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    #1

    Fanfiction publishing rights

    I know I haven't been around here in a long time, but I've been recently posting the last few chapters to a long interrupted piece, and received a private message from another user at the fanfiction site, regarding another fic, and wanting to "help" me "legally" publish my fanfiction.

    It just got me a little steamed up. I am fully cognizant that my fanfiction takes place without the direct permission of the creators of the characters or the world they live in, and that my ability to do so is only because the powers that be choose to turn a blind eye.

    This guy seems to feel he is fully qualified because he is a "published" author himself (having now "published" two fanfics, both look really awful...) he glosses over property rights and argues "fair use" and makes promises of royalties, and even offers to purchase the rights of a story from an author so that he can accept full legal responsibility. He turns everything around to make it seem like it is his right to make money from the Stargate Franchise. Its the kind of thing that gives fanfiction a bad name.

    I wanted to give warning, that any other author approached with this offer or any similar offer, should beware. It is one thing to write and share a fanfiction story. It is completely different, to take that story, which contains characters and settings that are not of your making, and use them to line your own pockets.
    sigpic

    Some people have a way with words. Others not have way.
    http://www.fanfiction.net/~iamdragonrider
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    #2
    Old (well, day-old) news.

    (Yes, I'm female. Okay?)
    Sum, ergo scribo...

    My own site ** FF.net * All That We Leave Behind * Symbiotica ** AO3
    sigpic
    now also appearing on DeviantArt
    Explore Colonel Frank Cromwell's odyssey after falling through the Stargate in Season Two's A Matter of Time, and follow Jack's search for him. Significant Tok'ra supporting characters and a human culture drawn from the annals of history. Book One of the series By Honor Bound.

    Comment

      #3
      Yep, you are not the only one who got contacted by this person (see SF&C's link). I emailed Fandemonium, who have a contract with MGM to publish licensed Stargate novels and they were already familiar with the person but not with him enticing others to do the same: they're now forwarding my email (with a screen cap of the PM) to MGM's legal department to give them more ammo in their attempts to shut this guy down.


      ETA:
      It might help if you and anyone else who gets approached by this guy to email Fandemonium as well at [email protected].

      I also sent an email to FFNet to report his actions (since they are using FFnet's messaging system to entire others to infringe on copyright by selling their fanfictions for profit) but, as usual, I haven't heard back from them and the profile of this guy (and the link to his website on which he directly links to his Amazon books) is still up, so...
      Last edited by fems; 16 September 2013, 05:31 AM.
      Unmade Plans (WIP: 11/20):
      Sam's life takes a turn in an unexpected direction when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy. The decision to keep the baby and raise it on her own will alter her life forever. Relationships are put to the test, especially the one between her and Jack. She doesn't know what to expect from him and he surprises her at every turn.
      On FFnet or AO3

      My S/J fics can be found on FFnet and AO3. I also tweet and tumble about the ship and my writing/stories.

      Comment

        #4
        Someone else tried selling ebooks on Barnes and Noble.

        Comment

          #5
          A friend of mine on LJ was also contacted by pm on FF.net by someone offering similar services...I have warned her and mentioned that this was being discussed here....

          Deeds xx
          sigpic
          Thanks to slizzie1986 for signature
          MSOL - Official Website of Michael Shanks

          Comment

            #6
            Well, at least it is old news. I did not think I was the only one contacted. The user struck me as the swarmy sort who twists things to suit his way of thinking. Honestly I don't know what rubbed me worse, that he was soliciting others to go down his wrong headed path with him, or that his sample fic read like that written by an adolescent girl but the author bio seemed to indicate that it was actually a 62 year old man, with a complicated past and some serious issues. Talk about a case of the heebie jeebies, let alone my affront that he expected people to spend money for something that I would turn down after the first few paragraphs on a fanfiction site. That he was trying to make money from the franchise, but my only thought of comfort is that he is probably too small fry to bother pointing the lawyers at, more trouble than he worth to take down.
            sigpic

            Some people have a way with words. Others not have way.
            http://www.fanfiction.net/~iamdragonrider

            Comment

              #7
              Well, the person I emailed with said MGM had been in contact with him but efforts to made him cease had had little impact. So, I'm guessing they issues some kind of warning first before getting the legal department after it.

              It may be only one person with just 2 books but he did have some reviews on them so I suppose that means he's probably sold at least a dozen books, assuming they all reviewed (well, at least the ones who thought the books sucked) which is probably not the case so the actual number might be higher. And if he's trying to convince others to do the same it stands to reason he's had some success with his own efforts, otherwise why bother?

              Anyway, if MGM even lets one person do this others will think it's acceptable to start selling their own fanfiction as well. That means a loss of income for MGM/Fandemonium, not to mention the blow to their reputation if people think his work is part of the official Stargate novels...

