The Lawbringer: The power of licensing

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-11-2011 @ 2:42PM

Haro said...

But licensing scope is just in for-profit use of the intellectual property? i mean, what's the legal standing of fan-made "merchandise" so to speak? Like fanart, fanzines, etc, that aren't sold or distributed for profit?

2-11-2011 @ 3:06PM

Idran said...

The preponderance of legal articles and case-law is that non-profit transformative fanworks fall under the category of fair use, which would include most all fanfiction and fanart.

http://community.livejournal.com/fandom_lawyers/440.html

The Organization for Transformative Works has more information here:

http://transformativeworks.org/faq/legal

2-11-2011 @ 4:18PM

Amanda A. said...

Basically, because such things are not made for profit, and generally do not take away from the original product. If I write a short story about how Prince Varian and Bolvar might have become friends, no one is going to mistake it for Blizzard canon, nor would it discourage anyone from buying an official tie-in comic or novel on the same subject.

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