Old News LotR fan sued for publishing own sequel

[Kyng]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67753073

A fan fiction writer has been sued by the estate of JRR Tolkien for copyright after publishing his own sequel to The Lord of the Rings.

US-based author Demetrious Polychron published a book called The Fellowship of the King in 2022.

He dubbed it "the pitch-perfect sequel to The Lord of the Rings."

The court ruled that Polychron must stop distributing copies of the book and destroy all physical and electronic copies.

In April 2023 Polychron attempted to sue the Tolkien estate and Amazon, claiming the TV series, Rings of Power, infringed the copyright in his book.

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I have to say, I'm curious as to exactly why he thought this was legal. I know fan fiction about various franchises is common online - but normally, authors don't try to make money off it (which you'd think would require the explicit permission of the rights holder).

And now, he has to pay over $100,000 in legal fees... would be small change for a corporation, but a much heavier punishment for most individuals!

[JHG]

I guess he missed the memo of Lord of the Rigs.

[Cool Cory]

Looks like he forgot to put a disclaimer at the start of the book to say it's fan-made and that he doesn't own the series. 

[Kyng]

Looks like he forgot to put a disclaimer at the start of the book to say it's fan-made and that he doesn't own the series. 

Well, even if he did have that disclaimer, he'd probably still get sued if he tried to make money from it .

There are certain Fair Use and Fair Dealing laws that allow you to use someone else's copyrighted work under certain circumstances (e.g. if you're parodying their work); however, it's unlikely that a commercial fanfic would qualify, even with a disclaimer!

[Cool Cory]

I don't understand how do some fanfiction authors have Patreon accounts (specifically with rewards such as early access to chapters if the story) and get to monetize their fanfictions, but it's considered allowed?

I guess this guy got sued because he tried to sue first, they were annoyed with him, and so  showed him no mercy with a lawsuit.

[Kyng]

I don't understand how do some fanfiction authors have Patreon accounts (specifically with rewards such as early access to chapters if the story) and get to monetize their fanfictions, but it's considered allowed?

I guess this guy got sued because he tried to sue first, they were annoyed with him, and so  showed him no mercy with a lawsuit.

Yeah, probably does have something to do with him trying to sue first.

I'm guessing that the other authors with Patreon accounts are either legally in the clear due to some legal loophole I'm not aware of, or technically violating the law but flying under the radar. But it's not really possible to fly under the radar when you're making lawsuits yourself .