#demetrious polychron

[psychic-refugee]

When being delulu ruins your life, whew.

The writer not only has to destroy all his fanfiction and looks to be barred from publishing anything in the future, but he has to pay Amazon's attorney fees: $134,000 on top of his own attorney fees and $402 just to file his inane lawsuit.

Please think about that. SIX FIGURES for what I suspect is minimal discovery (emails and the fanfic in question) and probably decided by briefing (Summary Judgement) instead of a trial. Just to Amazon.

He did have representation, and the attorney looks like they have 16 years experience. I don't know their rate, but lets say amazon has the highest rate and this attorney the lowest for California (according to google), and they worked 263 hrs on this case (highest rate/award). That's $44,184 as a low, generous estimate. I suspect it's a lot more.

All together, ~$178,586.

When I tell you litigation is expensive...

[meluiloth]

YYYYYEEEEEAAAHHHHHH

I wrote a VERY HEATED essay on this guy, Demetrious Polychron, about a year back just because of his absolute AUDACITY to write this stupid book, publish it, and then cry about how AMAZON PLAGIARIZED FROM HIM! Honestly, it disgusted me how he threw his weight around with this 'sequel' he wrote (claiming he was a 'superfan' and that he would 'fill in the gaps in the backstory of the original saga') and then tried to cheat the Tolkien Estate out of $250 million. I've said it before and I'll say it again: that man gave a very bad name to fanfiction authors.

It makes me very, very happy to know that he's finally getting his scoop of karma.

EAT IT, DEMETRIOUS!

(Also, you can read my in-depth analysis on this matter here, although it was written before the outcome of the lawsuit)

How not to fanfic. (See also: What the "no monetizing" policies on AO3 are there to protect us from.)

Don't publish your fanfic on Amazon for monetary gain.

Definitely don't then send a print copy of your published fanfic to the copyright holder, thus making them aware of its existence.

Especially don't then sue a licensee of the copyright holder for infringing on your...copyright?

(Note: the link above is a gift article link so you should be able to read it without a paywall.)

[neil-gaiman]

Why I won't read your (or anybody's) fan fiction. Because there are people out there who will decide that I stole their ideas, and who will, against all sanity, sue.

[mishafletcher]

hey it's important to me that you hear the stupidest and funniest thing i've heard this month, which is that a writer named demetrious polychron wrote a fanfic sequel to lord of the rings, then self-published it on amazon, and then sued amazon and the tolkien estate for making the rings of power tv show, which he claimed infringed on his copyright.

it didn't go well for him.

also, for those of you who love a trainwreck, as of 19 december 2023, there's a 75-page preview available on google books. it is—and i don't wish to be overly harsh—not very good.

this may shock you, but it opens with a birthday party and the arrival of an unexpected wizard. feels familiar, somehow!

[digitalisnarcissus]

I missed this when it came up, but just saw in the news that he lost. Because of course he lost, why would anyone do this? What thought process led to this lawsuit, I'm baffled. Already a terrible idea to publish fanfic with the serial number still attached, but to then sue the rights owner and Amazon, just for a laugh I guess, is entirely beyond me.

The Bonkers Lawsuit of Demetrious Polychron (I Wish This Were A Joke)

In other bonkers news I have just learned through my LotRO server’s certified Deep Lore Guy (bless you, Rana, may you never see this), apparently there’s a very literal fanfiction writer by the name of Demetrious Polychron (yes, I was also very surprised that this is his name) suing both Amazon and the Tolkien Estate for $250 million because he claims RoP was based on his book “The Fellowship of the King” - which is very blatantly a post-canon AU LotR fanfiction using several characters from Tolkien’s works, including Elanor Gardner, Elladan, Elrohir, and Eldarion.

One part of his reasoning is apparently that “there is a hobbit character in RoP named Elanor, this is obviously stolen from my book”, which makes no sense to begin with.

He also very clearly admits that his work was “inspired by the LotR and JRR Tolkien” (”inspired by”, lol) - when it is very much set in Tolkien’s Middle-earth and even starts in the Shire and involves several of the characters from the books and so on and so forth.

He has written a very literal post-canon AU fanfiction. Which he has published. On Amazon. And now he’s trying to sue both Amazon and the Tolkien Estate because he thinks they ripped off his book.

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/18/copyright-claim-against-tolkien-estate-backfires-on-lord-of-the-rings-fanfiction-author

"...The US-based author Demetrious Polychron published what he described as the “pitch-perfect” Lord of the Rings follow-up in 2022, titled The Fellowship of the King. He planned for the book to be the first of a seven-part series inspired by the franchise.

But the following April, Polychron attempted to sue the Tolkien estate and Amazon over the spin-off TV series The Rings of Power, which he claimed infringed the copyright in his book..."

Yeah, the Tolkien Estate doesn't have the reputation of being all nice and cuddly, but... what went through that guy's mind??

--

There's no accounting for some people.

[justusmice]

so this? THIS my children is why we DO NOT FUCKING MONETIZE FANFIC. never get too comfortable.

[namesonboats]

As a reader and writer of fanfiction, this person deserved this and beyond. Unhinged fans need to take a step back and NOT DO THIS SHIT YOU ARE RUINING FANFICTION FOR EVERYONE

[beardedmrbean]

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.

'Frivolous' lawsuit

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

The case was dismissed after the judge ruled that Polychron's own book was infringing on Amazon's prequel that was released in September 2022.

The Tolkien Estate then filed a separate lawsuit against Polychron for an injunction to stop The Fellowship of the King from being further distributed.

On Thursday Judge Steven V Wilson called the lawsuit "frivolous and unreasonably filed" and granted the permanent injunction, preventing him from selling his book and any other planned sequels, of which there were six.

