#yes i have an intellectual properties lawyer

[caesarflickermans]

thg fans, we need to talk about the "rose map".

with TBOSAS, a new Panem map emerged diverging from previous map iterations. Fans have attempted to explain the stylistic difference as either a Capitol map or an in-universe artistic interpretation resembling a rose.

however, this map resembles a popular fan-made map. let's finally address this.

[image id: two pictures of a map. the first map has been made by a fan with its social media links included. the second map is titled "history of panem". the first map has several districts marked in a circular form moving inward toward the capitol. the second map is a similar design with the same shapes moving toward an inner centre. it's red colour makes it look like a rose]

Note the resemblance of the District placements and their shapes. District 4 and its island are especially noteworthy.

the original artist has spoken out today on a reddit post. this is their statement:

Hi, I'm aimmyarrowshigh who created this map, and I just wanted to thank you for pointing out here and when it was originally revealed that Lionsgate stole it from me.  They never contacted me to ask about using my Panem map (even though it is copyrighted as part of The Panem Companion) and did not give me any credit for its use. If they wanted to use it as the TBOSAS map, I would have gladly worked with them to update it to their design specs in exchange for whatever they paid their graphic designers and an acknowledgement in the end credits! I would have been thrilled! But instead, they stole it without any regard, and they're ignoring the Cease & Desist sent by my lawyers. (I am being aided by the legal team at the OTW.)  I am so disappointed by their decisions regarding this issue, from the initial choice to use it without just... asking... or even informing me... to their refusal to admit that they did such a thing. The fact that the graphic design company quietly removed it from IG after Lionsgate got the C&D, yet they still aren't going to give any credit or compensation for its use, is kind of depressing.  I think I can probably speak for any fan artist or meta writer in saying that having one of my crazy ideas made canon is super cool, and if they had asked me whether they could use my map design, I would have said yes AND probably been a lot cheaper than whoever they paid to steal it, just because I would have been so chuffed to see it in the movie. I'm kind of heartbroken that they didn't respect it, or me, enough to just... shoot me an email. You know? I know some people will probably reply and say "it's just a fanwork" or "you made it 13 years ago, get over it" or something like that, but fanworks are made out of pure love for the thing (in this case, THG) and Lionsgate took advantage of my love for THG to earn a little more money directly (on merch) and indirectly (in the movie itself). That's gross, imo. Just because it's a fanwork doesn't mean it isn't the intellectual property of the person who created it -- and especially in the case of something like this map, which exists specifically because it DIDN'T exist in canon at the time I created it.  Anyway, tl;dr: yes, they stole it, and thank you for pointing that out so consistently. 

what to do as fans?

boycott the "rose" map. do not buy the map / do not promote it / raise awareness / share this post.

uplift fan work. support fans / share & credit fan work.

supporty aimmyarrowshigh. buy or talk about the panem companion / share the original map.

#thg #the hunger games #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #everlark #lucy gray baird #coriolanus snow #snowbaird #annie cresta #finnick odair #odesta #haymitch abernathy #effie trinket #hayffie

[facelessoldgargoyle]

You know nobody’s going to want to make stuff anymore if some jackass can just lift it , make money off it and claim it’s theirs . It’s not gonna make a free idea paradise it’s just going to lead to huge company’s robbing the shit out of smaller creators even worse than they do already and driving them out of every single creative industry .

For context, this is regarding an AITA post about a someone resenting someone else for using many element of their fan AU in their own fan creations. My response was fuck that, down with intellectual property.

First, I think it’s hypocritical to write a fanfic derived from someone else’s work and then turn around and resent someone else for deriving something from your work. This is a situation in which no one is making money, it’s just people playing in a sandbox of ideas together. Resenting a smaller artist in this context seems pretty despicable to me. Your feelings about this may vary.

Second, in in my 30 second reply, I did not elaborate on my politics. I think it was fair to assume from the reply that I was a libertarian shithead. I am, in fact, a c-c-c-communist.

The primary concern you raise here seems to be that artists won’t get paid. Art already isn’t profitable though. You can work for shit wages at an animation studio, you can become an influencer to hock your book, or you can be a good enough poster that people support you on patreon. Stricter copyright laws wouldn’t fix that, it would just make it easier for Disney to go after fan artists. The problem is that the market is oversaturated with art. There are more people out there making art than can get paid a decent living for it.

That sucks! I think artists should get paid more, and I think more people should be artists! It’s depressing that such a large percentage of working artists are the children of rich people, but the flip side of the coin is that when people have financial security and leisure time, they gravitate to the arts. The obvious answer here is to create a society in which everyone has financial security and leisure time.

Finally, copyright laws most benefit people who already have accrued capital. If you’re a working artist, you’re not making enough money to take people to court over them selling merch based on your design. If you’re Anne Rice, you can afford employ lawyers to threaten people who write stories where your vampires bone and burn thousands of dollars on ads decrying a restaurant built in an empty lot featured in one of your books. This is silly, but it’s a logical extension of feeling possessive over your story and being empowered by the law to do something about it.

Copyright law promises that one day you, yes you, will profit off of your creations. Unfortunately, except for a few people who win the lottery, it’s just not gonna happen.

Instead of supporting intellectual property, it would be more meaningful to actually give artists you know money. Support someone’s patreon. Buy someone’s shit on itch.io.

#op #vilesprout

[lullabyes22-blog]

On Fanfic, Print-to-Read and Legal Grey Areas

I've had a number of PMs on tumblr and AO3 over the last few months asking if I'd ever consider doing a printed 3D version of Forward but Never Forget/XOXO the way it's popular on fanfictok.

And my feelings are Many :3

It should be noted that there is a difference between printing vs publishing. It should also be noted that sites like Lulu.com have been used in the past to print copies of fanfic - some of which are even up for purchase like regular old books.

However, fanfic, by virtue of its ambiguous occupation in the digital domain, is full of caveats in the form of "Yes, but..." and "Well, actually."

As a medium, fanfic enjoys protections so long as it's being hosted on sites such as AO3, FFnet and other platforms which have the apparatus (legally) to defend the content. To do so, said content needs to be fair use (no profit is being made off its distribution) and transformative, i.e. it takes original content and contributes something new to it.

While the act of printing a fanfic for personal use technically straddles the line between Yea and Nay, it should be noted that the printers, shipping agents and other sundry parties are still making money off of the process. Thus, there is still a commercial profit being made for a technically illegal work, even if the money is not going into the fanfic writer's pocket or to the original creators.

Lulu in its FAQ policy also discourages fanfic from being hosted on its platform - and has been known to take down the accounts/works if they're flagged.

Riot Games as a company are also incredibly litigious when it comes to their intellectual property. They state in their own FAQ that unless it's fair use, any distribution of their stuff will earn you a swat on the rear. Non-commercial projects like Kickstarters, Patreons and Ko-Fi to crowdsource works for widespread distribution are also a no-no.

All of this is to say: it's unlikely I'd put FnF out as a print version at any point in the near future.

:(

I am incredibly flattered folks like this fic enough to want to read it in 3D print, and all the messages of support make me so happy<3

Legal ditherings and blatherings aside:

If you would like to reproduce my works as printed books for your own use, without any intent to distribute them for profit, this is my blanket consent post.

Go for it<3

And please share pics - I would be delighted to see them!

I'm hopeful, that as fanfiction gains traction as a more mainstream medium, that large corporations will be less fussy about its consumption in fandom spaces. However, recent trends are not hopeful in that sphere.

Even fair use content that is now in the public domain has the OG copyright holders clutching their pearls and summoning their lawyers - see the whole Enola Holmes and Sherlock is too Emuuuuutional! hilarity.

I encourage everyone interested in fanfic - and keeping the medium alive and thriving - to check out the Center for Internet and Society. We're going to have a lot of dialogue in the coming years re: net neutrality, fair use, free speech, and copyright, and I promise you, the era will be a litigious one.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Also please support sites like AO3 that, whatever their faults, do so much to keep fandom content alive, and give it a global platform. Especially for LGBTQ+ works, which continue to be squelched and otherwise suppressed in so many parts of the globe.

Also please feel free to contribute further info to this post - and start dialogue.

