Fanfiction Paywall Concerns

[ThedudeManBro]

Hi Dudemanbro here.

Sincere question: what should be done if I find a fanfic author who posts a handful of chapters (if that) here, and is locking the rest behind a Patreon paywall?

I'm asking this out of concern that it might construe as illegal use of others intellectual property, but I don't want to report him anywhere and potentially ruin his income without having 100% certainty it actually is illegal and potentially damaging to the site.

Sincerely yours,
A dude who doesn't know Jack.

 

[UrsaTempest]

Strictly speaking it's a piracy, but the rightholder generally don't bother suing because bad PR and even rich Patreon isn't that rich, so in conclusion:

What are you, a cop?

 

[ThedudeManBro]

Strictly speaking it's a piracy, but the rightholder generally don't bother suing because bad PR and even rich Patreon isn't that rich, so in conclusion:

What are you, a cop?

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Mmmh. Okay if the general rule is "no one gives a shit"...

I'll just not care. Thanks for the help.

 

[LurkingInTheDeceit]

-snip-

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Not a lawyer or educated in law but, I'd think answering this question could be potentially damaging to the site.

 

[ThedudeManBro]

Not a lawyer or educated in law but, I'd think answering this question could be potentially damaging to the site.

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.... Motherfucker I fucked it up even while trying to not fuck anyone over.

Goddamit!

 

[LurkingInTheDeceit]

.... Motherfucker I fucked it up even whole trying to not fuck anyone up.

Goddamit!

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I mean, don't worry too much about it. Atm they don't go after fanfic writers (as far as I am aware), and if they start people will probably have enough advance warning to update policy.

 

[Zreader]

I mean, don't worry too much about it. Atm they don't go after fanfic writers (as far as I am aware), and if they start people will probably have enough advance warning to update policy.

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They don't go after fan fic authors because they stick to the legal grey area of making the story free… eventually. But straight up requiring money in order to have any access ever is pretty new and definitely not a gray area. Any paid/exclusive chapters must be posted for free somewhere eventually in order to be (questionably) legal.

QQ's NSFW board is actually a good place to post those chapters (for writers making money this way) because readers won't casually find the story while searching/browsing the Internet. This as opposed to posting it on a larger platform or board that doesn't require a login and is search engine indexable.

If you don't think people won't sue or send takedown notices just to shut someone down and for no direct monetary gain, look at the "System Apocalypse" trademark issue that's happening right now.

 

[daniel_gudman]

The author themselves is pretty straightforwardly violating copyright law I think, no grey-zone, it's profiting off someone else's IP. I believe this board is subject to US law and I'm given to understand there's a rule that service providers are generally not responsible for content produced by service-users, so I don't believe the board would be exposed to a lawsuit?

That said,
my personal opinion is that I don't like it in the sense that monetizing fanfic increase the jeopardy for pure hobbyists like me getting hassled by antsy lawyers, but I don't particularly want to do anything about it beyond complaining a little bit.

 

[SoralTheSol]

I think it depends on the pay wall. There are those that do as you say and others who are releasing the full story over time. The pay wall is just there for the latest chapters that might still need editing. Personally I plan to have any fanfiction on my patreon posted in the open and only put my original works behind the support wall. I support a couple of writers but they are all pretty consistent in their posting. I have dropped other writers because their set-up is terrible and they demand too much money to view their fics. It is very much a vote with your wallet kinda thing.

 

[Megaolix]

I am in no way an expert about law stuff. But what exactly are we even supposed to do about this?

Besides, you could say that any Patreon fanfic writer is illegal with this mindset. Or any artist that draw known characters for money.

 

[Evillevi]

Hi Dudemanbro here.

Sincere question: what should be done if I find a fanfic author who posts a handful of chapters (if that) here, and is locking the rest behind a Patreon paywall?

I'm asking this out of concern that it might construe as illegal use of others intellectual property, but I don't want to report him anywhere and potentially ruin his income without having 100% certainty it actually is illegal and potentially damaging to the site.

Sincerely yours,
A dude who doesn't know Jack.

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Meh it's a complicated answer that only a lawyer can really give you.

As I understand it, it's technically both illegal and legal to lock fan fic behind a paywall depending on the circumstances.

It's illegal since you're reproducing and profiting off of copyrighted content, BUT generally most parties assume that until otherwise stated that the copyright holder has broadly given implied permission to use their works for money.

Gaming Youtubers for example are profiting out of someone's Intellectual property without permission from the original holders. And you should in theory report each and every gaming youtuber for piracy and IP infringement. However Youtube and basically everyone involved makes the assumption that those gaming youtubers have an implied permission to use that work since the copyright holder has not objected to it yet.

Is it a dumb system that's prone to abuse and vague problems. Yes. But it's how youtube works.

 

[Daniel K. English]

i think commissioning work might be in the grey so long as the completed work is not behind a paywall since you're not selling the fanfiction but your services as a writer

and this site should be fine as fanfiction can be treated as a "derivative work" so long as

1. it does not assert itself as the real thing
2. people do not pay for the work itself

basically you're not reading a free copy of KonoSuba when you read a fanfic of it on this site

instead you're reading a free story with material from KonoSuba, but is not consider the actual thing as long as there are sufficient creative changes

QQ is a haven for some Patreon-users but the financial transactions don't happen here so this site is as guilty as the rest of the internet

 

[Tortoise]

If the difference from other fan fictions is that most chapters are not available on this site, instead being behind a paywall that's on some unrelated other site, I doubt that causes any problems for this site specifically.

 

[Jackie]

Hi Dudemanbro here.

Sincere question: what should be done if I find a fanfic author who posts a handful of chapters (if that) here, and is locking the rest behind a Patreon paywall?

I'm asking this out of concern that it might construe as illegal use of others intellectual property, but I don't want to report him anywhere and potentially ruin his income without having 100% certainty it actually is illegal and potentially damaging to the site.

Sincerely yours,
A dude who doesn't know Jack.

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Parody is a protected form of expression and fanfiction qualifies.

Legally, parody does not have to mock the source material.