Some thoughts on the recent copyright infringement case involving Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.

(By way of standard disclaimer, I'm a novice with respect to copyright law).

So a group of us are going to be starting a fan site to a one-shot character whose only appearence was ten years ago, although the series (Pokémon) is still running.

At the time the movie came out, there was a comic loosely based on it that came in an issue of CoroCoro magazine. What would the legality be of putting the full scan of the adaptation on the site? Given that the adaptation was never available for individual purchase and was never reprinted.

The same applies to the program book given at the theater. Would it be acceptable to post the whole thing since it was never really for sale on its own? And there's two versions of the program book--one given at Japanese theaters and one as a promo for an American hotel chain (it was in a larger booklet with things we wouldn't be putting up, like crosswords and general series things).

We won't have any video clips save for fanvids, if any, but would audio clips be OK? We want to have at least one clip of the character from all the languages he's in. Would that go under the individual dubbing companies of each language?

Also, scans of books. With each Pokémon movie, they release a retrospective of the movies before it, so there's a lot of stuff out there about this guy (although admittedly most of it says the EXACT SAME THINGS over and over again, but I digress). Would it be acceptable to have those scans? Or should we just cut out the middleman and post the translations in plain text? Mostly they'd be up BECAUSE we haven't gotten all of them translated yet.

If it matters, our prospective host is in the UK, and she said that in the UK, copyright defaults to the country of origin, which we thought meant Japan, but someone else said that "country of origin" refers to the SITE which means it would be under UK law. Can anyone clarify this? And how would this affect the ability to post screenshots, which seems to be almost completely forbidden on Japanese sites but A-OK elsewhere?

I only just joined this community, although I have been lurking with interest for some time. I have also been following the whole "Russet Noon" wank-saga unfold, particularly via Journalfen user Caito's recent fandom wank posts.

I think I've heard enough about the copyright issues pertaining to this "tribute novel," but now this whole mess has taken another interesting turn. The official "Russet Noon" website (which I won't link here, but it's easily Googled) now contains Caito's contact information (including mailing address and phone number, obtained from a Whois search) as well as comments from fandom wank, Youtube, and personal journal entries taken out of context and photoshopped. From these photoshopped pseudo-entries, then, it appears that Lady Sybilla (the tribute novel author) makes some pretty wild extrapolations about Caito and her personal and professional life. I'm not a lawyer but I'm wondering if these extrapolations are considered libelous (or slanderous?) or if they're too vague. I also wonder what Caito's legal recourse might be, if she has any.

ETA: The website has been changed since I posted this, but here are some screencaps for those that might want to check it out:

First, second, and third. All of the contact information was removed from these screencaps.

Anyone care to chime in?

Megan Richardson and David Tan, The Art of Retelling: Harry Potter and Copyright in a Fan-Literature Era, 14 Media & Arts L. Rev. 31 (2009). Notable for analyzing non-US cases. As always, the full bibliography is at Fanlore.

Okay, I was wondering about this for a while, because I remember legionseagle explaining way back how her HP fanfic disclaimer was basically "JKR has acknowledged fanfic before, so I take that as permission from the author".

Now back when 30 Seconds to Mars' second album came out, in the interviews they often said "go buy our album... or just download it from the internet if you're cheap" and things in a similar vein (haven't found the exact quote yet, but I'm sure it's somewhere on my hard drive). Could that be construed as permission to share the album on the internet? And independently of that, could they even give that permission? Or could I reasonably suppose that they can? I don't know how much of their rights artists usually give over to the label...

A book entitled "Russet Noon: The Tribute Sequel to The Twilight Saga" by an author called LadySybilla is allegedly set to be published in September 2009 by a website called AV Paranormal. Copies will apparently be auctioned off on eBay (at least, that's what I inferred, but the article I read says it will be sold in bookstores. Not sure if that's accurate.)

