On Tue, 14 Feb 1995, Shawn Wolski wrote:
> I forgot to ask about this in my last post. I was wondering
> if there were any legal matters involved for creating a Sonic
> story (besides the obvious "Trademark of...Based on charac-
> ters from", etc.) I've got a story that wants to come out, but
> I want to check on what the legal requirements (if any) are.
>
> Shawn Wolski, N5UNA
You know, a friend of mine has always said that nothing is illegal until
someone complains.
Actually, as a veteran writer of stories using other people's characters,
particularly of Sonic stories, I know that there are two basic rules you
must follow when you're going to post such stories publicly.
(1) You MUST acknoledge the fact that parts of the story (i.e. characters,
plots, etc.) are borrowed from someone else. Preferably at the beginning
of the story.
(2) You MUST NOT ask for nor accept any type of compensation for your
story (i.e. money, cash, etc). If you do, the original authors will
almost surly get ticked off at you for making a profit at their expense.
One other thing, even though you use someone else's characters, it's
important to place a copyright notice in your story that identifies you
as the original author of that particular work. That way, if SEGA or
whoever reads your story and likes it and wants to turn it into a movie,
they'll pay whoever can prove that the story is their's. A copyright
notice will help.
If you would like some examples, please feel free to read one of my
stories which are available at either of the sites listed in my signature.
If you don't have access to FTP or WWW, let me know and I'll mail you one
or two.
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ZAPHOD:"I'm a pretty dangerous dude when I'm cornered."
FORD:"Yeah, you go to pieces so fast people get hit by the schrapnel."
--The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series
David M. Pistone -- rotor_at_primenet.com __ __ ____ ___ ___ ____
ftp.primenet.com/users/r/rotor /__)/__) / / / / /_ /\ / /_ /
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Received on Tue Feb 14 1995 - 18:34:09 PST