Just keep it polite and respectful<3

#arcane #arcane league of legends #forward but never forget/xoxo #forward (never forget)/xoxo #fanfiction #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #fanfic printing

[bcacstuff]

Hi Bc, just wondering your thoughts. Now the final decision is down from Euro court SS WHISKEY cannot be sold in Europe. If Scotland leaves UK and rejoins EU, as Sam has spoken his support for in the past, with this decision, isn't it correct, if Scotland were part of the EU, his alcohol could not be sold in Scotland? As an aside, always thought he's been in Scotland this year, through the holidays. There's been signs and he's been out with some family members and friends, if you're keen on certain postings.

First the 'aside'. And yes I saw that certain posting which indicates he's been hosting Christmas for (at least part of) his family. I didn't post about it, as I don't want to sent everyone to the 'certain postings'. It's just nice to see he spent Xmas with his family at his tavern. For the curious ones, nothing really to see on the picture posted, though beautiful pic. It was geo tagged by a certain family member which I think told us enough.

About the trademark, I had one more Anon about this.

Yes, well it was already successfully opposed by The Sasse in September 2021.

Sasse claimed that the term ‘Sassenach’ was too similar to its registered trademark ‘Sasse’, thus creating a likelihood of consumer confusion. His trademark is already registered since 2009!

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) refused to approve The Sassenach trademark application and sided with the Sasse distillery. The Great Glen Company argued that the whisky’s name was a Gaelic term once used, often disparagingly, to refer to someone from England or the Scottish lowlands. The term is also used in the Outlander series as a nickname that Heughan’s character uses for his love interest Claire.

However the EUIPO found that the two trademarks were visually and aurally similar “to an average degree”.

It noted: “It should be also borne in mind that the relevant goods are beverages and, since these are frequently ordered in noisy establishments (bars, nightclubs), the phonetic similarity between the signs is particularly relevant.”

It dismissed claims that American TV show Outlander was well-known in Germany due lack of evidence presented, and also ruled that the German audience wouldn’t be familiar with the term’s other meaning.

The EUIPO stated: “It cannot be safely excluded that the relevant consumer will perceive the contested mark as a sub-brand, a variation of the earlier marks, configured in a different way according to the type of goods or services that it designates. The relevant consumer could perceive ‘The Sassenach’ at least as a variation of the earlier marks, maybe aimed at English speakers or the English-speaking market, due to the presence of the English article ‘The’.”

GGC consequently launched an appeal. However lawyers for the Sasse distillery already said: “The television series may be as popular as the other side claims, which we deny, nonetheless it is not sufficient to assume that the average consumer knows the meaning of that term.”

The appeal was not successful and as of 27 November 2023 the EUIPO has sent a total refusal of protection of the trademark in the European Union.

Note that other European countries did approve the trademark before and he can sell them in those countries, just not in Germany. And it also means he can not defend the trademark in the European Union via the Madrid Protocol/EUIPO but would have to do such for all EU countries separated.

So Anon if Scotland would leave the UK and would become part of the EU, they can still sell and trademark the brand in Scotland itself (like it is now for the UK) and need to defend on national level.

We already hinted on the change of name when we saw the trademark entering the WIPO. Status of protection is pending from CA, EU and UK.

It still takes a while, see the date 12.04.2025 (12 April 2025)

One more thing I saw related to this subject. There is this German women (Simone Alexander) who has been posting on IG and X for a long time, asking people to sign a petition and apparently has been bothering Herr Sasse about his opposition.

And then just a few weeks ago... I saw this

So, yes I hear you it's nice to thank her... Well, I don't think so, he encourages her to even to go on for a cause that is completely useless. The law is the law, even for Mr. Heughan. He's not above it. Herr Sasse has his trademark registered since 2009 and building his business upon it. He has every right to oppose a trademark with a similar name and the EUIPO decided on the laws in favor of Herr Sasse. It would be totally insane if someone from another country with a bit of fame could simply ruin someone else's honest built business and I don't get why these people like this woman do not get that. He isn't God nor Ginger Jesus. And to me, honestly I find it embarrassing for him to comment on it that way.

[tanadrin]

...what exactly is the correct, good faith description of how common law constitutional systems work, then? i had conservative parents where extremely literal interpretation of the constitution was always assumed - never really got any perspective on living constitutionalism than that it was always just vague hogwash to justify doing whatever the speaker's exact policy preferences are. i understand that originalism/textualism as used are exactly the same, sure, but that's why i thought the only recourse was to dispense with constitutionalism and even the idea of "rights" altogether and go with a hobbes/schmitt (yes i know he's a nazi) bent. this isolates me from most other politics people on the internet a great deal, obviously! but if there's actually a case for living constitutionalism that doesn't reduce to "everything i want is always mandatory, everything my opponents want is always illegal" that can convince me that'd be great!

Originalism and textualism are not the same thing.

Originalism is the legal philosophy that the meaning of a law is based on the intent of the drafters of the law. In the U.S., this is actually not so hard a problem, because the Constitution was drafted in the 1780s, there was a big ratification debate which involved a lot of the people who participated in the drafting, and they made their own understanding of the text quite clear. Subsequent amendments were drafted even later, and like laws drafted by Congress, there are records of congressional debates and the like in which lawmakers lay out their stances very clearly.

Now, the problem with originalism as a legal philosophy is that you have to actually be good at historical research to apply it correctly. And if you are any good at historical research, and do not arbitrarily cherry-pick citations, you will unfortunately find that a lot of the dogmas of the conservative legal movement are actually not in evidence in the historical debates around the Constitution, its amendments, and significant U.S. statute laws. For this reason, among others, later conservative legal scholars have tried to make textualism a thing.

Textualism is the legal philosophy that the meaning of a law is based on the commonly understood meaning of the law at the time it was adopted. This is a weird approach! Like, I don't know much about (say) customs law, which is a complicated subject; if I tried to apply a customs law adopted in 2024 I would very probably fuck it up at some point. Even a highly trained criminal attorney or intellectual property lawyer might easily do so--the legal profession is big, and requires a lot of specialization! So why do non-expert opinions matter? And if expert opinions are what we are after, who is a better authority than the people who actually drafted a law?

Nonetheless, textualism is a highly motivated approach at avoiding the limits of originalism, and the key to applying textualism is to do your historical research even worse than if you were trying to do originalism. For example, D.C. v Heller (2008) found that the 2nd amendment protected an individual right to bear arms; but this is a terrible decision from both an originalist point of view and a textualist point of view, because we have lots of gun control legislation from much closer to the time the 2nd amendment was adopted in 1791 that would violate the 2nd amendment as interpreted in 2008; it is clear that the 2nd amendment was certainly not commonly understood at the time of its adoption to protect an individual right to bear arms, but was more about protecting the rights of states to raise and arm militias--which also happens to be consonant with a lot of the other historical evidence we have around why the 2nd amendment was adopted, and what the purpose of the Bill of Rights was, vis a vis the restraint of federal power against the states (cf. the Federalist Papers).

A big problem for any attempt at a purely deterministic, mechanistic application of law is that law is not a magical or mathematical formula with a single unambiguous meaning, because we create law through language, and that's not how human language works. Human language is not infinitely flexible, but it is equally not perfectly precise; it frequently admits ambiguity. And how we understand texts, and the values that are key to interpreting those texts, evolve over time: the U.S. Constitution clearly forbids "cruel and unusual punishment," but what is considered "cruel and unusual" in 2024 is very different from what was "cruel and unusual" in 1791. Should the literal meaning of 1791 prevail--in which case the law can only possibly regulate things which actually existed in 1791, and it's perfectly OK for the Feds to ransack your email without a warrant because it's not within your 'houses, papers, and effects'--or should the general principle which is shared between 1791 and 2024 prevail--in which case it's not insane to read the prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment" as a prohibition on the death penalty if we come to understand the death penalty as cruel or unusual?

All texts require us to negotiate their meaning. This does not mean communication is impossible, or that a text can say anything you want it to mean. What it means is that ambiguity in communication is unavoidable. Law is an effective tool because it is a Schelling point for cooperation, which is what lets us build peaceful and ordered societies, and allows us to do politics without killing each other. Textualism and originalism not only deny the very inarguable fact of ambiguity in language, I think they work pretty hard against law being an actually useful Schelling point, and attempt to turn it into a brute exercise of power. Which is not good if you want a society to actually function!

