Fanfiction, by its very nature, is usually breaking copyright laws. Authors use characters and canon universes which were created by someone else. It doesn't matter how well they craft their stories, nor how far divorced from the original plot in alternate universes, the basic premise involves a theft of intellectual copyright. Whether fanfiction writers get away with it is solely dependent upon the attitude of the creators. JK Rowling may invite them onto Pottermore, George Lucas will allow it within strict guidelines, but Anne Rice will sue.
Occasionally fanfiction crosses the line into actual plagiarism. This is when it isn't simply the themes and characterisations which are derivatives, but where the narrative is copied word for word. In the fandoms, plagiarism is never tolerated.
Copying Canon: How Cynthia Eden's Deadly Heat was Plagiarised.
On August 12th, 2011, paranormal/dark romance writer Cynthia Eden posted a blog entry entitled Plagiarism Sucks. She had been alerted to the fact that a Twilight fanfiction writer named Misconception76 had reproduced the entire body of Deadly Heat on a website. The plagiarist had simply changed the names of the original characters, Kenton Lake and Lora Spade, to Edward and Bella. The rest of the multi-chaptered story was exactly the same.
Deadly Heat is a published work for which Ms. Eden holds the copyright. It has nothing to do with Twilight. There had been 200,000 hits on Misconception76's version, The Devil’s Dance, with hundreds of favourable comments. But as the fandoms were separate, none of the readers had realised that this was plagiarism. They soon did when Ms. Eden's fans arrived to spread the word. Nevertheless, it still took another three days for the derivative to be removed and then it was by Misconception76 herself. FanFiction.net hadn't responded at all in that time, not even when the actual author lodged her own complaint.
Ms. Eden told Publishers Weekly how upsetting and demeaning the incident had been. "I was actually more hurt than angry (at first). It seemed like such a personal attack." Worse than the line stealing was the arrogance of the plagiarist, who added notes to each chapter crowing about her own hard work and research. It made the real author feel like she didn't even exist."
Meanwhile, Misconception76 had received such an angry backlash that she deleted the story and posted an apology on her profile page. "It was an experiment with a friend of mine. Her mom is totally addicted to the site, and it made me wonder. How many people actually copy other stories and claim them as their own? Well, now I know. Probably not many at all." She added that she would not 'show (her) face again' on the site.
Plagiarism in FanFiction: How the Fandoms Self-Regulate.
Had the situation with FanFiction.net not been resolved, then Cynthia Eden could have taken the matter to court. Most fanfiction authors would never attempt wholesale plagiarism of a published work because of this risk, but also, as Misconception76 discovered, no fandom appreciates the subterfuge. While some decry the fickle nature of some individuals, flitting between one canon obsession to the next, it does tend to uncover copying like this.
Of course, that couldn't happen within a single fandom. Any individual attempting to pass off an author's works as their own, within the same fanbase as the original, would not get very far. What is more likely to happen is plagiarism of one fan's story by another fan. Here there is no protection under the law, because the original author never held the copyright.
Fortunately, fandoms tend to self-regulate against such incidents. As they are full of people reading the same genre of fiction, plagiarism is quickly rooted out. Plagiarism Today, a journal focusing upon such issues, praised the fan communities for their action when confronted with it. Journalist Jonathan Bailey observed that 'fan fiction communities are notoriously united in their battle against plagiarism. Plagiarism is... seen as a cardinal sin in the community and plagiarists are ostracized and dealt with harshly.' He discussed how civilised the mass reactions were, constituting 'a coordinated effort by the community to isolate the plagiarist and support the victim.'
How my Own FanFiction was Plagiarised.
In another place (and under another name), I write fanfiction myself. Only once has my work been plagiarised, but I experienced first-hand exactly what Mr. Bailey described. Another fanfiction writer had copied the spirit, scenario, environment and, in several sections, the exact wording of one of my alternate universe stories. It had not been posted on my usual site, but on another which I use under yet another name.
Within an hour of its posting, I had been alerted by the first reader. By the close of that day, another ten private messages had joined it. The plagiarised work had just one comment attached and that was from me. It read, 'lovely retelling of my story!' It was all very civilised indeed, though several people did tell me that they had expressed their disapproval in the private inbox of the newcomer. She quietly disappeared, never to return.
Sources:
- Cynthia Eden's Blog: Plagiarism Sucks. (August 12th, 2011.)
- FanFiction: Misconception76's profile. (August 15th, 2011.)
- Plagiarism Today: Fan Fiction Plagiarism. (Not dated.)
- Publishers Weekly: Plagiarism Under the Guise of FanFiction. (August 16th, 2011.)
Jo Harrington - Jo has a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy and a MA in History. She has a book published on the history of Wicca.
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