung from the original the only resemblance is the character names and descriptions. The former is harder to rework, the later easy.

[Julie]

Series based on a franchise (like Alien, Star Trek, Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons) aren't 'fan fiction'. They are licensed and approved by the franchise. Often times they are commissioned especifically for one specific project (for instance Star Wars likes having someone write a novel/prequel to be released before video games).

Some of these gigs are easier to get into than others. Star Trek is fairly liberal with what they allow to be published (or user to be). Others are more strict, and need to fit into their universe seamlessly.

[Devlin]

Fanfiction is technically in copyright and trademark violation. Some writers don't mind. Others do. Technically, even the stuff you share on Reddit is in violation, but very few companies care enough to go after someone on Reddit. If you sell it for any kind of money though, they will go after you.

[Ron]

There are several copyright holders that get very aggressive with copyright violations, even if you publish non-profit. The Herbert Family (Dune series) is one of them. I'd stick to putting your fan fics on reddit and the like.

[Charley]

Publishing for profit is a violation of copyright law. Pulblishing fanfiction just to share among inherent fans is usually tolerated. But that's the copyright holders decision, not the ff writer.

[Gary]

Copyright and trademark holders can prevent you from publishing in any way whether for profit or not. But there's a custom on many people to let fans publish fan fiction so long as the fanfiction does not drain income or reputation away from them legal owners work, so long as the fan doing the fanfiction is not profiting allowing anyone else to profit.