Here's the synopsis:

The Volturi are now watching the Cullens even closer, and a conspiracy is brewing deep within the catacombs of of Volterra. Aro is determined to put an end to Bella's happily ever after. He is obsessed with getting Renesmee to join his clan in Italy, while Edward and Bella refuse to make Renesmee a full vampire. Renesmee hates herself for being only a half breed, and her unhappiness turns Bella against her own daughter. Humans in Forks are starting to suspect something about the Cullens, and Renesmee's lack of self-control is to blame for it. Bella and Edward might have to leave Forks permanently to protect Nessie. Meanwhile, the spirit warriors have returned to live among the Quileutes. Taha Aki has made contact with Jacob to warn him that great danger is coming to La Push.

Sounds like a good idea for a fanfic. Unfortunately, auctioning copies on eBay means there are now infringement issues, right? AV Paranormal apparently released this statement in response to the people who have been flaming them:

"When fictional characters become such an intricate part of the popular psyche, as is the case with the Twilight Saga, legal boundaries become blurred, and copyright laws become increasingly difficult to define. This is especially the case when actual cities like Forks and Volterra are used as the novel's settings. Such settings are not copyrightable, as they are considered public domain. Similarly, the Quileute Nation is also not copyrightable, and neither are vampire or werewolf legends. Copyright laws protect writers from unauthorized reproductions of their work, but such reproductions only include verbatim copying. Characters are only copyrightable if their creator draws them or hires an artist to draw them. Stephenie Meyer herself borrowed a great deal from previous works dealing with these mythologies."

The original source of the report is here, this is the official site for the work, this is the e-Bay site, and this is the AV Paranormal site for everyone's reference.

I guess my main question here is: Is there any merit to AV Paranormal's statement? If Rowling can sue over a GUIDE to Harry Potter, what will stop Meyer from suing over something like this?

Hello,

I hope this is the right place to ask this!

I'm doing some research on legal issues in fanfic for a Masters degree at UCL (I'm a librarian, not a lawyer), and I'm trying to find out if there is any information out there about fanzines and copyright. I'm aware that for online stuff, the general view for your average writer is that if you aren't making money and you say so, the copyright owners will generally stay off your back; and I've managed to find lots of places that deal with copyright and other legal issues for online fanfic. However, when it comes to fanzines, there's often a charge to get hold of them, which might change things, and I'm having trouble tracking down appropriate sources for information on this.

I was referred here by the kind people at http://community.livejournal.com/mfuwss/, and I hope that someone here might be able to help. Have any fanzine publishers been sent C&D letters by the Powers That Be, and if so, why were they targetted and other zine publishers not? Is there any general guidance or best practice in the fanfic world forlegal issues in zine publication? Have people profited from zine publication or is the charge simply to cover printing, posting and packaging?

Any help would be much appreciated! Many thanks.

Nathaniel T. Noda, When Holding On Means Letting Go: Why Fair Use Should Extend to Fan-Based Activities, 5 U. Denver Sports & Ent. L.J. (2008) (note that you may need to log in as "guest" to read it).

The full bibliography is here.

It's the night before the bar exam, but I had to do this now or I will never do it...

( Criminal Law: All the Crimes of Twilight )

I figure this is a good place (especially in this crazy economy) to share a job post for a lawyer interested in citizen-generated media. It's a really fun place to work, and the CMLP folks are fantastic. I'm also happy to answer questions on the general work culture or to point you to the right folks to ask more in-depth questions on the job itself.

( Staff Attorney/Fellow with the Citizen Media Law Project )

(We're also looking to hire law student interns for part-time work during the the spring semester and for full-time work over the summer.)

I know it's been a while, but I think it's time for me to look at all the torts that occur in Twilight...

( Torts: Edward is such a tortfeasor )

Can anyone spot any others?

London law firm no fan of erotic fiction

LONDON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A senior lawyer at a London law firm was forced to stop publishing her erotic literary works online due to company rules, a spokesman says.

While an unidentified Allen & Overy spokesman would not directly comment on the action taken against associate Deidre Dare and her Web-published novel "Expat," he did say the law firm had strict rules about employee conduct, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

"A&O does not comment on individual members of staff. With regard to our general policies on staff conduct Allen & Overy aims to uphold the highest standards of professional conduct," the spokesman said.

Dare recently said on her personal Web site, deidredare.com, that she was forced to stop offering new installments of her racy Internet novel.

