MOD Disallowed Works List

I'm pretty sure that Chelsea Quinn Yarbro does not allow fanfic. I don't know what her statement might be, but there has been a lawsuit. Same thing for the estate of Marion Zimmer Bradley.

 

*Chelsea Quinn Yarbro added to the list
*Holly Lisle added to the list
*Marion Zimmer Bradley added to the list.

 

Actually, no. TMNT was created by two guys (Eastman and Laird) who formed their own comic company, Mirage Studios, in 1984 to publish the title. Archie comics only had the license from 1988 to 1995 to produce a comic based on the cartoon -- hence the word "Adventures" added to the title, since for much of that time, Mirage continued to put out the original TMNT comic.

EDIT: Of course, Mirage (and, at a couple points, other companies) have also put out a lot of TMNT comics in the thirteen years since Archie's license expired.

 

We actually were discussing TMNT today. There'll be news concerning that shortly.

 

Oh, okay. I was mainly just responding to Juliet's post and only started thinking about the implications for the thread as a whole partway through.

I'm not obligated to write TMNT fic now, am I?

 

Edited with the announcement that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan fiction, as long as it is based off of the television shows or the movies, is permitted.

 

What about Sonic the Hedgehog? the video game came before the comics.

 

Sonic I think is still too much of a grey area. The Archie Sonic comics tie very much into the tv show and the video games, so it would be hard to differentiate between what is allowed and what isn't. We're ruling better safe than sorry on this one and keeping Sonic on the disallowed list. Sorry.

 

I have a question about something. The Terry Goodkind "Sword Of Truth" series has been made into a TV show that premieres next month. It's called "Legend Of The Seeker". As such, since the character rights have technically changed hands now (the series is by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, and is reportedly backed by Disney), is fanfic for it going to be allowed now?

 

Sorry this took so long, Dana.


If it's like the TMNT situation, where there's enough difference between the comics and the TV show, then I wouldn't have a problem with fanfic for the show. But if the show's based directly on the books, then even a little creative license won't change the fact that it's still the same characters and story, and that fanfic isn't allowed for those characters.

Also, I don't know what the legal specifics of the TV deal are, but if we're dealing with the latter situation, I seriously doubt Goodkind handed over the rights to his characters lock stock and two smoking barrels. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to write any more Sword of Truth novels without the studio's permission, and no author is going to put himself in that position. So, at the end of the day, he's still the one calling the shots when it comes to fanfic.

 

If I may, I am somewhat of a "Sonic expert" so I have a clearer idea of this issue. Sega itself has no policy that forbids fanwork (which has produced a fanwork community that is somewhat... infamous); their official US boards even have their own section for fanfiction set up here: . Therefore, anything that relates only to the Sonic game universe is acceptable beyond question. Archie's Sonic X comic is a derivative work of the Sonic X anime produced by TMS Entertainment. Things get murky once you start dealing with fanwork based off Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic, since a good amount of the characters and locations in that work also appeared in the SatAM cartoon, the rights to which are owned by DIC Entertainment and not Archie.

However you want to keep things safe, I recommend allowing only Sonic fanfiction based off the games themselves (where there are absolutely no legal issues). Ban anything that deals with Archie and possible SatAM and Sonic X too if their companies have anything similar to what Archie's policy is. I'm sure anyone here that would want to write Sonic fanfiction would understand.

 

So....

Marvel stuff is ok, though, right? I don't see any names I recognize from Marvel on the list...

 

Marvel comics and movies are indeed okay. When in doubt, there's a list of allowed fandoms in the FAQ.

 

The television show varies quite a bit from the books; the character names are the same, and some of the objects and locations are the same, but it's not following it much more closely than that. It's more "inspired by" than a true adaptation.

 

Goodkind still owns rights to the characters (and according to the higher-ups on the official site, he continues to own them, not Disney) so we can't allow it.

 

Comment/Question regarding Blizzard's worlds of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.

Blizzard's FAQ states the following:

Can I write novels, screenplays, theatrical productions or other adaptations based on your games?

No. Blizzard Entertainment® reserves the right to extend and expand our properties to other media. We want to provide a consistent story and universe for our customers, and want to ensure that only the highest quality, officially licensed and approved material is created based on our characters and other creative properties.

Can I get authorization to do an expansion pack, novel, screenplay, theatrical production, or other adaptation based on your games?

Unfortunately, Blizzard Entertainment® cannot accept unsolicited ideas or submissions. As a result, we will not be able to review or authorize any submissions related to expansions, novels, screenplays, productions or other adaptations.

However there is a whole board dedicated to RP (including fanfiction) on their official site forums, and additionally there are many fan created sites (namely Guild pages) with their own fanworks which have never been discouraged nor any (as far as I know) action taken against such works.

So, my question is: What's the verdict on Warcraft/World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo fanfics?

 

If they allow it on their own website, then it's probably allowed. I'll go update the lists.

 

Could anyone tell me what the situation is regarding fiction based on the Dungeons and Dragons RPG? (I'm talking about stories created around characters people have created themselves, rather than Drizzt (for instance) from Forgotten Realms.) The reason I ask is that I've working on a story based on a character I play and would like to post it here if that's allowed.

 

I'd say that the only question is whether or not you're using elements that specifically mark it out as D&D fanfic rather than an original fantasy story. Are you using one of the established settings (like Forgotten Realms) or one of your own devising? Since most of monsters and other trappings are fairly common to the genre, it's hard to do without actual places or named characters from the game.

 

I don't know much about D&D, but Drabbo nailed some of my concerns.

 

Only some? I must be slipping.


EDIT: Yeah, I was slipping; I landed on my back. Ouch.

 

We've decided that since there's a very, very blurry line between D&D and original fiction, we're not going to allow it. Thanks for asking, though.

 

Even if it's a story about, say, Drizzt or Raistlin or some other established character?

 

I'm not sure all of what D&D encompasses, but I believe that Salvatore and Hickman&wise allow fanfic (there's plenty of it, anyway) which would make those fan fics of something else.

 

Well, it's not "something else" as in a separate entity; fanfic set within Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms would still be D&D fanfic; those are settings created for the game, but they've also been fleshed out in novels and video games and comics and so on. D&D's a bit of a tricky beast. The game was created to allow people to craft their own fantasy worlds for their friends to explore; a story based on such a gaming session probably wouldn't qualify, since it would be, to all intents and purposes, an original fantasy tale. However, TSR made adventure modules that offered specific stories, and over time, started to create a group of specific worlds in which multiple adventures were set. When some of these started to get merchandise in the other media, they became as detailed as any fictional universe. So a Forgotten Realms fanfic is still a D&D fanfic; it's just a more specific description.