Litterär stöld eller återupplivad berättartradition? Fanfiction ur ett moraliskt och juridiskt perspektiv

Abstract

The growth of the Internet has made publishing fan-made works based on copyrighted material cheaper and easier, while at the same time making them accessible to a larger audience than ever before. This, in turn, has encouraged more fans to try their hand at writing fan fiction. The copyright holders (or at least some of them), on the other hand, are less than thrilled. However, whether the fans' activities are actually against the law is a matter of debate and the copyright holders' measures against them sometimes target works which are actually allowed in the eyes of the law. This work deals with fan fiction from a legal and moral point of view. Are fan fictions copyright violations or are the copyright holders just being petty and unreasonable by opposing non-commercial use of their property? Is it possible to regulate this matter in a way satisfactory to both sides - allowing the fans to write and publish while protecting the copyright holders' rights? Are legal sanctions against fan fiction useful or maybe more harmful to the copyright holder than to the fan fiction writer, as the former risks alienating his fans by taking measures against their activities? Is the self-regulation within the different groups of fan fiction writers sufficient to protect the author's right not to have his work distorted? Many of these questions cannot be answered clearly, as every case must be decided on separately. At present it appears that the best solution is to leave the situation as it is, however inefficient that may be.