Outside of originalism and textualism there are lots of different views on legal philosophy and they are complicated. Legal realism and legal positivism are two historically popular schools of thought. The general question of legal philosophy is called "jurisprudence," which is both thinking about what the law is and what it should be; there are literally whole textbooks on the subject. Law is complicated! There is a reason you can get advanced degrees in this stuff!

#i am not myself a lawyer #just an interested amateur #so anybody who has taken an actual jurisprudence class #feel free to weigh in

[olderthannetfic]

Wait I’m genuinely curious about the mechanisms of this - so I know about ao3 and copyright law, but what about zines? I think the earliest are from the 1970s but how have they, as a media form, survived for so long if they’re also technically breaking the law by profiting off an IP? I get a lot are for charity and companies would be reluctant to sue projects for charity but I’ve seen some being sold that aren’t?

And also what about authors who post early updates on patreon or have patreon exclusive fics? That surely has to break copyright law?

Possibly answering my own question but maybe it’s because companies don’t care about this but I also did live through Nintendo viciously taking down let’s plays because they thought it breached their copyright by disincentivising people from playing the games?

Companies can be really strict about their IPs, so I’m really curious as to how this is happening and how people are protecting their works.

--

Getting away with shit and shit being legal are two very different things. ;)

And, to be fair, shit being illegal and companies threatening you with legal action are also very different things.

The oldschool ones were not for charity. You could make a fair use argument, but most zines survive simply because rights holders don't bother to go after them. Small print runs of physical objects are often not seen as significant enough to bother with. Zine makers often argue that they're only charging because they need to cover the printer's bill. Some prices on old zines bear this out; others don't.

Plenty of zines did get shut down by rights holders, however, from big-for-sff-publishing names like Chelsea Quinn Yarbro to Hollywood types like George Lucas. The reasons ranged from "My historical figure vampire is super original and your random-ass zine is endangering my copyright" (Fuck you, CQY. I'm never reading a page of your crap!) to "I just don't like Luke/Leia for some reason but won't tell you why" (LOL). I hear Lucas went after horny zines in general too. I wasn't around for any of this, obviously, but there are writeups online, including on Fanlore.

I presume modern zines benefit from the greater awareness around fair use and around bad press from suppressing fanworks, but they could still be in danger from big rights holders. Being legal or illegal is less important than who has the money for lawyers. Sometimes, a fan can get a big corp to back off by brazening it out, but you have to tell them your legal name and go "Come at me, bro!" Who wants to do that?

Fic Patreons are not only on shaky legal ground, but Patreon does not allow that use of the site. It's a private company, not a public service, and it can pretty much do as it pleases. Here are the guidelines in part:

Restrictions We don’t allow creations and benefits that violate our terms or policies. You can learn more by visiting our Community Guidelines and Benefit Guidelines. A high level summary of those rules is that we don’t allow:

illegal creations or benefits;

creations or benefits that are abusive towards other people;

creations or benefits that use others’ intellectual property, unless you have written permission to use it, or your use is protected as fair use;

or creations or benefits with real people engaging in sexual acts.

If your fans include people under the age of 18, then please remind them that they need their parent’s or legal guardian’s permission to purchase an offering or membership subscription on Patreon, and that those under the age of 13 cannot use Patreon. We are not required to allow any particular person or group of persons to be a patron or otherwise access Patreon services.

Now, yes, they do make an exception for fair use, but I doubt they'll side with the majority of fanworks creators on their particular Patreon works counting as fair use. (Actually, they might be more lenient on RPF. That "real people" rule is about porn starring live actors, not about RPF.) They might rule in favor of the person selling their fic on there, but they very well might not, and even if you were willing to fight it out in court, you probably couldn't since Patreon would be denying you service on their site, not suing you. They can deny service to whomever they want any time they want.

I don't advocate tattling to Patreon simply because I don't think there's any social contract around respecting Patreon's wishes, nor are Patreons I don't back super visible and in my face. Patreon is built by people who get paid to do that; the extra ethical issues present on AO3 are not present here. I don't really approve, but I'm also not going to go out of my way to rat on people. However, I'm sure that fandom enemies of BNFs with Patreons do tattle. I'd advise anyone monetizing this way to have other contact info for their patrons in case they suddenly get kicked off.

--

Basically, people are flying under the radar, and then periodically, there's a big drama where a rights holder or hosting site destroys everything.

[festiveferret]

What to do if someone copied/stole/published/sold/plagiarized your fanfiction.

I am not a lawyer. This is merely my personal advice and compiled information from years of interest, activism, and study in this area. This post views things from the perspective of U.S. copyright law as most of the relevant platforms are based in the U.S. Laws in your country may differ. Rules and TOS vary from platform to platform.

Read on for:

Is plagiarism the same as a copyright violation?

Is it even a copyright violation if it’s fanfic?

Someone stole my work or a significant part of my work and reposted it on AO3 under their name. What do I do?

Someone stole my work and posted it on a site that isn’t AO3. What do I do?

Should I tell AO3/The OTW if I find someone on another platform posting/publishing fanfics taken from AO3?

What if I find someone else’s work that was stolen?

How can I prevent my work from being stolen?

Is plagiarism the same as copyright infringement?

Plagiarism is not a legal concept. Plagiarism is taking someone else’s work and claiming it as your own and/or failing to cite the source of ideas or information. Copyright is a legal protection that allows remedies to those who have their intellectual property rights violated. Simply put: if an unauthorized copy is made of something you hold copyright to, your copyright has been violated. Remedies can include having the violating work removed from a platform and/or the ability to sue someone for damages/losses you suffered as a result of the violation.

A platform may disallow plagiarism on their platform as part of their TOS with their own definition of what that entails and the threshold may be lower/simpler or higher than the legal threshold for copyright violations. The TOS will also apply equally to all users of the site, regardless of their own country’s laws.

Plagiarism is often (but not always!) a copyright violation by legal standards as well, though many copyright violations are not plagiarism. I can’t start a blog and post the entirety of The Hunger Games novels on it and claim I wrote it. I also can’t start a blog and post the entirety of The Hunger Games on it and explain that Suzanne Collins wrote it. Both are copyright violations. The first is also plagiarism. Daily Dracula is possible because Dracula is out of copyright. Copyright does not last forever. Once copyright ends, works enter the public domain and are free to be reposted/republished by anyone. Submitting a paper to my university where I do not properly cite where my ideas came from is academic plagiarism, but it’s not a copyright violation. Since it has no legal definition, the thresholds and specifics of what constitutes plagiarism are context, platform, and institution dependent.

Copyright violations are both against civil law and a violation of many sites’ Terms of Service. Even if they are not a violation of a site’s Terms of Service, they are still against civil law and you still have those legal protections (again, country-dependent).

Is it even a copyright violation if it’s fanfic?

Short answer: yes. Slightly longer answer: as U.S. law currently stands, you, by default, own the copyright to the aspects of your fanfic that were created by you and are protectable by copyright laws. You do not need to register for a copyright to hold it, nor to file a claim that it has been infringed, though registration may change how a copyright case plays out in court if it comes to that. Do not feel a need to register a copyright on your fics in the U.S. 

Ideas are not protectable. If someone writes a fic or even a published story with the exact same idea as you, tough cookies. They are allowed to do that. Your actual words that you wrote are protectable. There is a legal threshold for how much constitutes copying. No, it’s not a clear-cut wordcount or percent. Yes, Disney/The CW etc. still owns the characters and other IP that you used. Yes, this is often confusing and complicated. Copyright of characters and concepts is complicated. Odds are, though D.C. owns Batman, you do not own any right to your OCs on their own.

The argument that currently protects fanfic is that it is transformative. This means the same argument protects other people who do transformative things with your work. If someone takes your ideas, OCs, concepts, approaches, and makes their own transformative work with it, they enjoy as much copyright protection as you did with your transformative work. It may annoy you, but it is not a copyright violation and most platforms also will not consider it plagiarism.

Different countries have different copyright laws and some have agreements with other countries and some do not. The global internet makes things even more complicated. You may need to investigate this further for your own country. Laws apply based on countries and regions; Terms of Service apply to all users on a particular platform. Most platforms are also beholden to the laws of the country they are based in.

Someone stole my work or a significant part of my work and reposted it on AO3 under their name. What do I do?

