Discussion What should Star Wars fanficcers use as a disclaimer, post The Big Sale?

George sold his creation to Walt, and now I don't know what to say. "I am not George Lucas and make no profit from this fanfiction set in his Star Wars," is what I used to say. Any ideas?

 

"Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd and Disney." should suffice for the ownership part of the disclaimer.

But if you want to be humorous with it...

"I'm not the Big Mouse and therefore I'm not making any profit off of Star Wars or any of its characters. I only wish I was... making a profit that is, not the big ears part."

 

This is what I use ATM:


Disclaimer: Star Wars and its expanded universe are the intellectual property of Disney, yes Disney… we know it seems crazy but it's the truth.

 

I'll probably end up crediting both; Disney legally as the copyright holder, but Lucas as the original artist. That's what I did when I wrote Invader Zim fanfiction. Borrowing ideas from fellow fanfic writers got me in the habit of crediting the mastermind who came up with what I was using--now I feel a little funny if I don't.

 

I don't even use a disclaimer. I let the TOS do that for me. Otherwise, I feel a disclaimer is redundant. Of course I don't own these characters. It's a fan fic. There may as well be trademark tags behind everyone's name as it is.

 

Entirely personal opinion:
I don't think it really matters. A disclaimer isn't going to do anything if they really wanted to stop fanfic (specifically if one tries to sell it). Fanfic is kinda a grey area of the law but saying no copyright infringement intended -if for some strange reason it went to court- isn't going to mean anything if they determine fanfic is a copyright violation.

That being said, if it makes one feel more comfortable to put it, that's cool too. I'd say LFL and Disney.

 

That is my personal opinion also. I usually don't put in disclaimers because they are useless. It would be like me stealing somebody's art or writings and posting them but saying "These are not mine and I don't have permission to use them, but I am not making money off it, so don't sue me."

 

If we wanted to do this in accordance with Lucasfilm's PR department, it would have to look like this:

Star Wars™: Exemplified
™ and © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

Luke Skywalker™ felt odd as he wandered down the hallway of the Jedi™ Temple. He felt as if something were weighing on his mind, something just hanging off of the back of his head, but he could not quite put his finger on it. Perhaps it was the Force™ nudging subtly at his brain, trying to warn him about something without it being readily apparent...

I'm sure we all would just love to start formatting our fics like that.

 

Disclaimers are kinda useless. You really don't need them for fan fiction, unless you want to have a little humor before your fic. If fanfiction did become illegal and the original owners did start coming after fanfic writers, disclaimers would do you no good. But if you feel more comfortable, just say something like Star Wars belongs to Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm belongs to Disney.

As I understand it, fanfiction is kinda outside copywrite law in both US and Canada. Individual authors and companies can say "no touchie" and seek to get fanfics about their stuff taken down, but I've never heard even the most diehard fanfic haters going to court. But both Lucas and Disney don't really care about fanfiction, so don't worry.

 

Laws regarding fanfiction cross a whole bunch of weird lines so the legality/potential for civil suit for fanfictions varies both on what the fanfiction is actually doing and how it is being presented. Straight up comedic fanfiction and utterly wild and crazy material is potential protected as a parody under 'fair-use.' Likewise fanfiction that doesn't get 'published' is of course permissible, and it is somewhat unclear, by law what published means when it comes to putting text on-line. Ultimately, of course, since it is very difficult to establish anyone who is being harmed by fanfiction or what damages it might somehow be causing there's hardly any grounds to go after fanfiction producers in civil court. Large websites tend to comply with authorial intent anyway though just to avoid getting tied up in court, especially because someone like FF.net actually has revenue and expenses and therefore something to lose.

 

Hee, this works for me!

 

"anyone who is being harmed" Yes, that's my thought. Creators can be attached to their characters, and claim, I suppose, "Pain and suffering" when their creations are forced to interact with giant space rabbits with girlfriends, like Marvel Comics' Jaxxon. Personally, I am grateful to Lucas and Disney for many hours of entertainment, yet I am not a creator and fanficcing is not the way I make money. It does seem to come down to money and if Disney feels threatened, they'll act. I agree, though, that that does not seem likely.

 

Thanks, all! O( )O = Mickey ears *wonders as she wanders off, "When did I become a Jedi Master on TFN, and if I did, where is my Padawan?"*

 

I never really understood all the complaints about people using and sharing someone elses work as long as no one but the owner is making money off it. IMO, its free advertisement of your work. Why complain about that? If I had a dime for every fan fic I read outside of my favorite franchises or saw something on YouTube and then went and bought the book/movie/show, I'd be rich.

 

It is free advertising, but I understand why some authors get irritated when they made up a character they love like...Oh I don't know...like Harry Potter and now a slash fanfic author has Harry in a threesome with Weasley and Snape and performing some erotic bondage S&M slash.

This was my last disclaimer I used:

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. If I did I would probably be sunbathing on my private island in the Pacific and have fruity drinks brought to me by some twenty-something bronze Farmboy look-alike wearing a speedo. But I don't own Star Wars so I am freezing my butt off in the Great White North and drinking a Pepsi that I had to get myself.​

 

I think JK Rowling has one of the most reasonable views on Fanfiction. She's fine with it, just so long that it doesn't get inappropriate for the intended audience. She just doesn't want 13 year olds finding fics like the one you mentioned.

 

That is very reasonable. I guess what fanfic authors should think about is this--let's say you make up an OC that you have written many stories about. I have my OC Mark that is in three fics and I know you, Briannakin, have had some of your OCs in a couple fanfics. I think I would really be irritated if a fanfic author took my character and started writing stories about him without permission. Even if they were awesome fics...I don't know...it would feel like somebody is molesting my character, Mark. It is a weird feeling of protection over a character. So I understand why some authors don't like it even though it is free advertisement. Now Star Wars authors are using Lucas' universe, so maybe they are less protective of their OC's they create.

 

In light of this... probably we still can't refer to SW as belonging to The Great Ewok Inventor... (Even though it kinda does, even if he sold the official rights to it.) And as for referring to Mr. Lucas that way... I read the Wonder Column one too many times...

Disclaimer (for Never Trust a Magic Elf): Star Wars belongs to The Great Ewok Inventor (all praise to Anthony Daniels) and The Animaniacs are property of Warner Borthers.

 

He still invented it. Thus, the title still stands.

 

Before
Disclaimer: It's George's sandbox, I'm simply destroying the sandcastles

Now
Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to Disney and is the intellectual property of George Lucas; he created the sandbox. I'm simply destroying the sandcastles.


Short and Sweet since I write mostly AU stuff... sometimes I'll use "playing with the action figures" or "playing in the sandbox" to change it up a little.

 

EDIT: Sorry, wrong thread

 

When you wish upon a star...

 

That is going to take some getting used to. Picturing it coming before the Lucasfilm logo... it... doesn't... compute... The transition is just so jarring! I think I might cry when I first see it.

 

In respect to the fans of both franchises, there ought to be something completely different as a logo. Think! A plain field of stars ... drums in the background, a la TCW beginning ... something along those lines. Not a fanfare, which would bring up allusions to the prequels/original trilogy. Perhaps a kazoo ...

 

I can't believe there was actually a kazoo rendition on YouTube. Though I probably shouldn't be.