              So, it would be best for MGM to take legal steps against him, regardless of how well his books sell.
              Unmade Plans (WIP: 11/20):
              Sam's life takes a turn in an unexpected direction when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy. The decision to keep the baby and raise it on her own will alter her life forever. Relationships are put to the test, especially the one between her and Jack. She doesn't know what to expect from him and he surprises her at every turn.
              On FFnet or AO3

              My S/J fics can be found on FFnet and AO3. I also tweet and tumble about the ship and my writing/stories.

              Comment

                #8
                Originally posted by fems View Post
                Well, the person I emailed with said MGM had been in contact with him but efforts to made him cease had had little impact. So, I'm guessing they issues some kind of warning first before getting the legal department after it.
                I have to agree, it seems consistent with the man's convoluted arguments on his rather hideous web page, that MGM is "aware" of him. My thought is that while he may have sold perhaps a dozen or even a few dozen copies of his books, he is still small potatoes, even if his "published" status has given this man an overinflated sense of his own importance. I think he is still small potatoes in the sense that there are people out there selling mock offs of NFL, Disney, Harry Potter, etc merchandise, and are largely ignored, because they are not worth the expense of aligning the lawyers after.

                I don't even know if his success of lack of has any effect on his trying to entice others, he strikes me as the sort with a chip on his shoulder. He believes it somehow his right to rage against the injustices and limitations imposed by big company, or at least that is how he explains it to himself.

                I myself believe that without the Stargate name, and without the smattering of Stargate characters he did not create, he would not sell any copies of his book. His plot and original characters cannot stand without the worlds and characters of someone else's making to lean against. ON some level, I imagine he knows this, but denies it and gets tied up in arguments about fair use and copyright law. When he persuades others to his way of thinking, then he can justify what he does.
                sigpic

                Some people have a way with words. Others not have way.
                http://www.fanfiction.net/~iamdragonrider

                Comment

                  #9
                  I wouldn't know, I only glanced briefly at his website (which is indeed awful) to see if there were links to his books and then I checked out the Amazon pages and contacted Fandemonium and FFnet about his actions. The man himself I ignored by simply not replying to his PM.
                  Unmade Plans (WIP: 11/20):
                  Sam's life takes a turn in an unexpected direction when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy. The decision to keep the baby and raise it on her own will alter her life forever. Relationships are put to the test, especially the one between her and Jack. She doesn't know what to expect from him and he surprises her at every turn.
                  On FFnet or AO3

                  My S/J fics can be found on FFnet and AO3. I also tweet and tumble about the ship and my writing/stories.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    He probably tried to get published through a big name publisher, and they most likely said "sorry, that's copyrighted material." Even a lawyer or agent would tell him that. MGM will issue a cease and desist notification while tracking down where his ebooks or other items were sold. It's a shame that the booksellers may end up getting sued.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      I'm surprised Amazon hasn't pulled them down yet, to be honest.
                      Unmade Plans (WIP: 11/20):
                      Sam's life takes a turn in an unexpected direction when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy. The decision to keep the baby and raise it on her own will alter her life forever. Relationships are put to the test, especially the one between her and Jack. She doesn't know what to expect from him and he surprises her at every turn.
                      On FFnet or AO3

                      My S/J fics can be found on FFnet and AO3. I also tweet and tumble about the ship and my writing/stories.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Originally posted by fems View Post
                        I'm surprised Amazon hasn't pulled them down yet, to be honest.
                        How long have they been on there? I'd love to be the fly on the wall when Bezos receives a letter/call from MGM.

                        Comment

                          #13
                          I don't know if Amazon shows the date from when it was first published but he said March 2012 for one of his stories in the PM and the other one was also from 2012, if I'm not mistaken. So, that's a year and a half for one.
                          Unmade Plans (WIP: 11/20):
                          Sam's life takes a turn in an unexpected direction when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy. The decision to keep the baby and raise it on her own will alter her life forever. Relationships are put to the test, especially the one between her and Jack. She doesn't know what to expect from him and he surprises her at every turn.
                          On FFnet or AO3

                          My S/J fics can be found on FFnet and AO3. I also tweet and tumble about the ship and my writing/stories.

                          Comment

                            #14
                            I see enough money to make a Stargate movie.

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Originally posted by fems View Post
                              Well, the person I emailed with said MGM had been in contact with him but efforts to made him cease had had little impact. So, I'm guessing they issues some kind of warning first before getting the legal department after it.
                              The warning most likely came from the legal department, in the form of a cease and desist letter. MGM isn't going to want to spend any more money on this guy than they have to, since he almost certainly has no money for them to go after. And if he's ignoring MGM, he'd probably ignore a court decree, too.

                              Also, a friend who is a well-known published writer had one hll of a time getting Amazon to take down pirated editions of her books, so my bet is that MGM isn't getting a better response than my friend did.

                              Seaboe
                              If you're going to allow yourself to be offended by a cat, you might as well just pack it in -- Steven Brust

                              Comment

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