Report it to AO3′s Policy and Abuse Team. Plagiarism is against AO3′s TOS so you do not need to file a DMCA takedown notice, nor do you necessarily need to be the copyright holder under your country’s laws. AO3′s thresholds and rules for plagiarism and how they handle copyright violations are outlined in their TOS. 

There is a report link at the bottom of every page. If you click it from a story page, it will auto-fill in the link to that work. If you click it from another page, be sure to fill in the link to the work you want to report instead. If you are reporting plagiarism, make sure you also provide a link to the thing you are alleging they stole. PAC is a small team that gets a lot of tickets and investigations take time. You may need to be patient. None of PAC’s moderating is automated. Every ticket is investigated by a human. So: provide evidence, be clear, be patient.

Someone stole my work and posted it on a site that isn’t AO3. What do I do?

You need to report it to that site. There are two ways to do this. Some sites have internal reporting tools like AO3 does and copyright violations are also a violation of their TOS, so they’re able to simply take down the offending work if there is enough evidence. 

If they do not have an internal system, or if their internal system denies your claim, they are still required to follow a set process outlined by the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). You send the platform a DMCA takedown notice which legally claims you as the copyright holder of a work and accuses the other party of violating your copyright. The platform then needs to inform the other party and the other party is given a timeframe to file a counter claim (officially disagree with your claim). If they do, you will be informed. You then have a timeframe to sue them. If you do not, the claim is dropped. The vast majority of the time, when it comes to actual plagiarism of fanfiction, the work is simply removed by the platform or the other party, uncontested.

Some sites have built-in DMCA reporting forms. Many of these forms include fields like your real name and your address. That information may end up being shared with the other party, depending on how the platform handles DMCA takedowns. You can use these forms if you wish. 

Legally, you do not need to use these forms, even if they are provided. You can send your own takedown notice to a platform. It may be tricky on some platforms to find where to send these, as they want you to use the form for ease of internal ticketing. 

There is a set list of what these notices need to provide. If you do not provide these things, the platform may ignore your notice. You can read the requirements  here: https://www.copyright.gov/512/ 

The only requirement for personal identification is a valid way of contacting you. This can be an email address. This could be a PO box or a work phone number. As long as you, personally, can ultimately be reached there, it is valid. It is impossible to file a DMCA and remain totally anonymous, but you can often protect your personal information more than it seems at first glance. It is usually more work to send your own takedown notice instead of using the form, so it is up to you if keeping your contact information private is worth that extra effort.

Should I tell AO3/The OTW if I find someone on another platform posting/publishing fanfics taken from AO3?

No. Report these works to the platform the violating works are posted on, not the platform they were taken from. There is nothing the platform they were taken from can do. You hold the copyright to your fanfiction, AO3 does not. They are a platform, not a publisher. You are the sole holder of your copyright and solely responsible for pursuing violations. If you have a co-author, you each have the right to pursue violations.

What if I find someone else’s work that has been stolen?

If it was someone else’s work that was stolen, inform the person it was stolen from so they can report it appropriately with valid evidence of copyright holding. Keep in mind that if it is not your work, you cannot be sure if copyright infringement occurred or in what direction it occurred. Sometimes copyright holders give permission to repost/publish. Sometimes people publish under multiple names/aliases. Sometime infringing content at first glance appears to be the original. Some platforms will accept internal reports that do not come from the copyright holder, some will not. If you are not the copyright holder or a legal agent of the copyright holder you cannot file a DMCA takedown notice. If the copyright holder will not do anything to pursue the infringement, that is up to them and there’s nothing else you can do as a bystander.

How can I prevent my work from being stolen?

Bluntly, only by not sharing it with anyone, ever. If it is available on the internet or on paper, in any manner, anywhere that other people have access to it, it is possible to have someone violate your copyright or plagiarize you. Obviously, the odds and ease of this varies depending on circumstance. Printing out a copy of your story and mailing it to a trusted friend is less likely to result in a copyright violation than posting it publicly on a site like AO3, but it is not impossible. Account-locking your AO3 works may lower the chances of infringement but it does not remove them. Once you share anything anywhere online you may not lose your legal right to its control, but you do lose actual control over where it may end up. People break civil law and platforms’ TOS all the time. While some platforms may have preventative systems set up to stop copyright violations before they happen (YouTube’s automated striking system) most don’t. It is reactive instead of preventative. The law offers remedies which can only occur after the fact and pursuing those remedies often has downsides like sharing personal information, revealing your identity, or legal fees. This is a risk you need to weigh when you choose to share your creations. If you find a violation of your copyright, you are not required to pursue it; you can make the choice to ignore it if you prefer.

(Is copyright law actually way more complicated than this?)

Yes. It’s wild and I love it. There’s a lot of interesting things happening in U.S. courts right now that could directly affect fanfiction and fandom spaces. It’s worth keeping up to date on. I am not a lawyer, nor am I American, but I have studied U.S. copyright law in particular and it’s insane but very cool.

#copyright #plagiarism #fanfiction #what to do if your fic gets stolen #stolen fanfic faq #i am not your lawyer #fanfic rights

[jayblanc]

Last night Intellectual Property Lawyer Mike Dunford, who specialises in Fandom related disputes, hosted a livestream discussion with Trademark Attorney, and former Hugo Administrator, Will Frank. The focus of the discussion was not the Hugo Awards, but the Marks Protection Committee, and it’s current Chair.

The linked VOD will be available for the next six days.

I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, the stream was not legal advice, I am not giving or transmitting legal advice.

The general conclusion was that it appears the MPC may have accidentally abandoned the Hugo Award mark through divorcing it from any ability to secure “Goodwill” of that mark.

Essentially, the only value a Trademark has under US law is the ability for people to look at the Trademark and say “Yes, this is a product or service that has a known quality I can expect enforced by the people who own this Trademark”. For instance, you go to McDonalds you know what you are expecting. If McDonalds instead allowed random shops of all kinds to call themselves a McDonalds, and McDonalds said “While we grant them a trademark licence, they are nothing to do with us, and we can’t enforce any standards on them”, then McDonalds would lose their trademark.

The current chair of the MPC has made multiple public statement that “While we grant individual Worldcons a trademark licence, they are nothing to do with us, and we can’t enforce any standards on them”

This may be construed as Trademark Abandonment.

(There was also some touching on how the way the WSFS pays no Taxes, yet has sums of money transferred across international borders, is cause for concern if those transfers ever get big enough for regulators to take notice…)

#hugo awards #worldcon #chengdu 2023 #trademars #mark protection committee #kevin standlee #mike dunsford #will frank

[saiyanprincessswanie]

Chrome & Leather - Chapter 13

Pairing: Billy Russo x OFC, Steve Rogers x OFC

Summary: Five years later we see what Jessie’s life is like with her son Ben and fiancé Billy. They seem like the perfect family to their friends and her family. Life couldn’t be any better that is until Steve and Bucky are released from prison. Steve and Bucky have fought for five years to be free and finally their lawyer Matt Murdock gets both men out of jail and cleared of murder charges. What happens when Steve discovers he has a son and Jessie moved on with the Sheriff that helped put him in jail?

Word Count: 4067

Warnings: Brief Smut, Family Reunited (yes this could make you tear up)

A/N: Thank you to my betas @pigwidgeonxo​ and @lfnr-blog-blog-blog​. Thank you to @whimsicalrogers​ for the page break. Picture of Chris on the bike is by Nix on IG. (any mistakes on spelling & grammar are my own)

A/N 2: Okay, this fic picks up 5 years later. That means our Jessie is with Billy. I know this is a Steve x OFC story so trust me as we navigate their lives.

Reblogs & Comments on Tumblr are welcomed and encouraged. Even if you leave an emoji you will make my day. 😊💜

I do NOT give my consent to have my work translated or reposted on any social media platform, apps, or third-party sites. If you see my work anywhere else besides my personal Tumblr & AO3 accounts then it has been stolen. I will NEVER give written or verbal permission to repost or translate any of my fanfics as they’re MY intellectual property. 🚫🚫

Five Years Later....

Steve and Bucky had been called into a meeting at their prison with their attorney Matt Murdock bright and early. Both sat down at the table facing the man who had been trying to set them free. Steve was nervous as his leg bounced under the table. 

Matt gave both men the news they had been waiting five years for. “Gentlemen, I have great news. You’re being released from prison. Thanks to the work of Assistant Sheriff Frank Castle he got John Walker to admit to lying on the stand. Walker was arrested this morning for perjury by Castle pending his charges. I know this may be a lot to take in but you’re going home today.”

