I wanted to host a fanfiction writing contest for my teen department, as we have a lot of teens who enjoy writing fanfiction about their favorite characters and fandom. However, I know fanfiction is always a little tricky.
The idea was to set rules and guidelines, such as:
The member posing the question is 100% right: the copyright considerations of fanfiction are “tricky.”
When is it advisable for an author/creator to register a work with the copyright office?
I work in higher education. Students will sometimes ask for information on copyright protection for a thesis (written, not performance). Sometimes faculty will ask about protecting various devices of education such as a syllabus, exam or spreadsheet.
There are some really good, separate answers to this question. I'll present them in the order I think would be useful to students and academics.
Answer #1: Clarity of ownership
