Help: Will LuLu allow me to publish fanfiction?

[(anon)]

For my sister's Christmas present this year I am writing a Harry Potter fanfiction and I would like to get it bound into an actual book if possible. All I want is the one book for personal use.

So my questions are:

1)Does LuLu allow you to make/purchase one book at a time?
2)Will it violate the copyright laws for LuLu to publish and sell that book to me, since it uses characters and situations from Harry Potter?

If that's the case, does anybody know a way I could have this book made without violating any laws? I would really, really like for this to happen. I want this to be a special gift, and I feel like just throwing it into a binder wouldn't be the same. Please let me know if you have any advice.

Thank you!

[Carol_Housel]

Yes, Lulu allows you to purchase and create one book at a time.

No, Fan Fic is prohibited.

http://www.lulu.com/en/help/can_I_publish_fanfic

Quote:

Lulu does not allow fan fiction.
Fan fiction, also known as "FanFic," is any work based on another creator's story, idea, or character. Lulu is a strong supporter of copyrights and does not allow fan fiction because FanFic authors generally do not have permission from the original author. The Stanford Center for Internet & Society maintains a FanFic FAQ that explains many of the copyright and trademark issues surrounding Fan Fiction.

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[(anon)]

I saw that, but I wasn't sure if the fact that I'm not intending to sell it would make a difference. Anyway, thanks, I guess I'll have to figure out something else.

[(anon)]

If anyone can think of any way/where to get this book made without it being illegal, please let me know.

[Belinda D'Alessandro · Accepted solution]

No, the intention not to sell does not matter. Even printing makes it a violation of someone else's copyright. Just writing it is a violation of someone else's copyright.

The only way to make it "legal" is to have J.K. Rowling's written permission to write the story using her characters and that she gives you the right to use her copyrighted material.

[Keith Dixon]

What if one were to write a Harvard Lampoon type thing, like their 'Bored of the Rings'?

Could you use similar names and institutions? 'Hairy Porter and the Poisoner of Ajarofjam', anyone?

[veinglory]

Satire falls under fair use.

[uvsar]

"veinglory" wrote:

Satire falls under fair use.

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ONLY in certain jurisdictions and ONLY within a very narrow definition - and as Lulu operates globally, it's prohibited just the same as any other type of FanFic. A document may be legal to print in Texas, and legal for you to write in China, but the act of sending it to Lulu's network means it passes through places where it's not. Something (seemingly) stupid like an off-site backup of their server can push a document across jurisdictional boundaries, and they have no intention of being responsible for territorial rights on a per-document level.

The characterization of the HP novels is protected independently of the copyright on the novels; so putting them in a different storyline, or changing one letter of a name whilst it remains obvious who you're talking about, is an infringement of those held rights and we all know it's resulted in JKR launching prosecutions in the past.

[Julie Ann Dawson]

"Cassandra Kingsbury" wrote:

For my sister's Christmas present this year I am writing a Harry Potter fanfiction and I would like to get it bound into an actual book if possible. All I want is the one book for personal use.

So my questions are:

1)Does LuLu allow you to make/purchase one book at a time?
2)Will it violate the copyright laws for LuLu to publish and sell that book to me, since it uses characters and situations from Harry Potter?

If that's the case, does anybody know a way I could have this book made without violating any laws? I would really, really like for this to happen. I want this to be a special gift, and I feel like just throwing it into a binder wouldn't be the same. Please let me know if you have any advice.

Thank you!

--


You can always contact the author and tell her what you just said here. Your sister is a huge fan and for Christmas you wanted to give her a book. The worst she will say is "no." The best thing she can say is "yes" and maybe even give a little note to your sister.

Rowling has been known to be supportive of fan fiction (so long as you weren't trying to profit from it.) There is no risk in asking permission.

Otherwise, copyright law is far to complex to ask for legal advice in a forum. If you follow advice here and it is wrong, you get no legal protection. You can't say "but veinglory said..." and expect a judge to say "well, OK, it's not your fault."

[TheresaMMoore]

If you intend to give the book as bound to your sister, you must publish it as a "private" project, not put it on the Lulu marketplace and then remove the book files once you have published it. One copy of anything does not constitute an issue. It's like having a print assemble the book for you as a one-shot. But if you try to print multiple copies you may have a problem.