After five long years, both men could finally go home. Steve’s mind went a mile a minute. He didn’t expect this day to come. He wondered what Jessie would be up to with their son. God, he had a son, and even though he missed the first five years he could still get to know him as a child. Steve’s one regret was telling Jessie to move on. Would she have moved on so easily? Bucky had never shared that information with him and honestly he doesn’t blame him. Steve did break his sister’s heart, something he swore he would never do.

Both men thanked Matt for everything he did to help clear their names. They were led away to start the process of being released. What or who would await them, well time would only tell.

Jessie groaned as she was in between sleep and being awake. Warm fingers were gently rubbing against her clit before they pushed into her wet channel. Instinctively she rolled her hips into the hand as wet lips kissed just below her ear. Another hand grabbed her thigh and placed it over the one that pushed in between her legs, while the other hand kept fingering her. Little moans escaped her lips as a “shhh” came from behind her.

“Not too loud my love, I need you to be as quiet as you can. We have maybe five or ten minutes before he comes barreling in here.” Billy’s gravelly voice spoke in her ear. Jessie nodded her head and turned her face into the pillow. He pulled his fingers from her, grabbing his cock and running it through her arousal before he pushed into her.

They both groaned in pleasure as he quickly thrusted into her over and over again. Jessie gasped into the pillow as Billy grunted into her neck. His hand made its way to her clit, his thumb strummed her clit to his thrusts and Jessie bit down on the pillow to suppress her moans. Together they chased their high and were cumming within seconds of one another. Billy tilted her head back and captured her lips with his. Just as they pulled apart they could hear little feet running toward their room. Billy quickly pulled out of her and tugged on his boxer briefs as Jessie pulled her shorts and tank top on. 

Jessie looked over at the clock noting that it was 6 am on the dot as the door swung open revealing her 5-year-old son Ben. His blonde hair stood up on end as his blue eyes stared at her. “Mama, I’m hungry.” 

“Well let’s go get you breakfast then. What would you like?” She asked him just as enthusiastically. 

“Pancakes!” Ben excitedly answered as he ran from the bedroom and to the living room downstairs.

Jessie couldn’t help but laugh as she climbed out of bed. Her son was predictable with his answer and was on a pancake kick for the past few weeks. If this was the worst thing he wanted to eat then she considered herself lucky.

Ben ate in silence as he munched on his pancakes while Jessie stood at the counter sipping her coffee. Minutes later Billy was walking down the stairs in his uniform and was greeted by Ben.

“Billy!” The child squealed in delight. 

“Ben!” Billy enthusiastically said back. “I see your mom has made pancakes again.” He leaned over Ben and ruffled his hair playfully. 

“She makes the best ones,” Ben answered before shoveling more into his mouth.

“That she does,” Billy answered, walking over to Jessie and placing a kiss on her cheek. If there was one thing he loved it was mornings in this house. Of course, the nights were just as fun once Ben went to sleep and Billy took Jessie to bed. If there was one thing not lacking in their relationship it was sex. They had been trying for a baby for several months now but nothing had come of it yet. Billy thought the more they tried it would eventually happen. Jessie was more laid back, saying “it will eventually happen when it’s meant to.”

Billy had moved in over a year ago after he proposed. There was some hesitation at first but she ultimately said yes. They were now officially going to be a real family once they got married. None of this playing house that they did for over four years. Soon enough Jessie would be pregnant with his child and that would make his life complete. He’s a patient man and has all the time he needs.

His cell phone rang with an unknown number. He excused himself to step outside and picked up. “Russo.”

“Boss, we have a big problem.” Jack's voice was nervous.

“Well, what is it? You know I don’t take these calls when I’m home so it better be good.” Billy was annoyed being interrupted in his normal routine.

“John is gone. Apparently, someone questioned him and he flipped. He retracted his statement against Steve and James and they are going to be released today! I’ve looked everywhere for John but he either fled or someone has him hidden. Word is it could be your boy Frank Castle but that’s not confirmed.”

Billy listened to everything he was told. Steve and James were going to be released today from prison. It would only be a matter of time before Steve starts sniffing around what was rightfully his. His grip on the phone tightened. “You find out where John is and get rid of him. I need to go and take care of things.” Billy hung out and made his way inside. 

Jessie was at the counter still but on her cell. She looked shocked at whatever was being told to her. He wouldn’t be surprised if Winnie had already heard the news and was letting her daughter know. 

After a few minutes Jessie hung up and tears were falling down her cheeks.

“Are you okay Jessie?” He asked.

She shook her head no. “My mom called. Steve and Bucky are being released today. She wants me to bring Ben over so he can meet his uncle and dad. I-I can’t believe they are getting out after five years. It’s like a miracle.” Her blue eyes filled with tears and Billy fought back his disgust over the news.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a few minutes. “Are you sure it’s wise having Ben meet them so soon?”

Jessie pulled back a little from him and looked up into his dark brown eyes. “I think it’s fine. Ben already knows about them both from stories I’ve told him before bed. He knows they have been gone but I didn’t say why, he’s too young to understand. I think this would be great, especially for my brother. As for Steve, well I have no idea how that will go but ma and Bucky will be there for us.”

“If you think so then I support you. Let me know when and I will go with you. I don’t have time for breakfast, I got a call saying they need me early. So I will see you later.” Billy leaned down and kissed Jessie’s lips. He pulled away and grabbed his keys off the counter. “I will see you later Ben.” He waved at the little boy who quickly jumped off his chair and ran to Billy, wrapping his arms around a leg.

“I'm gonna miss you,” Ben said against Billy’s leg.

“Gonna miss you too Buddy. Keep your mama safe while I’m gone.”

Ben let go and smiled big. “I will protect my mama.”

Billy laughed as he headed out the door and into the sheriff's SUV. As he climbed in his happy mood faded. He needs to find John quickly.

Jessie headed over to her ma’s house with Ben. If anyone could help her figure out what to do about Steve coming back it was her ma. Jessie was bitter the first year after what Steve pulled. But raising a child essentially on her own didn’t allow for such emotions. On top of it, Billy has helped her with Ben since day one. He helped her with her emotions when things got overwhelming and when she needed a breather he took over. Over the years she also had her friends and the biker club that helped when she needed a babysitter. Then there was her ma or what Ben called her mamaw. Ben absolutely adored her and Winnie found some healing by helping to raise him. To say Jessie and Ben were taken care of was an understatement to all the people who helped. As they say, it takes a village to raise a kid. Jessie’s village had to be one of the best.

As Jessie pulled up to her ma’s house Ben was cheering from the back seat. Winnie came out onto the porch and waited as Jessie got Ben out. Once she put Ben on the driveway his little feet took off as he ran towards his mamaw. 

“Mamaw! I’ve come to see you!” Ben screamed for all to hear. Jessie and Winnie couldn’t help but laugh as he ran into his mamaw’s arms hugging her tightly. 

“I see that. Have you been a good boy for your mama?” She asked as she lifted him up. Ben shook his head enthusiastically.

“He’s been good. He had to have some pancakes again today. I swear he just may turn into one if he keeps eating them.” Jessie laughed as she watched Ben hug her ma and place kisses on her cheeks.

“As long as he is eating, who cares what it is? Though mamaw needs to make you some french toast sometime. You would gobble that right up.” Winnie said as she pretended to eat him causing him to squeal. Ben wiggled in her arms until she put him down. Then he was running over to where his toy trucks were on the porch waiting for him. As soon as he sat down and started playing Jessie and her ma sat on the other side of the porch where they could watch him.

“So what’s bothering you this morning? Is it Steve’s release?” Winnie inquired.

Jessie nodded her head. “Yeah, I mean I didn’t think this day would ever come and now it’s happening today. Ben knows about Bucky and Steve cause I’ve told countless stories. But…”

“But what dear?”

“What if Steve meant what he said? That he doesn’t want a kid? I mean I have Billy now and he is like a dad to him. He’s been there for us the entire time Steve has been gone. I just don’t want to see my son hurt from Steve rejecting him.” Jessie watched as Ben played with his trucks on the porch. Her son was everything to her and she would be damned if he got hurt.

