Enjoy reading fanfic? Maybe you secretly write it?

Would it worry you to know that fans might be bootlegging your book?

This can range from artistically binding a single copy of your book for their own enjoyment, to ripping it off bigtime. The latter can have repercussions – and not only for the bootleggers (if caught).

Fanfic (fan fiction) exists in a legal grey area that differs from country to country. The Wikipedia article: fan fiction makes a good job of discussing the said area, including the prevalent legal defences, misunderstandings and abuses. It also offers a glossary of terms used to describe the various sub-genre(s). Thus: did you know that the sub-genre dwelling on inflicting extreme suffering on a character is called whump?