Parody and copyright

[Astholm]

What's the general laws on this - especially for those, like myself, who maintain off-site websites??
I don't want anyone on here to get prosecuted for copyright infringement, but advice is welcomed.

[Northwest Slobovia]

What's the general laws on this - especially for those, like myself, who maintain off-site websites??
I don't want anyone on here to get prosecuted for copyright infringement, but advice is welcomed.

The laws vary by country. In the US, copyright holders have little ability to stop people from parodying their work. There are a bunch of web sites that discuss it, but their advice differs as to what the limits of "fair use" are WRT parody. Searching for "fair use" parody will find a ton of them. Since I'm not a lawyer, I can't say which is right.

Also, in the US, the "safe harbor" provisions of the DCMA make it hard for copyright holders to sue web sites, so long as the web sites play nice with the copyright holders.

[Erastide]

If you're talking about using NS material on another website, I'd reference this thread: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=382

[Astholm]

If you're talking about using NS material on another website, I'd reference this thread: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=382

Thanks for that!
It was just the issue of parodying real-life products that I wasn't sure about... would that be copyright infringement?

[Erastide]

Well, given NS had to change the name of the United Nations to the World Assembly because of an actual letter from the UN, there's a *possibility*. But people create nations with names of trademarked products all the time with no problem. And writing stories and such should be protected.