Warning about Fanlib.com
Hey, all. Not so ranty at this point, but I have to say that I do not like the modus operandi of this place, Fanlib.com, and want to send up a warning flag about it.
They've been spamming fanfic writers recently to get them to join, and most people have ignored it, and for good reason. See, there's a bit in the TOS of this lovely site that states:
FanLib claims no ownership or control over Your Submissions. You retain all of Your ownership rights in Your Submissions. However, by submitting the Submissions to FanLib, You hereby grant FanLib a non-exclusive, worldwide, and royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, and display the Submissions in connection with the Website. FanLib may prepare derivative works from Your Submissions solely for the purpose of promoting and showcasing them in connection with the Website. FanLib shall not make any use of your Submissions or exercise any of the rights to Your Submissions granted to it hereunder other than in connection with the Website. (Bolding mine.)
Which is pretty cool, yeah? I mean, they could feature your fic, or something, right? Well, yeah, unless you feel strongly about the derivative works of your works bit, or if you're not sure you want someone to have the full right to reproduce what you created without your knowledge (but with, one notes, your consent, since it's in the TOS.) In case you're wondering, Fanlib is the baby of a media company that sets up online events, so "in connection with the website" largely means that they could use works you submit for any publicity move they wanted to.
The main problem, though, is that Fanlib is pretty explicitly for-profit, and wherever one stands on the legality of fanfic (as yet undecided by case law in the US, as far as I know), I think most of us would like to avoid being the ones to have a run-in over earning money off of our fanfic. But that's what Fanlib.com is promising; prizes for fanfic - concrete compensation that could be measured in dollars. They're also using fanfic explicitly for promotion purposes for some companies, which they say makes all fanfiction on their site okay, even for authors who've been virulently against it when the fanfic wasn't used to make money.
And maybe I'm fussing too much, but I can't like it that the site follows up all of that with this, also in their TOS:
You shall be solely responsible for Your own Submissions and the consequences of posting or publishing them. In connection with Submissions, You affirm, represent, and/or warrant that You own or have the necessary rights or permissions, either from third parties, or through an ultimate determination of fair use under copyright law, as applicable, to use and authorize FanLib to use the Submissions in the manner contemplated by the Website and these TOS.
In other words, if you turn out to be breaking copyright law, that's your legal battle, not Fanlib.com's. It's a standard disclaimer - most hosts have one like it - but most hosts aren't offering you measurable compensation for something we tend to defend by pointing out that it's a not-for-profit activity.
I noticed that there's already a KH section there, and I'd recommend people stay off it; I don't know if anything will happen, or nothing, but the last thing I'd like to see is Disney coming down hard on KH fic for people getting involved in a scam like this site.
Edit: If you take nothing else home and don't click the cut: know that Fanlib.com seeks to use fanfiction writers to make money for their board while leaving individual writers to deal with it if any legal problems crop up.
They've been spamming fanfic writers recently to get them to join, and most people have ignored it, and for good reason. See, there's a bit in the TOS of this lovely site that states:
FanLib claims no ownership or control over Your Submissions. You retain all of Your ownership rights in Your Submissions. However, by submitting the Submissions to FanLib, You hereby grant FanLib a non-exclusive, worldwide, and royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, and display the Submissions in connection with the Website. FanLib may prepare derivative works from Your Submissions solely for the purpose of promoting and showcasing them in connection with the Website. FanLib shall not make any use of your Submissions or exercise any of the rights to Your Submissions granted to it hereunder other than in connection with the Website. (Bolding mine.)
Which is pretty cool, yeah? I mean, they could feature your fic, or something, right? Well, yeah, unless you feel strongly about the derivative works of your works bit, or if you're not sure you want someone to have the full right to reproduce what you created without your knowledge (but with, one notes, your consent, since it's in the TOS.) In case you're wondering, Fanlib is the baby of a media company that sets up online events, so "in connection with the website" largely means that they could use works you submit for any publicity move they wanted to.
The main problem, though, is that Fanlib is pretty explicitly for-profit, and wherever one stands on the legality of fanfic (as yet undecided by case law in the US, as far as I know), I think most of us would like to avoid being the ones to have a run-in over earning money off of our fanfic. But that's what Fanlib.com is promising; prizes for fanfic - concrete compensation that could be measured in dollars. They're also using fanfic explicitly for promotion purposes for some companies, which they say makes all fanfiction on their site okay, even for authors who've been virulently against it when the fanfic wasn't used to make money.
And maybe I'm fussing too much, but I can't like it that the site follows up all of that with this, also in their TOS:
You shall be solely responsible for Your own Submissions and the consequences of posting or publishing them. In connection with Submissions, You affirm, represent, and/or warrant that You own or have the necessary rights or permissions, either from third parties, or through an ultimate determination of fair use under copyright law, as applicable, to use and authorize FanLib to use the Submissions in the manner contemplated by the Website and these TOS.
In other words, if you turn out to be breaking copyright law, that's your legal battle, not Fanlib.com's. It's a standard disclaimer - most hosts have one like it - but most hosts aren't offering you measurable compensation for something we tend to defend by pointing out that it's a not-for-profit activity.
I noticed that there's already a KH section there, and I'd recommend people stay off it; I don't know if anything will happen, or nothing, but the last thing I'd like to see is Disney coming down hard on KH fic for people getting involved in a scam like this site.
Edit: If you take nothing else home and don't click the cut: know that Fanlib.com seeks to use fanfiction writers to make money for their board while leaving individual writers to deal with it if any legal problems crop up.