“Winnie’s eyes went from Jessie to Ben and she understood the hesitation. “Jessie, I have known Steve his entire life. If there is one thing I’m sure of it’s that he is going to love Ben. You both created a beautiful boy and I know Steve is going to want to make up for the lost time. The only question I have is what does Billy say about their release?”

Jessie’s smile falters just a little. “I think he is nervous about how I’m going to react to Steve getting out. I mean there is a history there but I’ve moved on. That’s what Steve told me to do. I’m happy with Billy and Ben. I’m open to Steve getting to know our son and if he wants to be in his life I will allow it cause I’m his mother. But yeah, I think Billy is worried. He said he wants to be here when the guys arrive. Of course, I don’t know if that's a good thing or not.”

“Well, we will cross that bridge together today. If anyone makes a fuss I will deal with them. What’s important is that they will be freed and cleared of that crime.”

Her ma was right, all that mattered was their release. Everything else would be dealt with slowly when it comes to Ben. She didn’t want to overwhelm him too much. Today was going to be a great day. A day of peace, a day to celebrate homecomings, and a day for families to be reunited.

Later on, around noon time Nat and Wanda came over to Winnie’s house to help get things ready for Bucky and Steve to show up. Winnie wanted to make sure to have normal food for the guys to eat. The women made the men's favorite dishes as they chatted away in the kitchen.

Natasha was excited to finally get Bucky back after five years apart. Nat had been faithful and stood by Bucky’s side, refusing to move on with anyone else. Jessie admired that in Nat and would have done the same with Steve if he didn’t tell her he didn’t want her anymore. 

Winnie and Wanda were finishing cooking while Ben was being chased around by his auntie Nat. Jessie watched as the little boy laughed when Nat caught him in her arms. There was no denying Nat loved Ben like family. That’s something that never lacked in the last five years. The club members helped Jessie with Ben when she had to work. Billy, of course, didn’t like it but she insisted they were good people. That was the only thing that ever bothered Jessie about Billy. The fact he didn’t like her friends despite them being supportive of her relationship with him. 

Jessie was taken care of financially by income from the mechanic shop. Nat ran the shop with Tony and they made sure Jessie would get Steve’s income for the time being. This left Jessie working part-time at the diner and raising Ben. The money she got from Becca’s life insurance was set aside so she could start building her dream house on the land that Steve bought all those years ago. Steve had signed the property over to Jessie who was waiting for the right time to build. Billy tried to get her to sell the property but she refused. This was going to be where she eventually settled down once the contractor finishes the blueprints. 

Jessie was lost in her thoughts when she heard the revving of motorcycle engines coming down the road. Ben stopped running from Nat and stared in awe as Tony, Thor, Loki, Clint, Sam, Bucky, and Steve rolled up. Shit, she didn’t know the guys would be here this early. Jessie’s eyes never left Steve as he parked. He looked different than the last time she saw him. Now Steve had longer hair and a thicker beard. Next to him, her brother Bucky was parking his bike, he had shorter hair and a beard. Both men looked more rugged than she remembers.

Nat ran up to Bucky as he got off his bike. She leaped into his arms and they both kissed. Jessie couldn’t help but smile at them both. Steve was met with handshakes from the men and Winnie hugged him. Ben walked up to Jessie and grabbed her hand. He looked nervous with the two new men here. Steve’s eyes wandered over to Jessie and the little boy who held onto her for dear life.

Steve sucked in a deep breath. This had to be his son that Bucky told him all about. He was a spitting image of Steve with blonde hair and blue eyes. Steve slowly walked over to them as Jessie and the little boy watched his every movement. His eyes caught a glimpse of a ring on her left ring finger. It was not the ring he gave her all those years ago.

Jessie’s eyes never left Steve's as they stood a foot apart. “Ben, remember me telling you stories about your dad?” The little boy nodded his head nervously. “Well, this is your dad. He has come home with your Uncle Bucky who is now approaching us.” Ben clung to Jessie's leg, nervous about the taller men. “Can you say hi?” Jessie knelt next to her son who held onto her. Steve finally knelt in front of them both to be on the same level as them. 

“Hi, I’m Ben,” the little boy shyly said. 

“Hi, Ben I’m Steve, your daddy.” Ben walked over to Steve and stood between his parents. His little hand touched his beard and the boy giggled. 

“Mama he is hairy like a bear.” Both Jessie and Steve laughed as the little boy took him in.

“That he is baby. Do you recognize him from the picture at home?” Ben nodded again and looked at the next man who knelt on the ground. “You should know who this is, Ben.”

“Uncle Bucky? You come home to stay?” he asked. 

Bucky smiled at his nephew. “Your dad and I are here to stay buddy. Promise.” At that moment Ben flew into his Uncle’s arms and hugged him. Then hugged Steve just as tightly.

Jessie watched the small reunion with tears in her eyes. It was then she noticed all her friends watching the four of them. Winnie and Nat wiped tears away as the men stood grinning at the sight of this family being reunited. 

All seemed to be going well until the Sheriff’s SUV pulled up to the front of the house where everyone was. 

Steve watched as the Sheriff got out of the vehicle and made his way to the four of them. Ben noticed Billy instantly, screaming his name as he ran towards the Sheriff who caught him in his arms and picked him up. Jessie, Bucky, and Steve stood as Billy approached them. Steve didn’t know why the Sheriff was there until Billy walked past him and kissed Jessie on the cheek.

“I didn’t know the get-together was already starting. Weren’t you going to call me sweetheart so I could be here?”

Jessie smiled as she looked at Billy. “They literally just showed up minutes ago. I was going to call you here in a few.” Billy nodded at her statement, his dark eyes looking at both bikers in front of him. He could see the anger simmering in Steve’s eyes while he held Ben. 

“Well I don’t want to interrupt but I wanted to say it’s nice to see you both out and cleared of your charges. I know we have all looked forward to this day.” He placed Ben on the ground and lightly grabbed Jessie’s hand. “I need to have a word in private with my fiance if you would excuse us.”

Steve’s jaw was about to hit the ground at the word fiance. There was no way she would end up with Billy of all people, would she? He watched the two walk towards the SUV and started talking. It seemed pleasant enough until Billy said something and made Jessie roll her eyes. As they parted he kissed her on the lips and headed to the driver's side of the SUV and got in. Jessie walked away from Billy as the Sheriff left the group of friends and family. 

Steve looked at Jessie as she approached them and asked, “Is everything okay?”

Jessie smiled awkwardly at him. “Of course, everything is fine.”

Before Steve could call her out on the blatant lie Ben came rolling up to them on his electric toy motorcycle that had two wheels on the back and one on the front. Steve, Bucky, and Jessie started to chuckle as the little boy stopped in front of them. 

“Mama, can I ride with them now that they are home?” Ben looked at her with determination.

“Ben, you're still too young. But, I’m sure your uncle and dad would love to see your skills on the bike.” The little boy got excited and started to ride around in the driveway for all to see. Their friends cheered Ben on as he rode around them. With Ben now occupied and everyone watching Steve decided he needed to chat with Jessie.

“Hey, do you have a minute, Jessie?” Steve inquired and Jessie nodded her head. The two of them walked away from the group of friends.

“What do you want to discuss, Steve?” 

Steve rubbed the back of his head as he asked the most obvious question. “So you and Billy are a couple? When did that happen?” He tried to keep the jealousy at bay but knew he sounded it.

“It happened when you decided to dump me while pregnant. Billy helped with anything I needed and we just sort of started dating when I was halfway through my pregnancy with Ben. He proposed a year ago and I said yes. Look, he is a great guy and great with Ben.”

“I’m just surprised you want to be with someone who helped put me and your brother in jail.”

Jessie looked at Steve, anger clearly on her face. “Billy was doing his job. I don’t expect you to understand. But know this, I’m happy, Ben is happy and that’s all I care about. I’m glad you’re both home but don’t expect me to end my relationship because you’re back again.”

“You can honestly sit there and tell me you feel nothing towards me?” Steve’s voice dropped an octave as he spoke softer so their friends wouldn’t hear. 

“I-I feel nothing. You made sure of that when you told me to move on. This is me moving on Steven so you just need to accept it. If you want to be in Ben’s life that means you need to accept I’m with Billy.” Jessie stormed away from Steve and headed inside her ma’s house. Everyone watched as Steve returned to the group and stood next to Bucky.