"The author has been forbidden from publishing further chapters of Expat for the time being," she said online. "She will resume if and when she is permitted to."

The Telegraph said "Expat" tells the erotic tales of a woman living in Moscow who enjoys numerous sexual rendezvous with various men in each installment.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Is this legal? Can a law firm deny an employee a private-life activity?

I know I sort of already did a Twilight Family Law analysis by discussing the Edward/Bella marriage, but I decided I should do one that involves children too. So I have to deal with a hypothetical where one of the marriages is breaking up. Now I know everyone in Twilight is super in love and shiny so this would never happen, but let's look at the consequences of the dissolution (because that's the Washington term, not divorce) of the marriages of...

A. Esme and Carlisle

B. Bella and Edward

( Family Law: Dissolution Analysis )

I did my Twilight common law contract analysis here, and I thought it was time to do a UCC issue. There are a bunch of sales in the book, but I thought the transaction involving Bella and J. Jenks in Breaking Dawn would be the most interesting.

( The facts (cut for spoilers) )

( Contracts: The Bella and J. Jenks Transaction )

Now since J. Jenks is presumably a Washington lawyer, I might also use this for my Professional Responsibility analysis. I doubted that Twilight could provide me with enough material for all 22 subjects, but maybe I underestimated things.

OK, you guys liked the first one and I usually try to do at least two subjects every weekend. Today I did Contract Law...

( Contracts: Another look at this crazy treaty )

There have to be some more contracts in this book. Ideas anyone? Any sale of goods under the UCC?

My journal is f-locked and I was encouraged to post this over here because fandomy lawyer types might appreciate it.

I am a Texas lawyer who recently moved to Washington. I have not been practicing long enough to waive into this jurisdiction (5 years) so I have to take the Washington bar exam in February. I am working too so I started studying a while ago on the weekends. I am also just finishing the Twilight series which just makes me laugh.

Well, Twilight is set in Forks, Washington. I live in Seattle, but Washington law should still apply to Twilight. So to make this second bar exam experience less boring I am going to practice my essay writing by analyzing "legal situations" in Twilight. Sometimes I need to tweak the facts a bit, but it's still fun. Here are the three I have already done...

( Property: The Cullen/Quileute Treaty as a Covenant )

( Administrative Law: The Volturi and Due Process )

( Family Law: Bella/Edward Marriage Legal Quagmire )

If anyone else spots any Twilight legal issues (no matter how silly) let me know. And if people are somehow entertained by these I can keep posting. The Washington bar has about 22 subjects. ;)

I hope this is the right place to ask this - if not, just let me know.

I noticed yesterday that my journal had four hits from an unknown user in a short period of time (about seven minutes).  I check out the IP and see that it looks like a law firm: Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper, and Scinto.  I google this and find that it's one of the most prestigious intellectual property law firms in New York, specializing in, among other things, copyright law and new media.  They have articles on their website on Fair Use and the DCMA.  They just hit my main journal, not any of my posts, or my profile.  I rate all my fic and put it under a cut, although my journal's not flagged as adult content. 

Why would this law firm be checking out my journal?  Has anyone heard of them?  Has this ever happened to anyone else?  How likely is it that someone is doing research versus checking me out to issue a C&D? 

I know you can't give me legal advice, but I'm just a little freaked out and trying to figure out what's going on... thanks in advance for the help.

This isn't fandom related, but I thought I could get info from you guys.

I have written a manuscript for a novel. Huzzah for me.
The official credits is Written by me, and a 'with' credit to my fiance because the whole thing came from him asking me a question about human evolution. The idea sprung from there. He created characters and did some world building, he was my creative consultant, but I seemed to have final word and I wrote the thing.

Now I want to copyright it...but here's the problem: I'm Canadian and he is American.
We both want to publish it under a Canadian publishing house just to help out Canadian publishing houses. But do we copyright it under both our names or just mine? Under Canadian copyright? American? Or can we do both?

Harry Potter Lexicon Case Appealed

RDR Books, represented by Anthony Falzone of Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society, has appealed their case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.