Q: Fan-fiction and Patreon website. I write erotic fan-fiction and if fan-base donates money to me on Patreon?
I write erotic fan-fiction and I'm in the progress of establishing a Patreon page. It's a site for creators where they receive support and donations from their fan-base. I've searched the past hour for answers to this and all I get is differing opinions. What I would like to know. How wrong is it and how much trouble would I get into with law?
My fan-base could donate money if they enjoyed my fan-fiction erotica. There's rewards for donators, or Patron's. They can participate in votes where they can choose what I write next, what the characters in that fan-fiction wear and what fetishes would be included and that kind of stuff. Then there's a reward for some of the more expensive donations where I write what they want. They give me a basic outline of their idea and I write it.
A:
Fan fiction is generally considered derivative work, which only the original author may lawfully produce. So, you can definitely be sued for even producing fan fiction. Actively making money from writing fan fiction merely makes you more of a target for being sued, it's not a necessary component to a successful copyright infringement lawsuit.
Your legal exposure is going to depend almost entirely on the author's (or the intellectual property owner of the author's work) stance on fan fiction. Writing in a universe created by Joss Whedon or J.K. Rowling? These authors actively encourage fan fiction to be written about their work. Writing about Gone with the Wind? The estate of Margaret Mitchell is notoriously litigious.
The doctrine of fair use is invoked as permitting almost anything by anyone who has done only a little bit of reading into copyright law. Fan fiction can qualify for fair use, but, based on what you've described this will only really help you if your work critiques or critically analyzes the original work. A court is the only entity capable of making a determination of whether fan fiction qualifies for fair use - and only after a lawsuit has been filed.
The minimum statutory damages for a copyright infringement suit (in almost all cases) is $750 and damages can go up to $150,000.
If you're interested in reducing or possibly eliminating your risk of legal liability, consult with an attorney who focuses primarily on copyright law.
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