“Let me guess you pissed my sister off by bringing up her relationship with Billy?” Bucky calmly asked. 

“Am I that predictable?”

Both Nat and Bucky answered in unison. “Yup!”

Steve sighed, he didn’t expect to see Jessie with someone else. He had hoped this was going to be his second chance at life. That he would come back, sweep her off her feet, and apologize for what he said. With a son at home, he was hoping to get to know Ben better and be the father that he always wanted to be. With Billy and Jessie engaged he saw his future vanish before his eyes. Steve had only ever had eyes for Jessie and now that wasn’t going to be an option. He knew Jessie like the back of his hand and he knew she still had feelings for him. When Billy showed up she didn’t have the same happiness as when she introduced Ben to him. Maybe with time, there could be hope for them. Until she marries that sheriff, Steve knew he had to try with everything in him to save their fallen relationship.

Chapter 14

Everything Taglist:

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#saiyanprincessswanie #missy writes #billy russo x ofc #steve rogers x ofc #billy russo x original female character #steve rogers x original female character #billy russo #steve rogers #biker au #steve rogers au #billy russo au

[ineffable-writer]

I need people to stop comparing AI training on books to fanfiction. This is a copyright issue that’s got nothing to do with transformative works.

Listen—when you make art, you have the option to sell the rights to how it’s used, yeah? Movie adaptations, audiobooks, etc. these adaptations are things that tell the same story and use the same characters—and are very specifically done for the purposes of profit and generally under the same IP.

This is why you cannot SELL fanfiction: you can’t make money off someone else’s IP. Change some names and some various details, and you’re okay: it then becomes your own IP. As a general rule, if you want to make money off it, you need the Intellectual Property rights. This is also why you can’t show Neil Gaiman your fanfiction, because YOU have IP as well over your plots and ideas, and he is not able to steal that from you either.

(Yes, there are loopholes, but I’m not a lawyer and won’t be answering questions about them.)

AI doesn’t do that. We’re seeing a new type of rights emerge, the way I see it: AI data rights. The right to define who is allowed to use your work in a data set and in what ways it could be used.

Say a publisher wants to introduce a tool where you can chat with characters from books they’ve published—theoretically, an author could sell exclusive AI data rights to that publisher. That publisher is now the only one who can produce that media experience, the same way one would sell the rights to produce a TV series or film or radio production or something.

It’s not a transformative work, it’s an adaptation. We deserve to be paid for that.

#writer writes #writing #AI #very not a fan of AI but this is how it should be approached #doubt they ARE approaching it this way but we will see

[literaticat]

Hey Jenn. Thanks for answering my question (about copyright/pen name). Just a quick follow-up on it if you don't mind - I think writers in UK/Europe don't need to fill out copyright, because it's implied, unlike in US? So I think they just slap on their real name? Would they be the same in this case, but using a pen name instead? I know you're in US, but figured you might know if you have UK clients. Basically just want to make sure I can hide my name and self-publish but still own copyright. TY

FWIW -- Copyright is automatic in the US as well, and most countries you are likely to be reading this from. According to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, there are basic rights and protections that authors get automatically, and that same protection should apply in any country that is a member of the Berne Union. In other words, even in the U.S., you don't need to file anything or do anything.

Per the U.S. Copyright office:

"Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."

However:

"Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation."

It's just another layer of protection that makes it easier to prove you are the author in court. But obviously, yes, this only applies to the US -- it's the US copyright office. I have no idea what people do in the UK or Europe, or if they need do anything.

So I looked it up. Per Gov.UK and Europa.Eu, it is true that you don't need to file for anything in the UK or Europe, and you can just basically put the little (c) symbol, with whatever name you want. That said, just like in the US, the more proof you have that you are the person who created the work, the easier it will be to defend that work against infringers. Here's a lot more info.

Short answer: You should be fine to just put (c) your pen name and call it a day.

But also: I'm not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, I strongly suggest that you talk to an actual UK or European intellectual property lawyer if you have more detailed questions.

--

P.S.: I live in the US and have expertise in traditional publishing in the U.S. Sorry to be provincial, but I will always assume your question is about the U.S. unless you specify otherwise in your ask! :-)

[gallagherwitt]

NaNoWriMo and Publication.

