http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c920 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:35:15 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c920 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c917 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:35:08 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c917 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c909 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:33:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c909
Fair use butthurts copyright maniacs. And no, this could be out of fair use - but you refuse to even countenance it unless it's you 'infringing'.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c364 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:31:56 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c364 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c893 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:30:53 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c893
Of course, some lorem ipsum might be safer, if less good as an illustration, especially if your point is precisely "we can generate this for 1% of the resources, why are you paying those cowboys?".

And I'll sympathise more with papers the day they pay people who feature in their stories for the stories they write. (Which of course would be wrong in many cases.)]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c191 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:25:43 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c191
Star Wars (unlike Star Trek) kept a tighter control on continuity and used already-published authors.
Trek (primarily Pocket Books) used fanfic writers and stated that, except for adaptations of movies & TV episodes, the stories weren't canonical.
Pity since some authors, like comics scribe Peter David, did first-rate material that deserves to be part of the overall Trek Universes (Yes, it's plural).]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c189 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:24:59 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c189
If it was instead a license or something similar, where Amazon was legally allowed to act as seller, but the author still retained all other rights over the story, I wouldn't consider that too bad of a deal, it's just as-is writers would basically be handing over the rights to their works for nothing more than the potential of profit in the future.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c180 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:24:46 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c180 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sara-sheridan/writers-earnings-cultural-myth_b_3136859.html

Your argument is invalid.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/03160923172/chinese-hacks-google-database-surveillance-targets-highlight-how-dumb-technology-backdoors-are.shtml#c286 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:24:16 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/03160923172/chinese-hacks-google-database-surveillance-targets-highlight-how-dumb-technology-backdoors-are.shtml#c286
"Do you want to play a game?"]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1991 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:20:13 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1991
We could just as equally say "calling the cops and making harmless fun an arrestable offence is just the kind of overreach that content controllors and copywrong maximalists and patent trolls buy laws for".]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c158 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:20:12 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c158
Quite frankly, a good 3/4 of Star Trek novels are just fanfic with the "naughty bits" expunged.
Yet they sell.

(Star Wars has a better track record of using profesional authors and maintaining continuity.)]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1982 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:17:15 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130519/18102623141/so-its-come-to-this-seven-high-school-students-arrested-throwing-water-balloons.shtml#c1982
Yes people go too far with political correctness. But there is still so far to go. It's just getting the balance right.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c154 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:15:29 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c154
As usual, ass with no brain, you're wrong.
The writers are writing the stories simnply for the love of the series/movie, without thought of profit (as hard as it is for a copyright maximalist like you to believe).
Amazon has simply come up with a way for the studios and writers to make money!

"Perhaps they are a facilitator for the moment, but that will likely turn to greed if one of the works gets developed into an actual TV episode or movie."

The licensors (tv/movie studios) control the rights, so even if one of these fanfic stories prove good enough to adapt into an episode or film, the studio, not Amazon makes the money on it.
Amazon only makes money on copies of the stories sold through it.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c152 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:14:46 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c152
While existing copyright holders "don't mind [free fan fiction] (with a few notable exceptions) as long as nothing is being sold" I suspect Amazon will.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130506/10364522962/eric-schmidt-still-fan-figuring-out-way-to-erase-past.shtml#c348 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:12:49 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130506/10364522962/eric-schmidt-still-fan-figuring-out-way-to-erase-past.shtml#c348
The challenge is to transform this desire to workable procedures and laws. You don't necessarily need a "right to be forgotten" for a basic implementation of this. However, you do need cooperation of commercial and noncommercial parties that collect or buy your information, with or without laws to facilitate it.

Without laws, you need alternative incentives for these commercial and noncommercial parties. Reputation (naming & shaming) can work for big brands.

Such initiative, even with big leaking holes and only covering (say) 70%, would be a big improvement over the current situation. It would also provide a learnings how to further improvement.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c147 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:12:14 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c147
And then they can have their own team of authors write anything they want utilizing those characters. They could theoretically spin the entire control of that specific universe.

They get the rights to use X-Files characters. They publish fanfics. Two months later they drop out 50 full sized X-Files novels. Profit (provided X-Files are still relevant, but replace with, uhhh, anything else).]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/17321623162/released-video-silva-beating-shows-his-last-moments-video-actual-beating-still-missing.shtml#c777 Thu, 23 May 2013 04:58:01 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/17321623162/released-video-silva-beating-shows-his-last-moments-video-actual-beating-still-missing.shtml#c777 the sherriff says he's seen them.
I don't think you've been paying close attention.

Sheriff Youngblood was referring to the black-and-white security video taken by a camera near the corner of Palm Drive and Flower Street in East Bakersfield.

That video has already been published. You can view that video, among other places, embedded in the KERO 23ABC News story,]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c136 Thu, 23 May 2013 04:57:56 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c136
Not really. It's better than the offer they currently have (zero income, and if you try you'll probably be shut down and/or sued). Writers always have the option of altering the story to remove references to other works if they wish to publish without this protection for higher cuts. True, the cut could be higher, but we don't know how much of that 65% is being demanded by the copyright holders or how much behind the scenes work is actually involved to guarantee compliance (all work done on the author's behalf for no up front charge).

I agree with your second point, but what's the alternative, really? Without this move, fan fic languishes in an area where the author can't profit, and any attempt to shut down freebies is bound to backfire on the copyright holders in some way.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c127 Thu, 23 May 2013 04:49:47 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c127
So, rather than "pure" fan fiction, you'll get something that's more like a standard authorised novel. That is, you'll probably get something approaching a novel based on the universe you'd buy in the shops anyway, with the advantage of ideas coming from random authors rather than pre-approved commissioned authors who may or may not have any passion for the original material. It may also be more likely for a current show to take the direction suggested by fan fiction if it's officially licensed and published - giving fans a way to direct the show in the way they prefer.

So, if the quality of the paid work is higher, or even leads to new material in the canonical world of the original then it's definitely better than the free stuff. If not, well, there's nothing that can stop true fans from writing and sharing what they wish.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c105 Thu, 23 May 2013 04:47:59 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/11301723178/amazon-wants-to-sell-fan-fiction-with-it-originator-fanfic-author-all-sharing-profits.shtml#c105
Amazon isn't doing anyone any favours, save, perhaps, minimizing the risk of a lawsuit.

Amazon's "service" would be redundant if there were clear exceptions for derivative works in copyright.

Alas, there aren't, so we must continue to pretend that art and science must be created in a vacuum to be of any value.]]>