Comments on: Fandignance – Harry Potter http://www.elegantmess.net/snap/2008/04/15/fandignance/ no, really, there are some comics you really should read Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:58:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: Andrew http://www.elegantmess.net/snap/2008/04/15/fandignance/comment-page-1/#comment-192169 Andrew Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:07:09 +0000 http://www.elegantmess.net/snap/?p=312#comment-192169 Cliff's Notes. I guess a lot of them are on stuff like Shakespeare that's probably hella public domain. I don't know. I'll bet the guides to things like Narnia and Buffy had to go through C.S. Lewis's estate or whoever has the rights to Buffy. The problem with making a book and putting it up for free is, it costs really money to print books, and people who can get things for free without paying are more numerous than the people who'd actually pay on the honour system. Cliff’s Notes. I guess a lot of them are on stuff like Shakespeare that’s probably hella public domain. I don’t know.

I’ll bet the guides to things like Narnia and Buffy had to go through C.S. Lewis’s estate or whoever has the rights to Buffy.

The problem with making a book and putting it up for free is, it costs really money to print books, and people who can get things for free without paying are more numerous than the people who’d actually pay on the honour system.

]]> By: Vincent J. Murphy http://www.elegantmess.net/snap/2008/04/15/fandignance/comment-page-1/#comment-192121 Vincent J. Murphy Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:47:48 +0000 http://www.elegantmess.net/snap/?p=312#comment-192121 Writing guides to other famous works is normal, though: there are guides to Narnia, guides to Buffy, etc. I haven't seen the content of this book, but it is definitely okay to write a book that's a guide to another set of books. You just can't copy verbatim from the original work (you can, though, quote from them and use the information in them to create timelines, etc). Now, if the guy's book is just taken verbatim from the novels, that's another matter and is clearly not cool. Writing guides to other famous works is normal, though: there are guides to Narnia, guides to Buffy, etc. I haven’t seen the content of this book, but it is definitely okay to write a book that’s a guide to another set of books. You just can’t copy verbatim from the original work (you can, though, quote from them and use the information in them to create timelines, etc).

Now, if the guy’s book is just taken verbatim from the novels, that’s another matter and is clearly not cool.

]]> By: Nick http://www.elegantmess.net/snap/2008/04/15/fandignance/comment-page-1/#comment-192076 Nick Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:06:08 +0000 http://www.elegantmess.net/snap/?p=312#comment-192076 The bonehead should have just made the book and then put it for free on the website, having a donate button if people felt that it was good enough to merit money. Splitting the money with any other contributors to said book. Unofficial guides and encyclopedias are done all the time, it's just in how you do it is all. The publisher should take at least half the blame here too because when the guy was iffy on making this book, worrying about copyright violations, the publisher said it wouldn't be a problem. The bonehead should have just made the book and then put it for free on the website, having a donate button if people felt that it was good enough to merit money. Splitting the money with any other contributors to said book.

Unofficial guides and encyclopedias are done all the time, it’s just in how you do it is all.

The publisher should take at least half the blame here too because when the guy was iffy on making this book, worrying about copyright violations, the publisher said it wouldn’t be a problem.

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