lereveurat

According to current U.S. copyright, copyright owners have the right to control or restrict the publishing of "derivative works" based on their material, though they do not receive ownership of those works. The owner of the original work (film, TV show, etc.) therefore may have some legal power over fan fiction, though the laws as written do not address the issue directly.
Since American copyright law specifically protects parody, and also includes a provision that the specifically protected categories are not necessarily the only protected categories, fan fiction remains in a legal gray area. But even without an official ruling on the legality of fan fiction, the owners of intellectual property can exert a great deal of influence on fans. For instance, a cease and desist letter from an entity with deep pockets exerts a great deal of influence on a single person who can scarcely afford legal representation. Conversely, the bad publicity and ill will generated by attacking one's own fan base can give even a large corporation second thoughts about conducting a legal campaign against fan writers.