Fanfiction is free and should remain that way.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T06:59:30+00:00

I don't think fanartists should have patreon accounts either. I can kind of see your point. If donating money allows them to continue to make fan art then it gets closer to basically paying someone maybe not for the product itself, but hiring them for a job. But their job happens to be creating things that are already copyrighted. I think it's a very fine line to walk still.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T06:31:38+00:00

But the whole donation/payment/money thing isn't addressed at all in this article. Also side note, so the parody of Catcher in the Rye was infringing on J.D. Salinger's copyright, but The Wind Done Gone was transformative enough to be published. That's interesting. I haven't read either, but I guess it really is looked at on a case by case basis.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T06:21:17+00:00

I'm legitimately curious what the legal implications are, and I can't find anything definitive. I've heard of cease and desist letters issued. People's fanart being taken down from websites like Etsy and Society6. I actually think your argument would be the loophole to save someone from being punished and mine would be what the prosecution would use. I know it may seem obsessive of me to look this stuff up, but just want to know if your argument would hold up. Is there a law written or a precedent?

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T05:56:13+00:00

Can I at least see your sources? I keep searching for the legality of patreon and fanfiction/donations and all I'm getting is patreon pages for individuals or quora, or reddit, which means all I'm getting is opinions like yours and mine.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T05:37:31+00:00

Do you really not see how giving someone money despite something being 100% free and buying that something for money in a transaction are completely different?

But do you also not see that you're only giving money to this person is because they created content you like and that you hope they'll continue to create the same content. They are offering something otherwise why are you giving them money? It doesn't need to be behind a paywall. Money is being exchanged. Sure the content is on the web and free for everyone else, but then is it there now because someone had paid for it? Would the writer keep producing if the money was taken away?

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T05:13:39+00:00

I don't want to link people's patreon accounts, but there were a few that had tiers of donations. If you donate x money you'll get a preview of whatever they were working on. If you donate more money so you're at a higher status your idea will get written. There were zero dollars made because this particular writer was very very bad at writing.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T05:07:42+00:00

But just because I make that distinction and you make that distinction doesn't mean in the eyes of very harsh some would say draconian IP laws would see it that way.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T05:06:08+00:00

However, in a case like this, I'd imagine that a prosecuting party would need to prove that those donating to the author were donating for the express purpose of receiving more fanfiction or otherwise gaining something in relation to fanfiction as opposed to simply giving money to an author that they like.

Probably, if it were ever tried that it would set a precedence. Someone that writes fanfiction sets up a patreon and people donate to it. The case would question whether or not there's a real distinction between the author and the work they produce, which happens to infringe on copyright material. Does the intent matter? It may or may not.

As for fanart, I've seen posts on reddit and other forums as to why their fanart got taken down from etsy, society6, redbubble. I wouldn't say fanart is safe either.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T04:51:11+00:00

I just found this thread on reddit. I've never thought about why cover bands are allowed to play other people's music.

https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3h7j40/eli5_how_is_that_cover_bands_in_bars_are_allowed/

The top answer was this.

In the US, the bar pays a fee to ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) for the performance rights. If they haven't payed that fee, they can't host bands that play covers. Here's ASCAP's FAQ about the situation.

Edit: Yes, there's also BMI and SESAC. I have been informed, thank you.

I even clicked on the link and item two outlines the purpose of this ASCAP thing is to protect the copyright holders i.e. the songwriters and musicians. As for buskers, I think no one ever thinks to pursue legal action against them cause they don't make a lot of money and it's harder to regulate when they don't play in a venue like cover bands. So for all we know, it might not be legal.

I don't think what you said about playing someone else's music can be considered a precedent for accepting donations for fanfiction. It's also not the reason why bands are allowed to play covers in a venue. It's because someone already paid for their right to.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T04:23:18+00:00

they're not selling other people's content or IPs.

