INTRODUCTION
Remember the time when you were a kid sipping a cup of tea with biscuits on the other hand in front of the television screen watching a cartoon where your favourite character said you goodbye as that’s the last episode of your favourite cartoon you imagine what if there was a different alternate plot which could have made it continued. Bringing this thought and working upon it upon your sketchbook with such a short story is what spin-offs are similar to.
Unofficial animated productions with sideline stories and the implementation of different theories and plot twists by enthusiastic fans are what fan-made anime spin-offs are all about. Fan base works on official characters and storylines from manga, anime, comics, and cartoons without any authorisation from the official creators and can be found over various online platforms and fan art communities.
But though it sounds very catchy and exciting, such fanbase creators might be liable with legal implications if they do not adhere to strict guidelines that are set in national and international platforms, so before we fasten our seatbelts with cola and popcorns to watch such fan-made anime spin-offs let us delve into various legal consequences and duties that lies upon us that must be checked prior such productions.
THE LEGAL BOUNDARIES FOR FAN CREATION
Though it is really interesting and captivating that the idea of making your version of stories of the superheroes opens up different sets of the universe, the question lies ahead: is it legally feasible to do so, and does it breach the legal framework under the Intellectual Property Rights? To which the answer is “Yes, it does so”. The original creators are vested with several rights upon copyright law, which are exclusively granted to them, such as reproduction, distribution, performance, display, and transmission, as well as the right to produce derivative works. Also, such fanfiction may give rise to huge penalties and impose fines for infringements of exclusive rights related to not only copyright but also trademarks.
It is not that, however, all the authors and original creators sue fan fiction creators all the time, rather, many of them do support them and enjoy the fandom fan fiction as it is very flattering and thus helps them market the original work. However, there is a thin line that is something to be kept in preview prior to publishing such work and also, there is no denying that even such fandoms are vested with some rights that might help protect their work.
INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL COPYRIGHT REGULATIONS
Fan fiction works fall under the domain of what is known as derivative works and it has been upheld in various international Judgements for example, Anderson v Stallone lays down that derivative work created without any authorisation is not protected by the copyright act under the US. However, in Japan, there lies a huge backdrop with regards to fanfiction, which is represented by what is mentioned as doujinshi, which means fans pick up characters and story arcs and recreate them with different plots and elements, though various provisions of Copyright law do Protect the original authors and production house rights it is the original artist who considers such works are good for capitalising such doujinshi work enhancing their publicity and popularity.
When we delve into the realm of copyright, the most logical defence mechanism that exists is what the defence of fair use is and thus, this doctrine provides protection to creative and innovative work and establishes a framework that sets strict copyright rules. Various provisions under the US Copyright Act 1976 lay down rules and regulations that revolve around fan fiction that includes exclusive rights over reproduction, distribution, and derivative works. Granting copyright owners exclusive rights over reproduction, distribution, and derivative works are mentioned under Section 106, the fair use defence mechanisms are vested under Section 107 and Section 501 lays down the provisions to take legal action against infringement under derivative works under the US Copyright Act 1976.
Even in India, the concept of fair dealing does exist and the Copyright Act of 1957 under Section 52 provides such provision. Under section 14, the copyright owners are vested with the rights to reproduce, issue copies, perform, and make translations or adaptations of such works. Section 15 exclusively talks about the derivative works and section 63 lays down the provisions addressing the copyright infringement against unauthorised reproduction or distribution of work.
CASE LAWS
The landmark case of Eastern Book Company v D.B. Modak established the doctrine of Modicum of Creativity, which laid down any work as protectable under the copyright law, it wouldn’t suffice if something is original or novel, that is a small amount of creative work to additions also can be sought protection upon. Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v Nintendo of America, Inc., it was held that changing of features. The Nintendo player was of fair use as it would help to develop the market by adding value. In R.G. Anand v Delux Films, a laydown landmark judgment and it was held that an idea or plot cannot form a part of the copyright; however, they are subjected to presentation. The judgment of Star India Pvt. Ltd. v Leo Burnett set a precedent for the interpretation of copyright law in India, particularly in regard to advertising copy and jingles.
RIGHTS OF FAN FICTION CREATORS
The original creators do enjoy exclusive copyrights over their original works, but at the end of the day, it is we fans who keep the show going and thus, the fan fiction creators, too, enjoy few rights. The creators enjoy copyright for the new characters that they do introduce, but they have to satisfy the test, which is known as the ‘Character Delineation Test’, under which the development and implementation of such characters would be seen to see whether such characters are copyrightable or not. Also, since plagiarism is something that is not related to copyright, fanfiction characters can be plagiarised, but however, when it comes to the legal realm, such work cannot be taken advantage of for filing lawsuits. The most common defence that exists under this realm that the creators opt for is saying they do not generate financial benefits out of it but do create as inspiration and passion, which lay down as non-commercial activity. Other such elements include the doctrine of fair use, substantial transformation of original work by the introduction of separate storylines and characters, satire and parody versions are often regarded as more lenient, uses in de minimis, and also stating that the fanfiction in any way is not derogatory to the original authors work.
CONCLUSION
With the emergence of technology, it has been very easy in today’s era to express oneself, and fan spin-offs are among those where fan show their enthusiasm towards the original work and thus that motivates the fandom to ink their thoughts creatively. Though many original creators enjoy the thrill of fan-made spinoffs and rather see it as a mode of publicity, it is not that if there is one original content and characters used by the fan base creators, they do not entirely leftovers from seeking copyright, but there are such creators who take it negatively, and thus such fans may be liable under legal consequences; therefore, they must be careful as it may lead to copyright infringement and may be liable to pay huge amount of penalties for breach of original artist’s right.
Author(s) Name: Akash Sharma (Goalpara Law College, Guwahati University)
