Last reviewed by Robert Prime, 5 November 2026. Read that day: section 30A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, the Only Fools judgment on Find Case Law, the IPO’s exceptions guidance, and Amazon’s IP rights FAQ. General information, not legal advice. If you plan to sell something based on a living franchise, speak to an IP solicitor first.
Quick Answer: There is no fan fiction exception in UK law. If your story takes a substantial part of a work still in copyright, including distinctive characters, you need permission to publish it, whether you charge or not. Genuine parody and pastiche have a limited defence, but only if the use is fair. Tropes, genres and general ideas are free. Selling unlicensed fan fiction on Amazon is the riskiest route.
The case every fan writer should know
Copyright owners have the exclusive right to copy, issue copies, and make adaptations of a work, and that covers “the work as a whole or any substantial part of it” (s.16). For years, people assumed that a character alone could not be protected. In English law that changed in 2022.
Shazam Production Ltd v Only Fools The Dining Experience Ltd [2022] EWHC 1379 (IPEC) was about an interactive dining show built around the characters from Only Fools and Horses. The judge began by noting “surprisingly little discussion” of the point in English law (para 76), and then decided:
| Question | Court’s answer |
|---|---|
| Is the character of Del Boy protected? | Yes: “copyright subsists in Del Boy as a literary work” (para 122) |
| Was it infringed? | Yes, the evidence was “overwhelming and obvious” (para 127) |
| Was the show parody? | No. It did not evoke the series “in order to express humour” about it or “mock it” (para 194) |
| Was it pastiche? | No. It did not imitate the style; it took the characters “with their full back story and catch phrases” (para 195) |
| Was it fair dealing anyway? | No. “All the characters” were “lifted wholesale without any attempt to rework or rename them” (para 196) |
| Was the show passing off too? | Yes (paras 206 to 208) |
Be careful not to overread this. It is one decision at first instance, about a very distinctive character developed across many scripts. The judge also repeated that there can be no copyright “in the idea of a brave and handsome hero, a lovely blonde heroine or an unprepossessing villain with dark moustaches” (para 83). So stock types stay free. Harry-Potter-level characters look a lot more like Del Boy.
Parody, caricature and pastiche: what the exception allows
Since 2014, “Fair dealing with a work for the purposes of caricature, parody or pastiche does not infringe copyright” (s.30A). The IPO explains that this lets people “use limited amounts of copyright material”, and only “to the extent that it is fair dealing” (IPO guidance).
From the Only Fools judgment:
- Parody must “evoke an existing work, while being noticeably different from it” and “constitute an expression of humour or mockery” (para 167). It need not mock the original work itself. A story that is simply funny because the source was funny does not qualify: there, “the humour is already contained in the borrowed material” (para 194).
- Pastiche either imitates the style of another work or is an assemblage of pre-existing works, and “must be noticeably different from the original work” (para 188).
Paragraph 189 is the one that interests fan writers. The judge noted a commentator’s view that pastiche could “potentially apply to a broad spectrum of ‘mash-ups’, fan fiction, music sampling”. He added: “This may be so. Each case will have to be assessed on its own merits”, and warned that the exception must not be read so widely that it covers “any imitation or reproduction”. So the door is ajar for fan fiction, and no court has walked through it yet.
Even then, you still have to pass the fair dealing test. The court looked at how much was taken and whether the use competed with the owner’s normal ways of making money. A novel-length book on sale using the original cast scores badly on both.
Does it make a difference if it is free?
Not in law. gov.uk says copyright prevents people “distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale” (How copyright protects your work). Posting free on a fan site is still issuing or communicating a copy.
The practical difference is real, though. Many owners leave non-commercial fan communities alone, but that is a choice they can change, and it is not a right you hold. Money tends to change that choice. If an owner has a published fan policy, read it, and follow what it says.
Where does your idea fall?
| What you are writing | Copyright position | Selling it? |
|---|---|---|
| A wizard school story with your own characters and world | Ideas and tropes are free | Fine |
| A retelling of Pride and Prejudice | Out of copyright. See the public domain guide | Fine, with Amazon’s rules on differentiated versions if it is a reprint |
| A comic spoof that clearly mocks a famous series, using a little of it | Section 30A may apply | Possible, with legal advice. Avoid the original’s branding |
| Writing in the style of an author, with new story and characters | Style is not protected as such, and pastiche may cover closer imitation | Usually possible. Do not imply they wrote it |
| New adventures of a famous in-copyright character | Likely infringement | Not without a licence |
| The same story with the names changed (“filing off the serial numbers”) | Depends how much distinctive expression remains | Rewrite until it stands on its own |
| Using an old character whose later versions are in copyright | The original is free; later additions may not be | Work only from the old text |
Name changes alone are no cure. The court’s focus was on what was taken: back story, jokes, catchphrases, relationships. A renamed story that keeps all those has not moved far.
Amazon: what you agree to
We found no KDP page on fan fiction as such. The rule that applies is general. You must “hold the publishing rights to any content you upload for sale on Amazon”, and lacking them “can result in the rejection or removal of your book, negative impact to your account status, and/or loss of royalties” (KDP IP rights FAQ). Amazon’s metadata rules also ban “Unauthorized reference to other titles or authors” and to “a trademarked term” in the title field (metadata guidelines).
So the risk is wider than a lawsuit. One complaint can affect your whole KDP account, including your other books.
Title and cover need separate care: see can you copyright a book title? and brand names in books. The Only Fools show also lost on passing off. Its disclaimer sat on the terms page, where the judge accepted most users would not see it (para 206).
Asking for a licence
It costs nothing to ask, and some estates and studios do license. Go to the rights holder directly, usually through the publisher’s rights department.
Subject: Licence request: [your book title], based on [their work]
Dear [Rights department / Estate],
I am a UK author. I would like to publish a [novel / short story] set in the world of [their work], using the characters [names].
It would be published as [paperback and ebook], at about [length] words, sold on [Amazon and other shops] from [date]. I attach a one-page summary.
Could you tell me whether a licence is available, what the terms would be, and who I should deal with? I will not publish without your written agreement.
Yours sincerely,
[Name, contact details]Get any yes in writing, and make sure it comes from whoever owns the rights. A friendly reply from an author who has sold their film rights may not be enough.
Frequently asked questions
Is writing fan fiction illegal in the UK?
Infringement is mainly a civil matter between you and the owner, so “illegal” overstates it. But publishing work that takes a substantial part of a protected work, without permission or a defence, is infringement.
Can I sell fan fiction on Amazon?
Not without a licence, unless the source is out of copyright or your work truly qualifies as parody or pastiche. Amazon requires you to hold the publishing rights.
If I say “this is fan fiction, no copyright infringement intended”, am I protected?
No. A note like that is not a defence to copying. The Only Fools judge did say a prominent disclaimer or a title making clear it was an unofficial tribute could have avoided the passing off claim, but that did not touch the copyright claim.
Can I use a real author’s writing style?
The IPO says copyright does not protect “mere ideas”. Close imitation of a particular work is another matter. Don’t pass your book off as theirs: that risks false attribution under moral rights law.
How much can I quote from the original?
There is no fixed number. See fair dealing for UK authors and quoting books, poems and the Bible.
Is it different for parody of a living person?
Copyright is only part of it. A joke about a real person raises defamation questions: see using real people in fiction.
