Text 7773, 82 rader
Skriven 2006-09-06 23:34:00 av Robert E Starr JR (8270.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: New B5 novels
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Joseph DeMartino wrote:
> 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
> 

Until I get actual information, I will assume she was told by the 
Mongoose folks that they had permission from JMS and that she believed them.

I am tempted to buy a book or two to see if they are any good, but I 
think I will wait until I hear an opinion here.

.
             
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