Text 7753, 70 rader
Skriven 2006-09-06 20:13:00 av Robert E Starr JR (8250.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: New B5 novels
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* * * This message was from Joseph DeMartino to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.m * * *
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Laura Appelbaum wrote:

Although I yield to no one in detestation of Claudia's actions vis a
vis season 5, I am prepared to withhold judgment on her novel.

1)  If this has been published or is about to be it was almost
certainly written long before JMS's public feud with Mongoose.  I don't
think we can blame her for siding with JMS's "enemies" if they weren't
enemies at the time. (I seem to recall having heard about Claudia
writing this book some time ago, so chances are she signed the contract
many months ago indeed.)

2)  An actor may have considerable insight into the inner-life of a
character, especially one he or she has played for many years.  If the
book is more a personal story of Ivanova than a major extension of the
"B5" plot, it may be quite inoffensive.

3)  I know a little bit about intellectual property rights in general,
and a little more in certain areas that have involved friends and
associates, but I don't know much about this kind of licensed fiction.
*Except* that  the writer's rights are *vastly* less than in normal
circumstances.  You're writing for hire for a company that has
purchased a license to publish fiction based on another company's
characters and fictional universe - major elements of which are no only
protected by copyright, but by tradmark.  Under those circumtances I
don't think you're entitled to anything but the contracted payment
and/or royalties.  (I know of some genre contracts where writers were
paid - large - flat fees up front and weren't paid royalties, but that
is an individual arrangement with the particular writer or writers)
It may be that if you create a new character who is used in susbequent
stories that you'll be entitled to further payments (as is the case in
comic books, movies and television) and if if a "B5 Tale" were based
*directly* on the plot of a Mongoose novel there would probably be a
payment to somebody - but not necessarily the author.  But if Claudia
just writes a story about Susan commanding the "Warlock", which was
already established in the series, there is nothing to prevent JMS from
writing a different story in the same period.  (In fact, he already
has, the short story "Hidden Agendas")

My "B5" paperbacks are mostly still packed away from my last move, but
a glance at my original Dell edition of "To Dream in the City of
Sorrows" shows that the copyright holder is Dell books.  I'm pretty
sure the short stories are copyright Warner Bros.  I'm not sure about
the Del Rey novels - except that I'm certain none of them are
copyrighted in the name of their respective authors.

If the Mongoose books suck - well, we've been there, done that and "B5"
has survived.  They aren't canon, we're under no obligation to
ackowledge that they even exist.  Even if they (or some of them) are
good they're not canon, so who cares?

If Claudia's done something dumb or unworthy with her Ivanova novel, I
promise I'll be as upset as the next person.  But if all she did was
collect a check from a Warner Bros. licensee and do her best to tell an
interesting tale about a character she played...

Well, as we used to say in the Bronx, "No autopsy, no foul."

Regards, 

Joe
                                                       
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