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Vixianna
Yeah except I read that, and I have damn good reading comprehension, and it was still unclear.

Basically, their entire point was that it's wishywashy, and we can't really tell you if your a** is out for legal rape or not.
Yep, that's exactly what they're saying but it's really the very best site I've found to address fanwork at all and yes, they do it by throwing as much information at you as possible so you can draw your own conclusions but it's better than nothing. Most don't want to take it on at all because it's so murky and they can't tell you what to do knowing that no matter how legal your use may be, if someone wants to take you to the cleaners, they will. Money is power, especially in copyright law --- especially since the last copyright extension was made purely to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain. All the latest 'reforms' have been anti-innovation so most legal groups are afraid of giving fans advice that might get them in trouble later. You could try OTW though. They're trying to make the case that fanwork is transformative as strong as possible and they seem to have the legal background necessary so maybe we'll see improvement soon.

Dedicated Loiterer

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Thank you for this topic. I don't know why people would think SOPA just comes falling from the sky.

I've done a course on copyright and it's quite difficult. Copyright was made to protect people so they could keep on being creative without fear of theft. But lately the lines have been blurred and what theft is exactly is different for everyone. Currently the general rule is that when you copyright your stuff officially, even a stranger just displaying your work makes them a criminal. That's why people have been going for Creative Commons so that they can choose only to sue when money is being made off of it. Sadly for the public it's not very known which artist did what.

People have been trying to change the centuries old copyright law because it hurts people that aren't criminals. Like how Disney can demand thousands of dollars from a family because a kid put up a mickey picture on their website. It's not really about the money, it's about the ability to say this is mine and not yours.

I can understand why companies would want the power to make people afraid to gain their stuff 'illegally'. Too often do people reach out to download the latest song, game and movie. You could have an honest business that doesn't charge too much and people would still steal from you if you give them the chance. People are selfish like that.

Right now what we have are extremes. There's the group that wants absolute power over copyright and there's the group that wants copyright to lose all its power. What we should want is a golden road in the middle, something that doesn't scare people off from being creative and something that will still allow fans to share their experiences (which basically leads to free publicity) without them earning money on it.

Please excuse my long post. sweatdrop

Beloved Genius

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Vixianna
Yeah except I read that, and I have damn good reading comprehension, and it was still unclear.
Basically, their entire point was that it's wishywashy, and we can't really tell you if your a** is out for legal rape or not.
Yep, that's exactly what they're saying but it's really the very best site I've found to address fanwork at all and yes, they do it by throwing as much information at you as possible so you can draw your own conclusions but it's better than nothing. Most don't want to take it on at all because it's so murky and they can't tell you what to do knowing that no matter how legal your use may be, if someone wants to take you to the cleaners, they will. Money is power, especially in copyright law --- especially since the last copyright extension was made purely to keep Mickey Mouse out of the public domain. All the latest 'reforms' have been anti-innovation so most legal groups are afraid of giving fans advice that might get them in trouble later. You could try OTW though. They're trying to make the case that fanwork is transformative as strong as possible and they seem to have the legal background necessary so maybe we'll see improvement soon.


Well my work isn't for things like Disney, but for Nick(I'm being purposefully vague here, because I'm not trying to plug myself for one, and for another...corporate hounds. >.> wink . Meaning that I'd have to go for an affirmative defense of fair use, which is what I suppose claiming that a fanfic is a derivative work(and therefore transformative and subject to fair use) is trying to do.

I just hate feeling legally naked over something that for all study into the subject has been shown to increase sales and give them free advertising.(Knowing that I personally got into or back into some original works because of the fandom works.)

By the way, thanks so much for all these great resources, it's been a fun read so far.
You're welcome. I held off posting it for awhile until I just couldn't take the stupidity in some of these forum posts anymore. I honestly expected this thread to be piled on by trolls and flamers, but I've been pleasantly surprised. smile
^^ Well thank goodness you posted, Brad. Where would we be without you? [/sarcasm] Personally, I think you should care because whether you understand it or not, it's the law applicable to Gaia but if you just really won't, well, part of freedom is being able to choose not to care, even if that means taking the consequences when you screw up.
Copyrighting is a dead and useless tool. It either needs to be revised or not exist since there is no way to really protect it. Certain people and companies fail to realize that we live in the Internet Age. It's not 1955 anymore, it's 2012 and the 1% that hold all the cards fail to realize this.

Magnetic Businesswoman

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stop it please!!
artbin
Copyrighting is a dead and useless tool. It either needs to be revised or not exist since there is no way to really protect it. Certain people and companies fail to realize that we live in the Internet Age. It's not 1955 anymore, it's 2012 and the 1% that hold all the cards fail to realize this.
Copyright is important because it gives the individual rights to their own creation. Without copyright, the major labels and studios and publishers wouldn't have to negotiate with musicians and artists and singers for new creations. They could just take it and because they have a lot of money, there's very little an individual could do against them. Copyright law needs to be updated to strengthen the public domain, protect innovation and reward creativity, even in the Internet Age.

Popular Noob

I'm sure a lot of people would agree with SOPA if they were music artists and people listened to their music on YouTube. That's money out of their pocket.

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Kilted
artbin
Copyrighting is a dead and useless tool. It either needs to be revised or not exist since there is no way to really protect it. Certain people and companies fail to realize that we live in the Internet Age. It's not 1955 anymore, it's 2012 and the 1% that hold all the cards fail to realize this.
Copyright is important because it gives the individual rights to their own creation. Without copyright, the major labels and studios and publishers wouldn't have to negotiate with musicians and artists and singers for new creations. They could just take it and because they have a lot of money, there's very little an individual could do against them. Copyright law needs to be updated to strengthen the public domain, protect innovation and reward creativity, even in the Internet Age.


Why not strengthen individual copyright while limiting corporate? A writer of a book should hold the copyright not the publishing company yet 9 out of 10 times it's the publishing company that will go after individuals. Same applies to music, movies, etc.

I would rather individuals keep their own creative works under their control than handing it over to a corporation. Perhaps a shift like this would be what we need right now.

Plus two of the biggest sources of copyright infringement come from the Middle East and Asia. Until you can control the streets of those areas, this issue will never die.

Questionable Borg

bradwashington 51
Kilted
You know what infuriates me? Seeing people put “credit goes to who made it” in their sig next to stolen art thinking that makes it all okay.

Everyone’s talking about SOPA (and I hate it too)... but take this opportunity, people! Learn a little about the problems that allowed SOPA to get even this far instead of just complaining!




What do YOU know about copyright? Public domain? Creative Commons? Plagiarism? Fair Use?

Want to learn more, fast? Start with these FAQs: http://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/copyright-faq and http://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/fair-use-faq

Want to use copyrighted content online responsibly? Read this: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/fair-use/related-materials/codes/code-best-practices-fair-use-online-video

What about fanart and fanfic? Try this: https://www.chillingeffects.org/fanfic/faq.cgi

Some of this is very confusing and even doing everything right won't necessarily keep you safe. About the only thing everyone can agree on is that US Copyright law is out of date. No one can do everything right so all I ask is that you know enough to make smart decisions and try to be responsible and creative with your work.



i dont even know wht your even talking about and i dont care
Then why post?

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