Fanfiction a sin?

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First of all I am well aware of the fact that Fanfiction is a violation of copyright I dot dispute that, what I want to know is that if the original author gives general permission to write it like Rowling did, is it a sin since the author who holds the copyright, is allowing the creation? since the author has the right to distribute their work and allow other to do the same, then is it still a violation when the author give permission to fans to write and draw?
 
joyfulcross2288 said:
First of all I am well aware of the fact that Fanfiction is a violation of copyright I dot dispute that, what I want to know is that if the original author gives general permission to write it like Rowling did, is it a sin since the author who holds the copyright, is allowing the creation? since the author has the right to distribute their work and allow other to do the same, then is it still a violation when the author give permission to fans to write and draw?
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Fanfiction is generally considered fair use, as long as copyrights are acknowledged and it’s not for profit. That said, there are some authors who politely request that people not make fanctions of their works. (Such as Anne Rice and G.R.R Martin)
 
I certainly hope that fanfiction for profit is not a sin as long as the original author has been dead for a long time and copyrights have expired and or are properly acknowledged! My next book will probably be a Pride and Prejudice fanfiction. I am pretty sure that it is not illegal since publishing companies have been accepting and publishing such books.
 
joyfulcross2288 said:
First of all I am well aware of the fact that Fanfiction is a violation of copyright I dot dispute that, what I want to know is that if the original author gives general permission to write it like Rowling did, is it a sin since the author who holds the copyright, is allowing the creation? since the author has the right to distribute their work and allow other to do the same, then is it still a violation when the author give permission to fans to write and draw?
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If there is permission, then no, I don’t believe it’s a sin, and you’re in the clear. But even if there wasn’t permission, I believe u can still do it without sin so long as u do your best to incorporate the “fair use” laws. Of course, even if u utilize the “fair use” laws as best as u can, u can still get taken to court and sued for a billion dollars. Here’s a pretty good article on the legality of fanfiction: io9.com/5933976/are-fan-fiction-and-fan-art-legal
 
I’d be more worried about its sinfulness in the sense that lots of fanfiction basically seems to be the ‘missing sex scenes’ of all the characters in the original work. :rolleyes:😛
 
This sort of thread is why I love coming here - a sensible question (that’s maybe out-of-the-ordinary, a little bit), and really thought-provoking about some little aspect of the way many of us might live our lives, and might not normally think about much at all! So thank you to joyfulcross2288 for starting this conversation!

From my point of view, I guess you have to distinguish between what’s sinful or not, and what is illegal or not. It would be both illegal and sinful to use someone’s ideas without any acknowledgement (and especially if you intend to profit from it). I would suggest that fanfiction can’t really be seen as sinful, as long as it is clear (and if it’s something ‘big’ like Harry Potter etc then it would be abundantly clear the original idea or setting wouldn’t be your own work anyway I suppose!), that one is building on the work of someone else: that’s not stealing anything - you’re adapting, improving (possibly!), and also showing your own appreciation and enjoyment of the original author’s work. Just writing for your own enjoyment and maybe others (to host on some fanfic website, for instance), shouldn’t be a problem (of course it is sometimes, but that’s what I mean by the sinful/illegal difference).

Of course, even within such “fair use” guidelines, one could get into a heap of trouble especially by trying to profit from it. For works out of copyright like MonikaBarbara’s Pride and Prejudice novel (let us know when/if it’s written, by the way!!), it’s probably easier than trying, say, to write and publish a book set in the Harry Potter universe - even if general permission to write fan fiction has been granted by the author.

That said, it’s clearly not impossible. There are authors who make their entire living writing and publishing Star Trek fan-fiction, (other sci-fi series are available…), after all. As long as permission is sought from the copyright holder, it shouldn’t be a problem at all.
 
Thank you all for your answers and and your charitable responses. this has been bothering me for a while and the fact that there is some OCD involved does not help. you all raise excellent points and I am truly grateful for your help.🙂
 
MonikaBarbara said:
I certainly hope that fanfiction for profit is not a sin as long as the original author has been dead for a long time and copyrights have expired and or are properly acknowledged! My next book will probably be a Pride and Prejudice fanfiction. I am pretty sure that it is not illegal since publishing companies have been accepting and publishing such books.
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Well of course if it’s out of copyright… I’ve even read books like Alice in Wonderland and Flatland online.
 
One last thing, I know that as Christians we are expected to uphold the law as god is the one who allows both the good and the evil to be in power, I also know that to many lawyers fanfiction is not fair use because of this I am concerned because it feels like even if the autors approve the law is still being broken and thus a sin commited. Is this the case?
 
joyfulcross2288 said:
One last thing, I know that as Christians we are expected to uphold the law
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Yes, per the CCC - paragraph 2240, we abide by the laws of the nation we reside in when it is a just law, and only disobey them when they are, per the CCC - paragraph 2242, "contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel."

Now, I don’t know what you’ve been reading, but not all fanfiction is illegal. Again, so long as a person has permission from the author, or does their best to utilize the “fair use” laws and give credit to where credit is due (so u don’t commit plagiarism, which is a separate issue from copyright infringement), then there is no need to think you’ve committed any sin, since you’ve done all u could to abide by the just laws of your country, and that’s all u can really do and is expected of u as a Christian.
 
I can’t believe that 50 shades of grey was published. :confused:
Not only is it fan fiction, it’s rubbish and pretty disgusting.
 
Rose89 said:
I can’t believe that 50 shades of grey was published. :confused:
Not only is it fan fiction, it’s rubbish and pretty disgusting.
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In that case I probably shouldn’t tell you they’ve made a movie of it too…😛
 
Rose89 said:
LOL I know that. Saw the trailer and laughed the entire time at how bad it was!!
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So did I. Then I saw someone post on facebook about how exciting it was and I laughed even harder 😃
 
I am still having trouble with this despite all people here have pointed out and the fact that one can make the case for fair use due to transformation nature of fanfiction, there is still the fact that most people use the idea without permission and that is theft. granted there are alot of authors who allow the fans to create fanfiction, but even then fair use is more of a defense than a right. if the authors are okay with fanfiction then does fair use still allow us to write and draw?
 
I’ve given fan fiction a try, but I e pretty much given up on it because most is such poor quality.
 
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