The Study of Fan-Fiction in Reference to Copyright Laws: A Critical Study

The Study of Fan-Fiction in Reference to Copyright Laws: A Critical Study

Registration ID: IJNRD_306273

Published ID: IJNRDTH00218

DOI: Click Here to Get

Kanav Manghani , Dr. Niharika Singh

Copyright law and fan fiction

This paper examines the complex legal position of fanfiction under Indian copyright law. Governed by the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, copyright protection extends to original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. Fanfiction, which reuses copyrighted characters, settings, and narratives, is generally classified as a derivative work. Under Section 14, authors hold exclusive rights over adaptations, and Indian courts, following the “skill and judgment” test set by the Supreme Court in Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak typically requires a higher threshold of originality than fanfiction often demonstrates. The fair dealing doctrine under Section 52 offers narrow exceptions for private use, research, criticism, and review, but lacks the broader flexibility of U.S. fair use, leaving fanfiction largely unprotected. Transformative works that substantially alter the original material might qualify, but most fanfiction does not meet this standard. Additionally, Section 57 grants authors moral rights, allowing them to prevent unauthorized reinterpretations or distortions of their work, adding further risk for fanfiction writers. Fanfiction creators in India face potential copyright infringement claims, exposure to takedown actions, and moral rights challenges, especially when their work impacts the market for the original or misattributes the author’s intent. Overall, Indian law offers limited safe harbor for fanfiction, placing creators in a legally vulnerable position.

Published Paper   E-Certificate

"The Study of Fan-Fiction in Reference to Copyright Laws: A Critical Study", IJNRD - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (www.IJNRD.org), ISSN:2456-4184, Vol.10, Issue 5, page no.211-280, May-2025, Available :https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRDTH00218.pdf

Volume 10 Issue 5, May-2025

Pages : 211-280

Paper Reg. ID: IJNRD_306273

Published Paper Id: IJNRDTH00218

Downloads: 000154

Research Area: Other area not in list

Country: New Delhi, Delhi, India

Published Paper PDF: https://ijnrd.org/papers/IJNRDTH00218.pdf

Published Paper URL: https://ijnrd.org/viewpaperforall?paper=IJNRDTH00218

Journal Name: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT(IJNRD)

ISSN: 2456-4184 | IMPACT FACTOR: 8.76 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2016

An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 8.76 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator

Publisher: IJNRD (IJ Publication) Janvi Wave

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License and The Open Definition

Call For Paper - Volume 10 | Issue 8 | August 2025

IJNRD is Scholarly open access journals, Peer-reviewed, and Refereed Journals, High Impact factor 8.76 (Calculate by google scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool), Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Indexing in all major database & Metadata, Citation Generator, Digital Object Identifier(DOI) with Open-Access Publications.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NOVEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (IJNRD) aims to explore advances in research pertaining to applied, theoretical and experimental Technological studies. The goal is to promote scientific information interchange between researchers, developers, engineers, students, and practitioners working in and around the world. IJNRD will provide an opportunity for practitioners and educators of engineering field to exchange research evidence, models of best practice and innovative ideas.

Indexing In Google Scholar, SSRN, ResearcherID-Publons, Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Microsoft Academic, Academia.edu, arXiv.org, Research Gate, CiteSeerX, ResearcherID Thomson Reuters, Mendeley : reference manager, DocStoc, ISSUU, Scribd, and many more

How to submit the paper?

Important Dates for Current issue

Paper Submission Open For: August 2025

Current Issue: Volume 10 | Issue 8

Last Date for Paper Submission: Till 31-Aug-2025

Notification of Review Result: Within 1-2 Days after Submitting paper.

Publication of Paper: Within 01-02 Days after Submititng documents.

Frequency: Monthly (12 issue Annually).

Journal Type: International Peer-reviewed, Refereed, and Open Access Journal.

Subject Category: Research Area