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> maybe it would discourage some people who go into it hoping to make infinite money

That's totally fine by me, the point of copyright should be to advances the arts and science, not to help concentrate wealth.

> I wonder for how many people it is an issue secretly

I think quiet a few. See for example ElasticSearch and Amazon. If you want a truly open-source license then you have to accept that. Otherwise there's a whole spectrum of "source available" licenses, or something like CC BY-NC-SA.

Though that's another difference between works of art and source code. Releasing my book doesn't produce a maintenance burned on me, an open source project usually does.

> using Middle Earth in a commercial ad for a car

You don't even have to go as far as a car, see [0]. They didn't get sued, but it's safe to say that they would the moment they try selling it.

As for the other aspect of fanfic, I think the copyright's holders desires should be weighed less. I personally disliked many of the star wars movies, particularly the latest trilogy, and I'm not alone in this.

A) I know for a fact that better star wars movies would be possible if Disney did not hold a death grip around the IP by the simple fact that other good movies can be made, there's nothing intrinsic to star wars.

And B) just as copyright holders won't stand by if you try to do a fanfic that they don't like, I shouldn't have to be forced to stand by and watch them butcher (yet again) the stories that I grew up on AND be told that that's the only version available.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Ringbearer




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