Is fan fiction protected by copyright law?

In Florida, fan fiction is generally not protected by copyright law. This is due to the fact that copyright law usually protects the intellectual property of a creator or author, and fan fiction uses the ideas or characters from another work. Copyright law does not protect the ideas or characters themselves, but rather the expression of those ideas or characters. When it comes to fan fiction, one usually borrows the characters or ideas from another work and then creates a new story based on those borrowed elements. Generally, unless permission is granted by the original author, fan fiction is not considered to be covered by copyright law. It is important to note, however, that although the fan fiction itself may not be protected, the original work that it is based off of will be protected. Therefore, it is important to ensure that any fan fiction one creates is not too closely related to the original work, and does not use too much of the material from the original. If it can be proven that the fan fiction is a derivative work that uses a substantial portion of the original work, then it may be infringing on copyright law. In short, fan fiction is generally not protected by copyright law in Florida. Although the original work is protected, it is important to ensure that fan fiction is not too closely related to the original work in order to avoid potential infringement on copyright law.

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