I'm going to sub-skeet this because I don't have the strength or inclination to get into it with...strangers.
Copying is part of the creative process. Many creatives start by emulating their influences. You grow out of it.
Fanfic can be a part of that, or its own thing, or both.
Lighten up.
I don't actually read fan fiction - I don't have time - but I do read some media tie-in novels, and if you don't consider that fan fiction, then you're fooling yourself!
A recent example was a Doctor Who novels that included a) why Liz Shaw left UNIT, b) what led up to the Brigadier's divorce from Kate's mother & c) how Mike Yates ended up as a Captain. It was pretty bad.
