The Legal Risks of Fandoms

This is the third of our special series about fandom. To start from the beginning, listen to our episodes from the past two weeks!

When it comes to fan creators and making money, copyright law is pretty strict—any unlicensed use of a property that doesn’t fall under fair use (like the characters from Star Wars, for example) is considered copyright violation. But at the same time, plenty of fan merchandise and other creations, both for-profit and not, proliferate online and at conferences. Afterall, fandoms can be their own marketing machines for profitable franchises, so companies don’t always crack down on violations. That is, until they see their profits or trademarks threatened—as was the case recently with Netflix and The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.

So, is it possible to encourage and protect the inspiration-fueling fandoms while still honoring the original authors? What’s the line between derivative and original? And most importantly, what’s werewolf erotica got to do with this?