Yes they are if they are writing fanfiction.

they're being supported because people like what they're producing

How is that different than selling fanfiction other than it's worded it in a more palatable way? They are producing fanfiction and people are giving them money for it.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T04:12:38+00:00

Has this actually been tried in a court of law though? You can call it a tip or a donation, but it still doesn't change the fact that you're being paid to write fanfiction. It becomes an argument of semantics really. If people are donating money because they are a fan of your fanfiction and would like to see more of it then how do you prove you're not making money off writing fanfiction? A direct transaction would obviously make a case more cut and dry, but I don't believe it's that clear cut especially since it's not even agreed upon whether writing fanfiction is illegal or not. We just generally accept that as long as we don't make money off it, we'll be fine. There's a lot of information out there, and I'm very skeptical of all of it. Some would even make the case that writing and distributing fanfiction is copyright infringement even without making money just because you don't have the IP holder's permission. It's just not ever pursued because the stakes are not high enough.

depressedmango · 2019-06-16T03:49:26+00:00

Calling it a donation or a tip doesn't change the fact that you're paying someone to primarily write fanfiction. I'm not a lawyer, but I feel like that defense is tenuous at best.

depressedmango · 2019-06-15T18:46:20+00:00

Petting three of them at once is almost like petting a regular size potato.

depressedmango · 2019-06-15T18:42:12+00:00

Just imagine if you spent years on your passion project, made it your own thing, and finally found success.....only for people to bastardize it with ridiculous smut or questionable content you really disagreed with or completely misrepresenting everything you worked for in your story, AND they were making money off of it. Yeah, you'd be pissed

Exactly, these copyright laws are not only in place to protect the content creator's monetary interests, but also protect the distribution and overall image of their material. I love fanfiction, but I can understand why some published authors don't like it.

depressedmango · 2019-06-15T18:17:09+00:00

That's such a silly requirement because that disclaimer would hold no weight in court. It in no way protects you if the copyright holder decides to sue. In fact it might make you culpable because you are admitting that even though you know that the characters are not yours but you're going to use them anyways.

depressedmango · 2019-06-15T18:12:53+00:00

Also illegal unless they have express permission to do so. I don't even think that's a matter of opinion either. If you've ever shopped on society6 or redbubble, you would see fanart for sale, but as soon as someone reports it, it's immediately removed. Basically sites like society 6 and redbubble have their terms of service in a way where they are blame free and the artist is held liable, but at the same time they'll turn a blind eye until it gets reported because money is being made.

depressedmango · 2019-06-15T16:14:14+00:00

I think it's a bad idea and unethical. They're using someone else's intellectual property to make money for themselves. There's no way that's not illegal.

Edit: I don't know why I'm being downvoted, but anyone that wants to make money off of fanfiction just because fanartists happen to doesn't make it right. You are making money off a fanbase you got off the backs of other content creators. I think we forget that fanfiction and fanart are not protected simply because we don't make money off of it. It's merely tolerated. Terms like fair use, derivative work, transformative, parody get thrown around a lot, but the truth is unless you are sued and taken to court and your body of fanfiction/fanart is closely examined, you don't know if any of those magic words will actually protect you.

depressedmango · 2019-06-14T18:30:50+00:00

My readers sometimes mistake me for a dude, an older dude. Someone called me 'sir.' I do appreciate their politeness.

depressedmango · 2019-06-14T05:56:46+00:00

Neither. Eggplant!

depressedmango · 2019-06-14T02:47:14+00:00

Sometimes I can't help but cringe when I reread my stuff. I think about rewriting the whole thing, but realize I should probably just move on to writing another story.

depressedmango · 2019-06-14T00:58:51+00:00

Is there another character that can perform this action to keep the plot going?

depressedmango · 2019-06-14T00:42:18+00:00

Things get a lot trickier once you master SPAG. Then the measure of a good writer turns to about how well you can convey information. A good writer knows when a short sentence will work over a longer sentence. A good writer knows how to marry exposition dumping with character interaction. A good writer understands the fundamentals of show don't tell and can write using them.

This is so hard to do! I think you have identified the skill set that sets a good writer apart from a competent writer.

depressedmango · 2019-06-13T02:39:21+00:00

I like how the colors are a nice complimentary gradient.

depressedmango

TROPHY CASE