What is the procedure if you want to set a story in a world created by someone else?
If, after reading someone else's novel I came up with some neat plot that would fit into that novel's world, but would be a separate story from the original, with maybe some peripheral contact with some of the originals characters; is it allowed? Can I do it without explicit permission (I think doing this would at the very least be extremely discourteous)?
My gut-feel is that it involves some kind of IP that requires permission/deal of some kind.
Answer
I promise you, if you do it without permission and get published nonetheless, they will sue the shit out of you.
You have to ask for permission, there will be legal contracts, because the world's "owner" wants money, your story must really fit and must not disrupt anything the owner wants to do in the future.
So, if you have a name and are already published, you maybe have a chance, if you are a nobody, then I suggest finding your own world.
On the other hand, there are Universes which are written by several authors (e.g. Shadowrun). If you want to write for one of these worlds, contact the organization owning the rights to this Universe. They can tell you what they expect and what you have to do.
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