Fanmade Visual Novels

[Kuzlalala]

I was wondering if you're allowed to make fanmade visual novels, such as the one I'm making, though you still give the credit for the characters and the tv/manga/comic/anime/game you made based of. And I'm also curious if there's any other fanmade visual novel.

[pinkmouse]

I was wondering if you're allowed to make fanmade visual novels, such as the one I'm making, though you still give the credit for the characters and the tv/manga/comic/anime/game you made based of. And I'm also curious if there's any other fanmade visual novel.

You're not "allowed" to make fan novels or any other derivative work unless the copyright author has specifically given permission. For example, George Lucas has given permission for stories to be set in the Star Wars universe (subject to some rules that I won't go into here.)

That's the problem with making fan-works: you can put a whole lot of work (not to mention your heart and soul!) into making something and then not be allowed to share it. You get a C&D ("cease and desist") letter from the company's lawyers, and that's it; no appeal.

While there is nothing you can do that will give you the right to distribute your fan-work, there are a few things that will definitely get you in trouble.

1. Pretending it's the real thing (you're not going to do that, but for completeness)
2. Charging money for it (or asking for gifts or services)
3. Libelling real people, or being offensive (including racism etc, not just porn). Basically if you offend someone enough for them to complain to the copyright holder, you'll get jumped on.

Some companies (e.g. Disney) are known for being extremely aggressive in protecting their intellectual property, so forget it. Presumably if you're a fan then you'll already know if this is an issue. If you don't know then ask around on some fan sites, but try not to make a big fuss and get yourself noticed.

Hope that helped,

PM

[dstarsboy]

He's right, you're not allowed, but everyone does it. There's a gray area there where companies usually wont do anything to you unless your game is a megahit... although... it's hard to explain the hundreds of Hinata + Naruto YouTube videos getting a half a million hits and no one cares...

Also, I was part of a game mod community and we were making a mod that is based on Lord of the Rings... we used char designs and voices from the movies and people are all like "You can't do that! It's illegal! Make a Lord of the Rings game without that movie content!! AARRGGHHH" but.. uh... no one cares about the Tolken copyright, I guess? Just the movie one?

I ran a beer league hockey team called "The Killer Tomatoes" and got a cease and desist letter from the makers of the attack of the killer tomatoes movies. Lame.

I say, if it's free, just shut up and do it.

[Kuzlalala]

Thanks for answering. Based on what you people answer I will continue my project because I will put it on for free.

But I have a question:

Is the copyright rules for FanVN the same as the rules for doujinshi, too?

[pinkmouse]

Part of the issue is the difference in copyright laws in Japan and elsewhere.

In the 'States and the UK copyright holders are required to demonstrate that they have attempted to protect their intellectual property, or it becomes "common property" and they lose the rights. e.g. "Zip" was originally a commercial name but the company didn't prevent other companies referring to their "toothed closure systems" (or whatever the heck you'd call them) as zips, and so it became the generic name.

In Japan, I believe (IANAL etc) that this protection is either not required by their copyright law, or there is a cultural consensus that it is not necessary.

I believe that "western" companies, seeing the difference between the vibrant Japanese manga and animation industries and the weaker ones stateside may be coming to realize that aggressive protection of intellectual property causes long-term damage to a creative industry.

Consequently some companies are cautiously adopting a less aggressive stance. However they're aware that with the law as it stands, they could be making themselves commercially vulnerable. This is why they're "maintaining deniability" (as it's known in some of the shadier areas of government.)

So the grey area that western fan-made works currently occupy is the result of changing attitudes. This is why there is no hard and fast rule and what is permitted one day may be forbidden the next.

[Kuzlalala]

So is it alright to make a visual novel based on a canon, but doesn't use anything made by the company who made the canon?

[Shiiro]

I think it's okay to make this kind of VN and sell them to the public, as long as you credit the real creator of said story. It's just like a doujinshi, right? I'm sure everyone understands this.

So is it alright to make a visual novel based on a canon, but doesn't use anything made by the company who made the canon?

I guess it's up to you. Just as long you don't claim the characters yours.

[papillon]

I think it's okay to make this kind of VN and sell them to the public, as long as you credit the real creator of said story. It's just like a doujinshi, right? I'm sure everyone understands this.

Maybe in Malaysia that's the case! Absolutely NOT in the USA, Europe, etc.

It doesn't matter if you claim the characters are yours or not. You still can't use someone else's stuff without permission.

As for being 'inspired by' without using any of the actual content... Yes and no. If it's too similar they might still hassle you. (recall White Wolf suing the makers of the Underworld movie for being 'too similar' to a short story set in their RPG universe) They might not win in court though. And if you're not hugely popular and you're only vaguely based on their canon it's probably not worth their effort.

[Kuzlalala]

Now I'm confused. So does it mean I'm not allowed to make a fan-made visual novel?

And I seem to find a Suzumiya Haruhi based visual novel at the internet. Do you think that visual novel had ruined the copyright?

[Vatina]

Yes, that game is against copyright. As everyone has said here, you're not allowed unless the holder of copyright/creator says you are. But doing it doesn't necessarily get you into trouble. (And getting the rights would usually cost money).

It's like if I made a character/hold copyright over something, and you decided to use it. Are you allowed to? Not until I tell you to, right?
(Yes that's made really simple, but just trying to get the point across).

I hear that the creator of Higurashi, for instance, allows fanworks.

[killdream]

Yep, most japanese VN companies allows fanworks (and even allows doujins to be sold and so). But Square/Enix(+Eidos, now) is a company known to explore the max of a work, and they already killed a Chrono Trigger fanwork, so...

By all means, if you're not allowed to do a fanwork based of a copyrighted material, unless the copyright holder allows you to. But peoples make fanworks even so. Anyways, the copyright holder can stop your project at any time and make all your efforts a waste. If they'll do or not depends on the fanwork. If it gets attention, infringe something, goes against the politics of the company, whatever, they're more likely to sue you.

[V2Blast]

Technically, you're not allowed to use their intellectual properties, but if you're just some random person who's making a fairly small game (and creating your own content as opposed to - for example - taking the voices from a LOTR movie and using them in your game mod, as dstarsboy did) and releasing it for free, hopefully the company would not care. They might be able to take legal action against you, but it's really up to them.

[Kuzlalala]

Ok maybe I'll just discontinue my VN for a while.

[x__sinister is too lazy to log in]

I can only speak for the US, but the general consensus is that you can make fan-made works under the following conditions:
1) You need a disclaimer.
2) You may absolutely not make a profit from them.
3) Your work must be your own.

A disclaimer is a note at the beginning of your piece stating that you do not own the original content of which your piece is derived. A formal example:

"This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended."

All in all, I say go for it. There's probably tons of fan-made works on fanfiction.net and if they can do it, you can do it. But, just know that if the original owners want you to take it down, you need to do it. There are also some authors who have specifically stated that they don't want fan-works derived from their own published works (like Anne Rice). So, do your research, and put a disclaimer.

[papillon]

the general consensus

... which is not the same thing as the law, and that needs emphasizing.