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BoltDMC Since: May, 2020
2020-11-07 14:41:27

Not sure if this parallels exactly, but Pack Street is considered a Zootopia fanfic even though none of the film's characters appear (there's mention of Bellwether as well as a few references to the concept of carnivores going feral, but that's it). It is stated to take place within the universe of the film, but other than a few minor details, it's pretty much its own thing.

Edited by BoltDMC
MichaelKatsuro Since: Apr, 2011
2020-11-07 14:41:47

Nobody could claim, truthfully, that Red vs. Blue is not a fan work.

Twiddler MOD (On A Trope Odyssey)
2020-11-07 16:16:59

For the purposes of sorting into trope example sections, RVB goes into Web Animation and not Fan Works, even though it is technically a fan work.

The line between original fiction and fanfiction can get very blurry, and the distinction itself is a modern concept based on copyright law. For example, practically all of Arthurian Legend is basically fanfic based on some earlier work(s)/legend(s). Paradise Lost? Bible fanfic. The Divine Comedy? Self insert Bible fanfic.

As to where we draw the line in general and how this affects example sorting, I'm not sure there's a blanket answer. If you define it by copyright law, then this results in a split in Land of Oz fanfic where the ones based on the public domain books are not considered fanfic and the ones based on the still copyrighted books are. Considering how the arbitrary the division between those categories is...

  • Grampa in Oz (1924) is public domain as of this year, while The Lost King of Oz (1925) is not, but it will be next year
  • some books published decades later are public domain simply because the publisher failed to renew the copyright
  • what if another copyright extension law is passed?

...a hypothetical rule sorting Land of Oz fic into Fanfic or Literature based on the copyright status of the specific source work(s) referenced... strikes me as incredibly silly.

Anyway, I'd say case-by-case consideration for edge cases is probably the way to go.

Edited by Twiddler
bwburke94 (Y2: Electric Boogaloo)
2020-11-07 16:47:10

^ Didn't we already go through the "copyright of specific source works" problem with Sherlock Holmes?

2025: the year it all ends?
Twiddler MOD (On A Trope Odyssey)
2020-11-07 17:08:39

IDK. I couldn't find any discussion to that effect. If you do, feel free to link it here.

rjd1922 Since: May, 2013
2020-11-07 18:46:24

^^I remember a discussion of whether Sherlock Holmes works count as fanfiction, but I don't remember where.

Edited by rjd1922 Keet cleanup
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