Tax Dollars for Fanfic

[selenite0]

You, too, could get paid for writing Harry Potter fanfic:

http://www.strategypage.com/humor/articles/military_jokes_20052815.asp

Comments

[patgund.livejournal.com]

Rowling needs to lighten up. This is a parody, much like Mad Magazine. Yes, it's done to teach, but it doesn't change the fact it's a parody.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just as painfully unfunny as the Family Feud parody in last month's issue...

[selenite.livejournal.com]

All the humor in maintenance is stories of what happened to the guy who didn't do it right. Apparently the Army considers that to be a Bad Example. It's not like there's any shortage of them. A Navy captain here has a great story of what happened to his carrier when a seaman decided to go get a coke instead of doing a check on the propellor bearing oil level.

[wolfrick.livejournal.com]

That's debatable.

M-W.com defines "parody" as:

1 : a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule
2 : a feeble or ridiculous imitation

I think Rowling's solicitors will argue that there is a commercial purpose (namely, a training document) that makes thinly-disguised use of her characters.

I'm not saying I think she should win, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did. After all, what the Gubmint is doing is stealing her characters' popularity and using it for their own purposes, to no benefit to the author.
When I say commercial purposes, I don't mean they're selling this work for cash. I mean, it's a document they would have had to pay some author to invent in-whole, if it wasn't derivative of an existing work.

Damn, I'm glad I'm not a lawyer, and that I don't play one on tv.

~Rick

[selenite.livejournal.com]

I think the Army can make a good case for feeble and ridiculous.

[dekarch.livejournal.com]

PS Monthly is about the only maintinence manual some people actually read.

If only to find out how bad the comic portion is going to be. But there's a lot of good info in them.

Harry Potter is not the first commercial property they've spoofed. Most people don't sue, presumably because it isn't like they are making money on this thing. They send out dozens of copies to every unit in the Army for free.

[(Anonymous)]

It's a freakin' brilliant parody--but I think Ms Rowling might be objecting to the possible phallic connotations of that wand polishing section.

BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!

[my mind's in the gutter and quite happy there...]