Shared Universes and Copyright

So I have two questions regarding shared universes.

1. Can a Shared Universe exist if the copyright for the works involved are held by different people/companies. Like if a work had a Crossover Punchline or included easter eggs that implied that it took place in the same universe as another franchise. If the copyright for these franchises are held by different people, can this still be a shared universe?

2. Can a Shared Universe exist if the original creator didn\'t intend for there to be one. This would apply to works that are in the public domain, like if someone created a series that\'s set in the same universe as Hamlet. Obviously Shakespeare is long dead and I doubt that his descendants will complain. However, would we now say that Hamlet and this new series take place in a Shared Universe, even if there\'s no way Shakespeare would\'ve intended for this?

1. I don't think jokes or Easter eggs are enough to say that it's a shared universe, I don't think that much thought goes into a joke.

2. You can do anything with a public domain work, but it would only apply to your version, not every version. For instance, adding Sherlock Holmes to Hamlet wouldn't change anything, the original works are still two completely separate entities and always will be.

Edited by Primis on Aug 27th 2018 at 7:04:23 AM

Okay. Is there a scenario where two franchises that are owned by two different copyright holders can be considered part of a Shared Universe?

Edited by SharkToast on Aug 27th 2018 at 4:09:23 AM

"As a rule, simply having a Crossover is not enough to qualify as a Shared Universe..."

That's from the page itself. In other words, an Easter Egg or other minor reference wouldn't count. There should be major events that are cross-work. And as Primis mentioned, if the crossover is a one-direction thing, they're still two separate entities. If it isn't mutually acknowledged, it isn't a shared universe. It's just one work including another in itself.

What copyright holders are involved doesn't matter. That's a meta-consideration, and doesn't affect what's actually in the works. It only has to do with problems regarding using other copyright holders' properties, but that's not about the continuity itself.

Off-topic, but how do people write those links like in OP that always end up not actually leading to the page itself and being completely useless? They just give a "File not found." page.

Edited by AnotherDuck on Aug 27th 2018 at 1:54:35 PM

I don't know. The weird thing is that the link on my second post works correctly, and I'm pretty sure I made it the same way.

I filed a report in Query Bugs.

Back on topic, I'd say some people have gotten over-enthusiastic in the Shared Universe examples, connecting shows that have minor Crossovers despite the page's warning not to do that. Most shared universes have one holder of all the copyrights, it's true, because that's the easiest way to keep the lawyers from ruining the fun. But it's not required.

Edited by HeraldAlberich on Aug 27th 2018 at 10:26:53 AM

That exact link bug is also happening on discussion pages, huh.

You don't need to re-file it; we know about it.