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Someone on a mailing list linked to this site, which has an interesting list of articles on the legal status of fanfiction in the US. I particulalry enjoyed Copy Catfight, which looks at the broader context of copyright law, including fannish productions.
The upshot seems to be that (i) the legality or otherwise of fanfic has never been tested in court, and (ii) if it were, it would quite possibly be covered under "fair use" in the US at least, as the works are non-profit, possibly are "transformative" or (sometimes) parodic in nature and don't lead to a loss of income for the holder of the original copyright. I take this to mean that, in the US at least, nobody knows whether fanfic is illegal and that it might vary on a case-by-case basis.
I'm also much amused by some of the discussion. ( This is longer than I expected. )
The upshot seems to be that (i) the legality or otherwise of fanfic has never been tested in court, and (ii) if it were, it would quite possibly be covered under "fair use" in the US at least, as the works are non-profit, possibly are "transformative" or (sometimes) parodic in nature and don't lead to a loss of income for the holder of the original copyright. I take this to mean that, in the US at least, nobody knows whether fanfic is illegal and that it might vary on a case-by-case basis.
I'm also much amused by some of the discussion. ( This is longer than I expected. )
