Unfortunately though, once an author sells the copyright to their work to a publisher, it is no longer solely theirs and the rights they have to their own work will depend on the contract. The company/publisher have rights to the work too, and in some cases the author may end up losing the rights entirely to the company/publisher. Say, an author of a popular series decided that they didn't want to keep writing the series anymore for whatever reason, but the publisher wants the series to keep going; they may have the "right" to find someone else to ghostwrite the series and the original creator would have no way to fight it because the work is technically the property of the publisher.
That is also a factor, and it has spawned a good amount of lawsuits in American comic-book industry since it used to be customary business practice during decades. Up to late sixties, writers and artists were work-for-hire: they were paid for their work, but the company owned all they created. And NO ONE thought absolutely nothing of it, since as far as they were concerned, they were producing disposable rags for little kids would throw them away after reading them.
However, Marvel changed that in the sixties. Before then, the reading population outgrew and quit comic-books after a few years and were replaced by the next generation of children. Marvel Comics created a public genuinely NEEDED knowing what would happen to their heroes/heroines in the next issue, so they stuck around. That led to both positive and negative consequences (IMO, a negative consequence of readers growing up was that they demanded their comic-books "grew up" with them instead of accepting they were made for another kind of public and appreciate them for that they were or quit them. Thus, kid-oriented comic-books began to be filled with -often awfully-written- dark stuff or/and political and social issues... a. k. a., the writer trying to shoving his/her ideological agenda down the readers' throats. And adult entertainment began to corner and canibalize child entertainment).
A consecuence of that was the next: Nobody cared for original art work before then. It was given as gifts or cast in the trash bin (Harold Foster's Prince Valiant original pages were used for covering floors in rainy days). But then a bunch of older fans loved those comics and were willing pay cash for those pages showed up. Then creators thought "Hey, maybe this stuff is worth of money. I want it back!" and in turn publishers thought "Yes, ri- Wait a minute, we had agreed your work belonged to us! If we returned these pages it may imply that is not the case!".
Cue disputes between creators and publishers.
People often complains Siegel and Shuster (Superman's creators) being ripped off by DC, and Jack Kirby (co-creator of Fantastic Four, Thor, The Avengers...), Steve Ditko (co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange) and other creators were shafted by Marvel, and often accuse -wrongly- Stan Lee of stealing credit and cheating Kirby and Ditko (in spite of he did nothing of the sorts). However they were adults when they signed their contracts, they understood the terms and that that was the norm in the time, and they were paid duly according their contracts.
Unfair? Maybe. Marvel has made a vast amount of profit from their work. However their situation is completely legal. And it hardly seems fair they turn back on their words only because they could not have guessed those funny books they created -and did not care for- would be worth milions after several decades.
Jim Shooter started writing comic-books when he was fourteen. On the back of his paychecks was always written "We own everything". Paraphrasing his own words "I perfectly understood the terms when I was fourteen. I do not believe an adult did not get them."
In Japanese comic-books it is different because usually a creator is owner of his work. However there has been some bitter disputes. Go Nagai stopped working with Toei due to several disagreements (they created a Harenchi Gakuen anime and did not pay him. Likewise they did not credit him with the mecha designs for Gaiking in order to not pay him. And their legal fights are the reason is hard to release Mazinger-Z or Grendizer DVDs out of Japan). And the creators of shojo manga Candy Candy have kept a terrible legal fight.
I agree that something like the subject of allowing fanworks to be published on fansites should be up to the original creator to decide, and authors do have the right to ban fans from using their work now. FF.net isn't allowed to publish anything based off Ann Rice works for example, and there are others too. If a writer doesn't want their story and characters being used in derivative works by fans, that is totally understandable, but it shouldn't be banned entirely and made into a criminal offense. That is just ridiculous.
I agree.
I also think that what they are attempting to do is violating Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression, both of which are protected by the Constitution and by extent, the Bill of Rights. Plus I think that with them doing this behind the public's back, I think it might be like vigilantism, which is AGAINST THE LAW!!!!!!!!!!!!
We would have to ask Nate because I am not fully sure, but I do not think that works like you think it does. If they are exercising their rights and freedoms in a way harms other people's rights and freedoms, a judge can rule out against that.
And I am quite sure that is not vigilantism.
Nate, if you are reading this -and you are not too busy-, please, can we have your input?
Edited by Jenskott, 19 March 2014 - 02:30 PM.