Genuine question. How are you able to write Lore Rekindled legally? Is it like how fanfiction functions, where anyone can just kinda put there spin on it?
Have you gotten into any trouble doing this given how big the original series is?
Make no mistake I LOVE Lore rekindled, I'm just legit confused on how you're able to do this?
Short answer: The same way Dreamworks was able to make Shrek and the same way bbno$ was able to sample Low Rider for check. Transformative works are protected in the eyes of the law so long as those works are smart about it.
(Very) long answer: Okay but fr, I got this question a LOT back when LR first started, and I still see it floating around to this day. My best conclusion in response to this question is that I think people have this limited, preconceived idea of what transformative work can or should be (and that includes fanfiction). There almost seems to be this inherent bias that because a "hater" made it, suddenly that makes it not transformative, and that should therefore subject it to legal consequences. Or that because it's set in the world of LO and using Rachel's character designs and original concepts, it's theft, even though people had been making LO fanfiction and panel redraws and style-matched illustrations for years already prior to when LR was a thing.
All that's to say, people seem to understand non-profit fanfiction and fanart just fine, but when you put them together, it seems like it kind of shorts out their brains a little? Many see LR as a "rip off" of LO, when it's literally just transformative fanfiction the same as any other. Maybe it's because I actually have the means to challenge Rachel at her own game through the medium of a comic which many people aren't willing (or able) to do, I don't know; but it's definitely baffling to me that people can understand the legitimacy of fanart, fanfiction, re-sampled music tracks, political satire, and pop culture references, but then for some reason just can't seem to comprehend LR as a fan comic that's still trying to retain the same art style and character designs as the original because... well if I didn't do that, it wouldn't be an LO fan comic, now would it? š„“
I also think, if anything, it's because LO is huge that I haven't gotten in trouble š LO is a media property that's trying to franchise itself on the same level as Minecraft and D&D and Star Wars, so it's not exactly some underdog fending for itself. It's got a lot of big names and money behind it, injecting it into every market they can. The fact that people can look at LR and go "hey, that looks like that Greek myth comic!" is proof of the fact that LR isn't harming LO's bottom line.
Now if LO were still just a small indie comic being made in the Canvas section like it was back in 2017, then yeah, that would make LR a lot more offensive LMAO Still not necessarily illegal, but it would break that unspoken fandom rule that you should leave indie works alone of the same criticisms and standards you'd enforce on a commercial work, because they too are free to read and are often made by one person on their own time who isn't making a whole lot of profit off it (and in many cases they're hobbyists who are just doing it for fun or to learn).
99% of fan artists have functionally more in common with indie creators than they ever would to three-time-Eisner-winning NYT-bestseller Rachel Smythe (for example) so it's generally beneficial for fan creators to respect what indie creators are doing and only provide fan content if it's to show support and praise, not to satirize or challenge. Punch up, not down, ykwim?
That said, the above diatribe is why I can legally "get away with it" when it comes to LR and how it re-imagines LO. LR is just fan content of a massive for-profit commercial product, the latter of which will always be bigger and financially richer than the former. If Rachel or Webtoons took issue with something like LR, not only would that say more about the insecurity of their golden goose franchise by implying that it could even be threatened by something like LR, but they'd also be legally obligated to then take issue with every fan artist out there who are doing the exact same thing (lest they want to be accused of personally-motivated retaliation). Nothing kills a budding media franchise more than killing its fandom's trust in being able to share fanwork online, and with how many PR nightmares LO has already been involved in, that's almost definitely a fight they do not want to pick right now.
Even if they felt there was legal precedent, there's still no real benefit in trying to take down a free-to-read fan comic made by some chronically online dipshit on Tumblr that gives full credit to what it's based on and isn't in any way claiming to be some new original thing. It would be a complete waste of their time and resources and dignity.
And hey, if we're talking legal precedent, may I be petty for a moment and point you to the actual legitimate bootleggers who are out there printing and selling Rachel's actual artwork on Etsy.
There's always risk in selling fanart of any kind, whether it be online or at art markets or in digital storefronts, because you're always committing copyright infringement by default, even if it's wholly original and in good faith. But at least the original artists selling original art of their favorite characters are putting in the effort of creating that original art from scratch, so while Rachel / WT could go after those folks, it would purely be on the basis that they don't own the character designs and whatever other assets they borrowed from LO, and that's it. The same can't be said though about these kinds of leeches who are deadass just ripping Rachel's art from the comic and slapping it onto mugs and magnets, they're literally profiting off Webtoons' property and Rachel's work š
So I'd like to think LR by comparison is pretty above-the-board, even if it gets its potshots in every now and then š All the art - even the panels that are referencing the original comic - is drawn completely from scratch, and available entirely for free.
So yes, it's fanfiction, plain and simple. I've been making fanfiction for years, even since loooong before LR was a thing, so I know my way around this field. From my own perspective and from a legal standpoint, LR is no different from other transformative works that have adapted famous media through the same mediums they were originally made in, such as Mario B3313 or The Legend of Zelda: Ultimate Trial or Undertale Yellow.
Anyone can do what I do, and in fact, other people are doing what I do, because LR isn't the only LO-retelling comic out there. LR's just the one that became the main target for these kinds of plagiarism accusations and questions because it happens to draw in the biggest crowd, and it sometimes makes people feel uncomfortable when they find out the creator is a shitposting LO hater LOL But it's still not doing anything inherently different from all the other fanworks and fan retellings out there, many of which were also made by people like myself who once loved the original thing but just wanted to see it done differently, enough that they took matters into their own hands and did it themselves.
I hope that (very long) response answers your questions ! :'3 <3
theartofmadeline
kaledo-art
discoholicmusic
