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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/17482
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I'm also not a lawyer, and neither am I in the U.S. but I'll try a swing at this...

The author of a derivative work (fanfic) certainly can register their copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. The author is expected to only claim copyright on their original contributions; any other claim would be void. Only the separable, original parts can be copyrighted.

See the [Copyright Office Compendium](http://copyright.gov/comp3/chap300/ch300-copyrightable-authorship.pdf) section 313.6[B] (_Unlawful Use of Preexisting Material in a Derivative Work, a Compilation, or a Collective Work_):

> The Office may register a derivative work, a compilation, or a collective work that contains preexisting copyrightable material, provided that the author’s contribution to that work can be separated from the preexisting material.

That means (at least for the U.S.) what you're telling your victims isn't correct. They can register at least parts of their stories which give them right to sue you if you infringe, and you can't bring BigCorp into the fight at all. You could threaten to tittle-tattle, but BigCorp may look at the situation and sue you first, since yours is a more aggravated infringement of the original work. Even your Fair Use defence could crumble if your work falls short of parody, which it sounds like it might.

According to the [Wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parody)...

> [parody] "is the use of some elements of a prior author's composition to create a new one that, **at least in part, comments on that author's works**". That commentary function provides some justification for use of the older work. See Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.

Based on your later description it doesn't sound like you are offering much commentary, just taking the parts you like and replacing the parts you don't. Your opponent's lawyer could argue that's just plagiarism and vandalism, not parody.

Furthermore, it sounds like your 'parody' is aimed at the Fanfic authors, but you may be infringing the copyright of BigCorp in order to do it. If that's the case, you have no Fair Use defence at all should Big Corp chose to sue you.

Original score: 3