Does fan fiction infringe copyright?

We all know that inventions and creations are the source of human progress. Therefore, since modern times, with the continuous improvement of the legal system, the protection of cultural creations has become more and more stringent. Copyright protection is a typical example, but society is constantly changing. developed. So according to relevant laws, do fan fiction infringe upon copyright? The editor of Legal Savior Network has compiled relevant content and hopes it will be helpful to you.

Does fan fiction infringe copyright?

1. Whether fan fiction may constitute an infringement of the Original work requires consideration of two issues: first, whether the creation of the fan fiction may constitute an infringement of the right to adapt the original work; second, whether the fan fiction infringes upon the original author's right to protect the integrity of the work.

2. On the issue of whether fan fiction infringes upon the right of adaptation, the core lies in two points: First, the use of elements of the original work in fan fiction is Whether it is at the level of thought or expression; secondly, as an adaptation, whether the fan fiction is substantially similar to the original work.

3. In terms of protecting the integrity of works, attention needs to be paid mainly to whether fan fiction constitutes Distortion and tampering of the original work will damage the reputation of the original author. From a creative perspective, if the fan fiction uses more key elements from the original work in its creation, and the connection of these key elements (characters, plots) is also highly consistent with the original work, then this situation Next, you need to create with caution or obtain the consent of the original author to avoid the risk of infringement. At the same time, if you want to make relatively subversive changes to the plot and characters of the original work during creation, you need to pay attention to the fact that such changes will not cause distortion or tampering of the original work, and especially should not cause damage to the reputation of the original work and the original author. .

4. Fan creations are divided into two categories. The first type of fan creation only uses static elements such as the names and personalities of the characters in the original work, without involving the complex relationships or personalized plots of the characters; the second type of fan creations not only use the names and personalities of the characters, but also involve some complex aspects of the original work character relationships and plot. For the first category of fan works, it is difficult to determine that there is infringement under copyright law. The reason is that the name and personality of the characters are difficult to constitute a work, while the latter belongs to the category of "thoughts". However, if marketing is not careful enough to distinguish it from the original work, it may cause confusion among consumers or carry other people’s products.reputation and constitute unfair competition. The second type of fan works are actually "derivative works" that use the content of other people's works and adapt them. Since fan works are often subversive adaptations of other people's original works, this means that the second type of fan works can easily infringe on the original author's right to modify, protect the integrity of the work, and right to adapt. At the same time, for adaptations that make extensive use of the plot and character relationships of the original work, it has already exceeded the reasonable scope and is difficult to constitute an "appropriate quotation" in fair use.

The above are the laws and regulations related to copyright infringement in my country, and the relevant legal provisions on whether fan fiction can be regarded as copyright infringement. If it is If you still feel unclear about whether fan fiction infringes copyright, it is recommended that you consult a lawyer or find a more professional legal department to resolve the issue in person. Legal Savior Network also provides online lawyer consultation services, and you are welcome to make legal consultations.