load it, check it, quick - rewrite it

[furiosity]

0001 - A reminder! Don't Like Don't Read is only a logical and reasonable defence if the person hasn't actually read it already or had ample warning they wouldn't like it but read it anyway (i.e. "don't complain about Mpreg in a fic if there's a clear label on the header" = reasonable. "if you don't like Mpreg, don't read it!" when NO labels are

Comments

[tray_la_la]

Taking copyright this semester has been very illuminating on this front. Under US law, at least, fanfic/art has a very strong fair use claim, and so is not infringing. (Being of a commercial nature is only one element of the analysis, and in the case in question would be a minor one due to the virtually non-existent market impact). Not to mention that claims against infringment are bolstered by JKR's approval of fan derivative works so long as they aren't smutty. I can understand a general fear over a potential trend in selling fanworks, but as is stands I think it's fine, legally.

[furiosity]

Can you explain to me (using small words if possible) how "for profit" falls under the "fair use" umbrella. I have read a lot about fanfic/art being transformative (rather than merely derivative) in nature and thus having the right to exist, but I've never heard of the fair use argument being applied successfully in court to sales of unlicensed fanworks.

ETA: JKR's approval of fan derivative works so long as they aren't smutty
She also said as long as we don't get paid for them, so there's that.

[tray_la_la]

sure. here's the fair use analysis

[furiosity]

Thank you for the very clear and accessible explanation! I'm glad the fanartist could possibly win a on grounds of fair use if a suit were to happen (not very likely, but still).

her desire doesn't really matter to the court
No, but it does matter to fandom, at least those of us who actually care that HP is her work, not merely our creative playground. If JKR were to get pissed off and say "fuck you guys, no more fanfic for you", I'd comply, and that would make me really sad (not to mention really fucking annoyed at the person or people who caused it). And I imagine she'd have no problem sending out C&D/DMCA takedown avalanches; web providers generally side with the creator, and most fannish folk don't have the know-how or desire to fight these claims. The OTW is still in its infancy, and the language at Chilling Effects is ridiculously inaccessible to the average person. Under current law, JKR is perfectly entitled to request and be granted takedowns of fanwork. That's what the worry is about, and until a fanartist actually wins the

[furiosity]

Why not? It's a-ok, maybe they'll sell it for you. What, no takers?
Ok, that made me LOL IRL. I can just imagine that boardroom conversation, especially if the art in question is slashy. XDD

[furiosity]

See, the "value for money" bit is kind of troubling to me -- what value can (good) fan art provide that (good) fan fiction cannot? Is it just that fan art can be used to decorate living spaces and fan fiction can't?

I ask not because I think fiction should totally be self-published and sold, but because this is the sort of question every ficcer on the planet is going to be asking if the mass sale of fanart for profit goes beyond the occasional blip on the radar. And then we're going to have LAWYER SWOOP.

[stitchesandlace]

Hmmm, you bring up an interesting poing re selling fanart, I'd never really considered it before.

I've always frowned heavily upon selling fanfiction - that's just a big no-no. But fanart... idk. I've purchased prints, and had prints made on my own for things I wanted a hardcopy of. I like having phsyical pieces that I can look at and hang on my wall. In the same boat, I'd really like to get a few of my favourite fanfictions made into print versions to be able to take around and keep, but I wouldn't pay the actual author since the story is free to begin with, I'd be paying for the service to have the work bound. I guess getting prints of fanart I kind of see similarly, at least when I get things printed on my own.

I have two HP fanart books done by lillithium, and they're two of my most prized fandom posessions. I never really thought of it as infringement though. And I'd really really like the one that was announced today, because there's a piece in there that's kind of "mine" (not actually, but it was inspired by my prompt so I feel

[furiosity]

but I wouldn't pay the actual author since the story is free to begin with
But the fan art is free to begin with, too. >.> I don't buy into the whole "oh, but artists spend $ on supplies" thing since not all artists use physical media to create art, and some ficcers use paper and pen to write, then they type it into the computer. Paper and pens are supplies just as much as paintbrushes as canvas, and whereas they're much less expensive than art supplies, they aren't free.

[lillithium]

:-)

I don't make fanbook anymore, and one big reason is that I simply can no longer afford to do it. I don't have any proof to prove that I don't make any profit, but all the books I only charge for printing cost + shipping, because this is my hobby and I don't make money out of my hobbies. The result? every unsold book means me losing money, and then making fanbook becomes a very expensive hobby.

My take on this is that, theoretically nobody should be making money out of fanwork, but the reality is that not everyone is financially well-off, and I would hate to see my favorite artists not publishing anymore doujinshi because they don't have money to do so.

People making money by reselling fanbook is a completely different matter, though, and I'm against it.

[lillithium]

Thank you ♥ Knowing that you liked them makes all the hard-work worthwhile. :-)

[sorrylatenew]

Any sort of profit made off of Harry Potter (or other fandoms but I'm not in them) that is not made by JKR/Warner Bros is DO NOT WANT for me. The line there is too thin, IMO, to comfortably toe and, though it is probably paranoid to even bring this up, JKR has already proved that she is totally not cool with other people making money off her stuff and I really wish people would just quit it. >:| I see the appeal of selling fanart, especially to HP fandom which is huge, but I wouldn't ever go there myself. Then again, I'm completely stupid when it comes to copyright stuff, which may be why I would prefer to keep those potential problems far far away.

Also - this might be a personal thing - there is just something icky about mixing profit and fandom AT ALL. Maybe it's just a fandom etiquette thing and I've been here too long, or maybe it's the fact that fandom is supposed to be a fun, carefree, geeky, sharing sort of place and bringing profit into the picture takes some part of that away. IDEK :\

[furiosity]

Yeah, I am pretty much unhappy with the idea of profiting off fannish anything; not to the point that I'll indignantly go running to JKR's lawyers to report it when I see it, but I don't like it. I just think there is something fundamentally skeevy and icky about making money off being a fan.