Tie-ins are not copyright infringement because they are done with the license of the copyright holder. Dracula is a special case, due to Florence Stoker's actions after Bram's death. Had she not chosen the course of action she did, anyone using Dracula today as a character would have to have the written permission from, and appropriate acknowledgement and payment to Stoker's heirs, because although the novel Dracula is in public domain and may be reprinted as written without permission, the characters remains the property of the heirs as long as there are heirs to claim them. When Bill Fawcett and I did the Mycroft Holmes mysteries for Tor, we had the permission of the Doyle estate, with appropriate acknowledgment and payment to Dame Jean Doyle. The alternative would have been a lawsuit for infringement.
Should we set much higher standards for originality and respecting the integrity of all existing work?
Absolutely. On those unhappy occasion when a fan sends me his or her suggestion for a Saint-Germain story, I always tell them that now I can't use that period in that context ever, since the claim could be made that the idea was not original with me.
I have not met a writer who permitted derivative fiction who didn't in time have significant difficulties because of it.
Do the fanfic writers have a point when they argue that even Shakespeare's plays are derivative?
And there were no copyright laws in Elizabethan England.
Where do we draw the line, and how can we encourage young authors to use their own imaginations?
I wish I knew.
Cory Doctorow is one of a group of writers who argue that fiction should be "open source," and even given away wholly free of charge to readers. What is your response to this idea?
In this culture, we value what we pay for, and that which is free is also generally perceived as worthless. There was a time when a storyteller would be given lodging and food for telling stories for nothing (although tips were always a possibility), but that was in a largely barter economy. Today, like it or not, we use money to show value, and this is true for telling stories, too. I, like all writers, have bills to pay, and AT&T won't take a novelette for my DSL bill. My grocery store doesn't accept novellas for a week's worth of food. Therefore, as a full-time professional who is self-supporting, a job I've had for forty years, I'm not in a position to give my work away gratis, and I think it unreasonable to expect me to do so.
Article comments
1 - Mayra Calvani
Great interview! Thanks for sharing!