Screenwriting : Writing an offshoot from something established by Kimberly Kaplan

Yeeeah you could. :(

You'd be infringing on copyright, and if you hope to do this for monetary gains, you'd be in big trouble.

Network's Safe Word: "Infringment!" Kimberly's Safe Word: "Mercy!" Heh-heh. There are some networks that do competitions where a writer can submit a script that is based on one of that network's shows. You should check into that if you're interested. Nickelodeon is one, but I think the submission deadline for their contest just recently closed.

Yes, you could be sued. But if there aren't a lot of "damages," you'd most likely first be sent a "cease & desist order." If you fail to cease & desist, then you might be sued. Lawsuits cost everyone money, and no one wants to sue if a simple C&D stops you from a rights violation. If there are a lot of damages, then you would probably be sued on principle.

To add to Regina's comment, "damages" doesn't just mean the money you make (or even don't make) from putting the work out, but what you've hypothetically done to damage the original property's future sales (try and put a dollar figure on that one!). And I bet the potential fine is now $150,000k minimum for you, since if you publish after this thread a lawyer could say that the "infringement was committed willingly". https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/504 That scary-big number said, there's a whole world of fan fiction out there (essentially what you're writing), where the authors don't get fined by the creators, and other fanfic where the IP (intellectual property) owners aggressively go after the authors. Some fanfic serves to strengthen the audience base for the IP owner, so they let it happen. 50 Shades of Grey is famously birthed from Twilight fanfic. So investigate your particular universe and find out where the IP owner stands on fanfic for their property, and if there are rules (for example, JK Rowling doesn't tolerate fanfic including sex and racism). Some starting resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_issues_with_fan_fiction and http://beta.transformativeworks.org/ and http://debmcalister.com/2013/04/28/copyright-myths-from-the-world-of-fan....

Great points, Shelley. In the "real world," it's all a cost-benefit analysis, right? For example, there are t-shirt vendors all over the place selling unlicensed product. For example, Hamilton is the hottest show on Broadway now. I guarantee you that both online and street vendors are selling unlicensed Hamilton shirts and merch. Are the producers suing? Maybe, maybe not. I bet they're having Legal send out lots of C&D orders. But given the cost-benefit analysis, is it worth their time to hunt down every vendor and sue - from NYC street vendors to overseas online vendors? Probably not. They probably have finite legal funds, and they have to pick and choose which vendors to commit to chasing, suing, investigating, etc. But is theft "right"? Nope. Not legal and not good karma.

Thank you for all of your thoughtful replies! It's appreciated.

Hi Patricia, they also do Google searches all the time for t-shirts. I know the attorney who was in charge of unlicensed Wicked (Broadway show) products. :-) Just an example. I like using examples because in my experience, different examples can give people a "lightbulb moment." "Oh, I get it now."

Like I said above, in my experience, it depends on how the owner interprets the degree of "damages." But the OP asked, "Could I be sued?" Yes, you could. WILL you be sued? Maybe, maybe not.

Sorry for all the posts. Haste makes waste. Patricia, like Shelley said above with her fan fic examples, it's all about how the owner interprets "damages." None of us knows. And none of us knows how the OP plans to "self-publish." It could be a self-published fan fic novel that goes to her and her sister, stays within their family, is never sold, is never publicized, etc. Who knows. In that case, the chances of getting sued are slim. There are few damages. It's a different ballgame if there are more significant damages. Or like Shelley says above in her fan fic example, the rights owners might be delighted by the extensions created.

I can attest to the dangers of selling unlicensed t-shirts and ignoring C&D orders. I used to sell unlicensed "Bad Buddha!" t-shirts and ignored a C&D from the head Budhhist himself. I even told him to go "f" himself when he came to my door. A week later, I came home one day. My wife was standing outside of our burned-down house with a police officer. I asked her what happened. She said "I was on the phone with your agent and next thing I know the house was on fire. And our children were kidnapped! And the dismembered bodies of our parents have been found! And the throats of our pet goats were slashed! Oh Bill - what are we going to do?" I said, "back up a minute...my agent called?"

Peter - he had called to tell me that the Bad Buddha t-shirts that I gave his kids had turned their skin blue and that he was dropping me as a client. Never use a knock-off company from Tajikistan that doesn't color test the product!

Oh my God Bill!!! O_O

Yes. Anything that was created for a story belongs to the creator (or who they sold the rights to). You can't write a story in the world of STAR TREK, but you can create your own world (which may lead to something like FIREFLY or BABYLON 5). Best thing to do is change elements to make it your own - and use your imagination to make those changes so cool and unique that the world you have invented is more interesting than the one from the story that inspired you.

Here's something that's going on right now. One author suing another. http://www.teen.com/2016/02/10/news/sherrilyn-kenyon-sues-shadowhunters-.... I'm an author, and if someone took my characters AND my world building and put a spin on it to call it theirs, I'd be annoyed. Part of being a writer, in my opinion, is to tell your own story. There's a difference between stealing someone's ideas and modifying similar concepts. I think there's a fine line between feeling flattered and feeling ripped off, but then again, everything comes from something else — nothing is truly original.