kagome26isawsome

@Deadman Keep it separate… fanfiction remains free, can even be a bit of a teaser to originals.  A monthly fee to the original content is your call.

Fanfiction is enough in that gray shakey legal area, where some people do argue fair-use, charging angers most authors.  JKR’s famously gave an approving nod to Harry Potter fanfiction so long as it was not-for-money. 

@Desiderius Price Exactly, whereas the late Anne Rice had a firm of lawyers who hunted down anyone who dared write fan fiction using her property. She wasn’t above personal harassment, either. Her estate has not changed that stance, either, so anyone thinking that her passing means her work is fair game might think again.

And then there’s public domain, which is probably the least understood concept among fiction archives. 

@Deadman Unless you’re wanting to make court proceedings your pasttime, it’s way easier to avoid the legal hassles than it is to try to make a buck with fanfiction.

By its nature, fanfiction is a derivative work, and is 99.9999% of the time unauthorized (so, you can try to contact the all rights holder, ask them to sign a contract giving you permission to monetize likely in exchange for a big-cut/fee).  IF all IP rights are in the public domain, then you may be in the free and clear.  In either case, you’d want a copyright lawyer on call to cover your arse, and be prepared for an expensive fight.

A lot of fanfic writers claim “fair use” … one test is whether the use is being done commercially or non-profit educational.  But “fair use” is technically a defense used in court, you’ve already paid for a lawyer at this point.  And a hazard is that a court rules that fanfiction is *NOT* fair use at all, ever; not to mention other conditions that could arise.  Take Star Trek, after a big fanfic film involved lawsuit, CBS released some “guidelines” on fanfic films, restricting them to 15 minutes or less (no sequels), among other restraints – there went that fanfic studio’s dream of releasing a movie-length fanfic film.

Bottom line, serious threats loom once you monetize fanfiction.  It’s simply better to avoid it, make your money in original fiction instead.