Redwall Fan Movie (and about copyright)

[Shadowed One]

Since it is actually more for personal enjoyment than any other reason I am making it, it is a FAN FILM. Also, I will not publicize it anymore. Only cast and crew etc. can watch it.

[LordTBT]

Since it is actually more for personal enjoyment than any other reason I am making it, it is a FAN FILM. Also, I will not publicize it anymore. Only cast and crew etc. can watch it.

And that means nothing. It's still 100% illegal. Please familiarize yourself with the meaning of copyright, intellectual property, and copyright laws.

[Shadowed One]

ATTENTION: THIS PROJECT HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN PUT ON HOLD UNTIL EITHER WE GET THE RIGHTS TO DO IT, OR SOMEONE FROM THE REDWALL ABBEY COMPANY GIVES US PERMISSION TO MAKE IT AS A FAN FILM.

[Romsca]

Since it is actually more for personal enjoyment than any other reason I am making it, it is a FAN FILM. Also, I will not publicize it anymore. Only cast and crew etc. can watch it.

And that means nothing. It's still 100% illegal. Please familiarize yourself with the meaning of copyright, intellectual property, and copyright laws.

Is it illegal to write a fanfic then?? Oh-- and is a PowerPoint presentation "movie" (using custom animation) illegal? Because I made one a few years ago based on Pearls of Lutra

[Shadowed One]

I doubt it, you know how many fanfilms are posted on YouTube? I mean, they don't have legal rights to do it, either, which is why I don't understand why I cannot make a fanfilm if I don't even publicly release it.

[LordTBT]

ATTENTION: THIS PROJECT HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN PUT ON HOLD UNTIL EITHER WE GET THE RIGHTS TO DO IT, OR SOMEONE FROM THE REDWALL ABBEY COMPANY GIVES US PERMISSION TO MAKE IT AS A FAN FILM.

You won't get the permission. A group tried to do the exact same thing you're doing with Mossflower relatively recently and were denied. The rights were sold to another party, and they can sue you. I'm trying to help you here.

Is it illegal to write a fanfic then??

It's a subject up for debate. Really depends on the author. For Redwall, it's seemingly ok. For further reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_with_fan_fiction

why I don't understand why I cannot make a fanfilm if I don't even publicly release it.

Because you have no legal right to make that film, let alone write a screenplay for it. It is someone else's intellectual property. It is not legal for me to make my own Star Wars movie. You do not have a right to just make movies off of copyrighted works.

Hope this helps.

http://www.newmediarights.org/business_models/artist/can_i_write_screenplay_based_book_i_didn%E2%80%99t_write

[Shadowed One]

Ok thanks for the advice. By the way, what company were the rights sold to?

[LordTBT]

Ok thanks for the advice. By the way, what company were the rights sold to?

The Miller brothers.

[Shadowed One]

Ok thanks.

[Romsca]

If we write a book and want to sell it, can we send it to the Jacques family for approval?

[LordTBT]

If we write a book and want to sell it, can we send it to the Jacques family for approval?

If you write a Redwall book and want to sell it? You won't get the legal permission to do that. I'd suggest working on original ideas.

[Romsca]

Well, then how did all of the Starwars books get approved?

[Shadowed One]

George Lucas approved them.

[Free Thought]

Yes, copyright laws are quite strict.

I heard that the Mossflower movie was cancelled which is too bad; they had put a lot of work into it and the sketches/draft boards were quite good.  But ya, just be careful Shadowed One- it's not really worth a lawsuit...

As far as fanfiction... like previously posted, it is a bit of a gray area.  Most FanFiction websites have lists of authors who allow works to be written about their series and those who forbid it.  Surprisingly, there are not many who actually go the second route.  I suppose most take it as a compliment really that others have thought that much into their works that they would want to recreate their world so to speak.  Most fanfics are just spin-offs and answers to "what-ifs" anyway; it's not like someone takes a book and rewrites the entire thing, which is why fanfics are allow to exist.

Now, writing a book and having it published under the series is/would be difficult, though not entirely impossible (in general terms and not specific to the Redwall series here).  A normal sequence would be to have a polished manuscript sent to a literary agent who, upon reading and deeming it worthy enough, would then make the appropriate connections for you.  Fingers and toes crossed, you would be successful, but not usually.  Most authors do hold their works as dear to them as a dragon covets gold, so they are quite hard to crack, but it does happen. 

[LordTBT]

Well, then how did all of the Starwars books get approved?

They received licensing. Here's a piece I wrote a couple years ago explaining all of these concepts.

http://redwall.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:LordTBT/Essay:A_Primer_on_Copyright