ABSTRACT
This chapter explains that some works of fiction create detailed imaginary worlds and acquire followings of fans that come to know these works as deeply as the 'real' world that is, the world known not through personal experience, but through text and other media. Much of the pleasure these fans derive from the works comes not from reading the texts or watching the underlying movies or television shows, but from discussing the works with others. Together these fans make up a community a fandom. Part of any fandom's discussion may take the form of fiction, artwork, or videos based on characters, settings, or other story elements from the original work. Fandom and fan works pose special problems for the owners of copyrights and trademarks in the underlying works. Some fan works may infringe on these intellectual property rights, although rarely in a financially harmful way; yet enforcing intellectual property rights against fans can alienate the market for the protected works.
