No genre of popular entertainment can boast a more devoted fan base than that of science fiction (otherwise known as SF to the hardcore or sci-fi to the casual observer). One of the ways that the fans of SF express their devotion is by creating what is known as “fan fiction”. Fan fiction is when someone other than the copyright holder creates new stories with copyrighted characters or copyrighted worlds. This originally started out with prose but, of course, the digital era has made it abundantly cheaper for fans to create films that seem almost as well made as the original.

Some well-known fan films include Star Wars Uncut where thousands of people remade the entire movie of Star Wars 15 seconds at a time. There is The Hunt for Gollum where fans illuminated an unseen part of the story of The Lord of the Rings (for the pedants out there, yes, Lord of the Rings is technically fantasy). Additionally, Star Trek Phase 2 continues the adventures of Captain Kirk and Spock well after the original series ran its course.

These fan films typically stay on the right side of the law by not being sold for money. The minute they do, be sure the copyright holders file suit. However, as long as they are made with the intention of sharing but not being sold, they are generally free from lawsuits.

Well, another new internet invention is throwing a wrench into the equation. The popular crowd-sourcing site, Kickstarter, allows creatives to propose ideas for new products, films, music, and other projects and have everyday people pledge money for the completion of that project. Typically, someone who pledges money will then receive something after the project is finished.

There is a cultishly adored, critically acclaimed, hilarious, and yet terminally low-rated television show called Community on NBC. There was a throwaway joke in one episode where the pop culture obsessed character is enthralled with a British television import named “Inspector Spacetime”. This is a copyright infringement free joke on the real cult classic, Doctor Who. At any rate, Community then aired a brief clip from Inspector Spacetime. The fans of the show Community fully embraced this fake show and created a whole world around it, such is the fervor of the fans. Then the actor who portrayed the Inspector for Community’s five second joke, Travis Richey, decides that he would like to make a fan film of Inspector Spacetime by creating a web series. He set up a Kickstarter page to help in his quest.

But there’s the rub. Kickstarter solicits money donations. So now, Mr. Richey will be receiving money that he pledges will be going to the creation of a fan film that he will distribute for free. However, Mr. Richey may keep all the money for himself and never make the series. Or he will do it as cheaply as possible and keep the difference. Or, assuming Mr. Richey’s good faith, he uses all the money raised towards production of the web series. After shooting the webseries, he will get to keep the equipment (brand new digital video cameras and the like) for himself and his own personal use.

In the meantime, NBC and Sony (the production company who owns the rights to Community) have contacted Mr. Richey and sent him a cease and desist letter. Mr. Richey then posted:

Though I firmly believe the law would be on my side in producing this parody, I have no wish or ability to fight a show that I love as much as “Community.” I had hoped that they would embrace what is essentially a fan film and appreciate the value it adds to the character, and the audience that we would bring who are finding “Community” for the first time through this character, but alas, that’s not the case. So, I will be removing all references to Inspector Spacetime from this series (it only happened in the title anyway), and altering the appearance of the Inspector so that he does not look like Inspector Spacetime. What remains is 100% the creation of myself, my writing partner, and you, the fans.

At first blush this may seem like the heartless corporation going after a well-meaning individual with a love of a cult classic trying to create more content for other fans of that show. However, when the circumstances are considered and the money problems that soliciting donations on Kickstarter create, this seems like a fair way to enforce copyright protections. Additionally, by way of enforcing their copyright, NBC/Sony might be protecting fans of Community from funneling money to a man who may have ulterior motives for creating a fan film like Inspector Spacetime.

-Chris Woodward