The court also awarded lawyer's fees totalling $134,000 (£106,000) to the Tolkien Estate and Amazon in connection with Polychron's lawsuit.

The estate's UK solicitor, Steven Maier of Maier Blackburn, said: "This is an important success for the Tolkien Estate, which will not permit unauthorised authors and publishers to monetise JRR Tolkien's much-loved works in this way.

"This case involved a serious infringement of The Lord of the Rings copyright, undertaken on a commercial basis, and the estate hopes that the award of a permanent injunction and attorneys' fees will be sufficient to dissuade others who may have similar intentions."

Earlier this year it was confirmed by Warner Bros that more Lord of the Rings films are on the way over the next few years.

Work on the second series of Amazon's TV show began in October.

The BBC has tried to contact Demetrious Polychron for comment.

[serendip8y]

"But the following April, Polychron attempted to sue the Tolkien estate and Amazon over the spin-off TV series The Rings of Power, which he claimed infringed the copyright in his book. A California court dismissed the case after the judge ruled that Polychron’s text was, in fact, infringing on Amazon’s prequel, released in September 2022."

[ginnyzero]

If you want fanfic money in the USA, choose a fandom as of 2024 that was done before 1928. Everything before 1928 is in the public domain and no longer under ownership of holder and estates (please check copyright office for terms and limitations b/c I know there is at least one where it might be music falls next year.) There are lists of books and movies that have fallen into the public domain and are free of copyright and you can do whatever you please with them including charge money.

Anything post 1928, as of 2024 still falls under Copyright in the USA. (For other countries, please check your local copyright laws.) If you are noticed, the author/estate is free to C&D you or sue you.

Case in point:

Please, do not be... G. Norman Lippert who wrote an entire series about James Potter, put it up for sale on his website with nice professional looking covers, and got LUCKY JK Rowling ONLY asked him to make it free and yes, there was a court case.

OR... Francis Spufford who penned a Narnia Sequel about Susan and actually sent it to the Lewis Estate with a letter begging to publish it. He and his agent actually published an article in the Guardian about it. As far as I know, he never heard back. (Given Lewis' stance about this, not surprising.)

OR in BREAKING NEWS... Demetrious Polychron who wrote a sequel to Lord of the Rings, called Lord of the Kings and was selling the first 2 books of a planned 7 on Amazon, had the gall to sue Amazon over the Rings of Power and in turn got sued by the Tolkien Estate and forced to destroy all his fanfic books.

(All three of them could have posted to AO3 and been fine, but no.)

It is much safer to be the E.L. James, Ali Hazelwoods, Cassie Claire, Anna Todd, and Lindsey Ellis' of the world. If you wish to sell your story of something under copyright off of AO3 (yes even on Patreon or Wattpad) file those serial numbers off and spare yourself major headaches.

I mean, yes, I know people selling Jane Austen fanfic on Amazon but I'm not sure why anyone would buy it unless they don't know AO3 exists. (This is how grandmas learn about AO3.)

LegalEagle on youtube is a copyright lawyer (I've heard) and has done several videos on copyright and plagiarism.

And as always, don't try to post monetization to AO3. You don't want to be that person who somehow ends up in the eyes of the courts and where court rulings are set by precedent, and precedent is not in your favor and could get AO3 taken down for hosting it. (Even if I think the TOS says you are liable but that's very, very, thin thing for them to rest their case on if they're dragged into it.)

do you ever wish it *was* allowed to monetize fanfiction? obviously i know all the otw rules about not and stuff and why but it just seems ... unfair, i suppose?

[standard disclaimer that I am not a lawyer and this is as far from legal advice as it gets]

The OTW / AO3 does not allow monetization on their site. This is for two reasons:

1) the legality of it is still somewhat unsettled in the USA where OTW is based and 2) (my conjecture), the people who started it wanted a place that was not part of the capitalist ecosphere

However, the OTW having this stance doesn't mean that's just the way things are. Lots of spaces outside of AO3 monetize fanfic. It's a robust tradition in some areas of fandom. It's just the fact that AO3 has become so huge that people assume AO3's Terms of Service are the same thing as... I guess, international law? A moral code of fandom? Who can say.

If you want to monetize your fanfic, go for it. Just don't mention it on AO3 and don't link out to your monetized platform from AO3. Not because it's illegal but because it's against the site's Terms of Service and if you get reported, your fic could be taken down.

Create a commission price list. Start up a patreon. Sell printed copies of your work. Whatever you want. Just don't talk about it on AO3. Not in your author notes. Not in the comments. Not on your profile.

If you decide to write fic for money, you'll run the risk of the original creator potentially suing you, but Anne Rice is dead now and I'm betting George RR Martin has calmed down in the last decade or so. These days, fandom is seen as part of the capitalist engine. It's free marketing. Even if an author or show runner or director really does hate fanfic, they probably won't actually say that near a microphone in case that hype machine disappears.

[insurgentepress]

Gana Amazon demanda por plagio contra escritor de fanfiction de “Los Anillos de Poder”

El escritor Demetrious Polychron perdió una demanda de plagio de su libro “La comunidad de los Rey” contra los productores de @LOTRonPrime.

Agencias, Ciudad de México.- Una buena nueva llega para el universo de El Señor de los Anillos: Los Anillos de Poder y para su casa productora, Amazon. Con la peculiar división de derechos de la obra del autor británico J.R.R. Tolkien , las batallas legales relativas a esta ha sido un tema común de conversación para sus fans más leales. Pero en esta ocasión, una precuela literaria no oficial ha…

[chambergambit]

the guy who sued the Tolkien estate for copying his LOTR fanfic is named Demetrious Polychron?

that tracks