NaNoWriMo is almost upon us, and with it comes another annual tradition: Newbie writers looking into publication options. There's nothing wrong with this! If you have stars in your eyes about being a published author and about kicking off your career with this year's NaNo, but in the back of your mind you're thinking "it's just a pipe dream," I've got news for you: it's quite possible! NaNoWriMo 2008 pretty much kicked off my writing career, so... yeah. You can absolutely do it! There are a bajillion books and articles out there about the craft, about the work that goes into going from dream to publication, etc. There's plenty of stuff about how you need to actually finish and edit your book before publication enters the equation. I'm not going to rehash all that here. Instead, let's talk about things you should really, really know before you move toward publication. Because y'all... this industry is a fickle one, and it can be a brutal one. I want to share some things I've learned over the course of 14 years so that perhaps you can avoid some of the heartache and headache that I went through. In other words, here's an incomplete list of stuff I learned the hard way so you don't have to. 1. THERE IS NO ONE WAY TO PUBLISH.  Getting an agent and going the Big 5 route is valid. Self-publishing is valid. Small publishers are valid. I've done all three. Don't let anyone tell you that you MUST go (or avoid) a specific route, or that one "doesn't count.". By the same token, don't let anyone tell you that all publishers are created equal or that what works for one style/genre will work for another. More on that later. 2. READ AND UNDERSTAND YOUR CONTRACT BEFORE YOU SIGN IT. Ask questions if you don't understand. If a publisher gets testy because you ask for clarification, that is an enormous red flag. If they get testy when you ask them to modify the contract to be clearer, that is also an enormous red flag. If they are willing to (or threaten to) yank your contract because you won't sign it immediately or because you want it modified for clarity, that's a whole field of red flags. If they tell you the contract cannot be changed at all -- not just terms, but adjusting wording so both parties are satisfied that everything is clear -- there isn't enough fabric in the world to make a red flag that big. You get the idea. Many authors (myself included) recommend hiring a lawyer familiar with publishing to review your contract before you sign it. You can also approach a literary agent with a contract in hand, and they can handle negotiations for you. Don't get so excited over receiving a contract that you sign away the rights to your firstborn. Ask, ask, ask. 3. PUBLISHING YOUR BOOK IS A BUSINESS TRANSACTION, NOT "GIVING YOU A CHANCE." They are publishing your book so they make money. Yes, it feels great, and you should absolutely be proud of it, but don't lose sight of the reality of the relationship, which is a company packaging and selling your product for profit. Protect your intellectual property. Negotiate the contract so it's fair to both of you. Don't let your happiness over being published lure you into entering a business agreement that will screw you. 4. MONEY FLOWS FROM PUBLISHER TO AUTHOR. If you have to pay the publisher to publish your book, it's a vanity press, which is  a nice way of saying it's a predatory scam that takes advantage of people who don't understand publishing but want to see their book in print. Publishers purchase your publishing rights from you, and then they pay to edit/cover/market/package the book, and take a cut of the royalties before paying you. If they're asking you to pay for these things AND they're taking a cut of royalties, you're quite likely getting scammed out of both your IP and your money. There are exceptions to this -- usually for very small projects, niche subjects, etc. -- but these are quite rare.  Err on the side of assuming that pay-to-play is a scam. 5. SELF-PUBLISHING IS NOT THE SAME AS VANITY PUBLISHING. Self-publishers hire editors, cover artists, etc., but we a) retain ALL rights to our books and b) don't actually pay someone upfront to publish. Places like Amazon and Draft2Digital do take a cut of royalties in exchange for distribution, but we don't pay a fee like you would with a vanity project. 6. YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN MAKE MONEY (INCLUDING EARNING A LIVING) FROM WRITING. The reason I say this is not to encourage you to quit your day job or to paint some picture that all writers are swimming in money. Quite simply, it's because I see SO MANY young authors fall victim to the mentality of "I'm not going to make money off it anyway, so I'm not going to worry about this publisher's crappy royalties, trash marketing, upfront fees, etc." No. NO. *spritz spritz* BAD AUTHOR! NO!  It's okay if you're writing for fun and if money isn't your priority. Just don't get into the mindset that because you don't care about the money, you ALSO don't care if a shady publisher screws you. There is nothing greedy about protecting yourself and your interests. Even if your book only ever earns one dollar, that's YOUR dollar. 7. IT IS BETTER TO BE UNPUBLISHED THAN BADLY PUBLISHED. Publishers are not created equal. There are plenty out there with terrible editing and worse accounting, and I promise you, signing with them is a Faustian bargain: it might seem fabulous in the beginning, but the Devil will eventually come to collect, and it'll suck. Ask me how I know. 8. TALK TO AUTHORS BEFORE SIGNING WITH THEIR PUBLISHER. No one knows a publisher like its authors. And don't just talk to the newest authors -- the honeymoon phase is real, and when those rose-colored glasses come off, it can be ugly. Also, publishers can and do change over time, often not for the better. I've given rave reviews about publishers who eventually prompted me to retain a lawyer. Talk to their older authors, including both those who published maybe one or two books early on and those who've done ongoing work for the same house.  Most of us are eager to share industry professionals we're happy to work with, and are equally eager to warn others away when necessary. 9. JUDGE A PUBLISHER BY ITS BOOK COVERS. Book covers are marketing devices, and they are critically important. Look at what a publisher puts on their books, and decide if it's up to snuff. How does it compare to similar genres? How attractive is it? How easy is it to read the title? Is the quality consistent throughout the publisher's catalogue? Would you be happy with that style and quality on your book?  If the answer is no, move along. Because it's seriously heartbreaking to have a cover you don't like, especially when it's also a cover that READERS don't like. I have two books that had numerous reviews with "ignore the hideous cover and buy the book!" Cover art makes a BIG difference. Count on it. 10. SELF-PUBLISHING IS VALID. There are myriad reasons why people choose to go different routes, and I won't go into them all here, but many people like to turn up their noses at self-publishing as if it's on par with vanity presses. There was a time when that was true, but these days, many authors are going indie to retain control of their rights, to avoid getting financially screwed, etc. It's a perfectly valid way to publish your book. 11. IF YOUR BOOK DOESN'T GET PUBLISHED OR DOESN'T SELL WELL, YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE. Revise it and try again. Write another one. Many of us wrote multiple books before we were published, and it's often even more books after that before something takes off. If your first published book doesn't sell well, you will not vanish into obscurity, doomed to never see another word in print. In fact, if your fifth book takes off, you'll have a nice backlist already there for your new fans to find. Don't give up. 12. IF YOU DO GET SCREWED BY A PUBLISHER, YOUR WRITING DREAMS ARE RUINED. Nah, you're good, fam. It's a hard thing to go through, and it's discouraging as all hell, but unless there's some clause in your contract forbidding you from writing or publishing anywhere else ever again (and even the shadiest of shady publishers of shadiness won't usually try that), you can dust yourself off and do it again. You wrote something. You stubborned your way from a blinking cursor to a finished book, and you saw that book all the way to print. You can absolutely do it again. Don't give up. (Also don't sign a contract that prevents you from writing/publishing elsewhere.) 13. SERIOUSLY, DON'T GIVE UP. Persistence -- hell, straight up stubbornness -- is a virtue in this business. Rejection is a thing. Bad reviews are a thing. Perfectly good publishers turning stupid is a thing. Publishers close, books fail, trends die. It's not an easy business, but it's worth it. Don't give up. You'll get there. 14. OTHER AUTHORS ARE YOUR COMMUNITY, NOT YOUR COMPETITION.  Yes, we compete to a degree, but we're really all on the same team. A rising tide lifts all boats and all that. Join groups. Ask questions. Doesn't matter if you're published yet. Every veteran author was unpublished once, and many of us have been through things we would be THRILLED to help you avoid. Plus, I mean, we're writers. Someone else who wants to talk about writing? PULL UP A CHAIR, YO. 15. YOU'VE GOT THIS. Writing and publishing are tough, but don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. Those of us who are published don't have some special X factor or magic ability that you lack. The only thing that separates us from you is that you're not here YET. We had unfinished manuscripts once too. We were unpublished. "But I'm not Stephen King!" And there was a time when no one knew who Stephen King was. He had to put in the work. I had to put in the work. You have to put in the work. There's no guarantee of degrees of success, but if your goal is to write and publish a book... put in the work. We did this, and so will you. Put your butt in the chair. Put your fingers on the keyboard. Put your words on the page. And when you're ready to break into publishing, there's a whole community of us who will happily help guide you. GO FORTH AND NANO!

#nanowrimo #nano2022 #amwriting #writing #national novel writing month #publishing

[chanelfunnell]

QAI like Chaunette Shaw's interior and lifestyle but we have WAGs or journos who show a little piece of their privacy certain trolls are able to recognise Tazer's kitchen in the background of his new gf's photo. Apparently Toews Kane/Crosby Interesting/Ashetoewsgurl has recognised Toews's black kitchen from the video for Drew Barrymore's TV show.

Caley Cheelios invites you from time to time to her garden with chicken or her kitchen with her dancing children. Other WAGs are IN influencers and we see their house often. Other women are just panning their faces against the white wall and small peak or one photo of the coffee machine next to old painting or yellow candle holders next to candle is a pinnacle of revealing privacy.

Elina Cassell, Hjalmarsson before has revealed her home taste matching her similar fashion style in Scandinavian decor. Elina has posted photos of her home design signed as interior designer Elina.

Compared to

When fashion style (her party dress is nice and sleak or sexy) meets home décor or her multiple mentioned favourite NHL example Auston Matthews who is known for his eclectic fashion style. Yes, Troll's favourite target beside WAGs, a sport commentator/biz woman Marketa BLW and her countryside pad. Still more personality than Royal Christmas photo with dull beige walls next to cheap shiny Christmas gift box. Yuk. Like a modern wicker lampshade.

i have been thanked by Marketa's US lawyers led by her long term ex bf lawyer from Santa Barbara who are checking whether Rachel Meghan Markle has used anything from Marketa's estates Balmoral and Sandringham where Catherine, Princess of Wales got a boot from Anmer Hall, already locks changed as their illegal sublet is not worthy of paper. Marketa takes full control and intellectual possession of he estates since January 1,2023. I should forward the notice that any photo opt or visit up to this date without her consent will be tackled in the court rooms and female in laws such as Kate Middleton are advised to hire an expert's in the field of nominee trust and property law rather than a media lawyer because they prefer clothes and media attention. District Judge Russell of Norwich court, UK has made couple of serious procedural irregularities in past and media lawyer Miss Prince who was not an expert in nominee trust and real estate law has exchanged two emails as off court communication with late response to the case against Catherine Mountbatten Windsor, nee Middleton, Princess of Wales. Marketa BLW has confirmed that the royals and so Queen breach regularly independence of justice in UK and late Queen has ordered to stop a court case by Daily Mail against Rachel Meghan Markle who is still seen as a part of Royal Family despite their attitude and public opinion.

I was told Thank you for an alert and informed that they lodged a lawsuit against Canadian troll Ashley who is behind two fan blogs, one fan IN account and insane blabbing about Crosby and Marketa on Blogger. It explains how certain crazies knows how certain women stating outside of the press and social media are recognised after ten years. I would struggle to recognise Zach Parise or Taylor Johnson now . It explains why I am Lee now - a fictional character of Mrs Troll on her old sci fi blog to Randy Morin being called Marketa himself.. Toews has been apparently advised to unfollow her and so Marcus Aubrey from Austin, Texas for his charlatan like pseudo medicine pedalling psychedelic stuff, steroids etc, hatred about races and Jews and promotion of Donald Trump with conspiracy theories.

With permission of Marketa's lawyers and upon their request as she will be accountable for any possible defamation Jonathan Toews's slump in absence of offense is not caused by physical side but mental one and unlinked to the reasons of NHL franchise's change - Alex deBrincat. Toews has been struggling significantly since 2017 when Aubrey Marcus has entered the scene, so Innit gym and so called holistic trips to Arizona etc with certain groups . While Toews has climbed back to his previous peak in 2018 when he has adjusted his diet back to meat instead of just plant, carbon free food and tons of pseudo energy drinks and supplements by Aubrey his visible decreased personal performance on the ice has remained. He has showed good improvement in the first NHL games but it has been all..He is frustrated, flight or fight mode and no focus to score or pass the goal which is a problem of his mind rather than body. He uses advice from Aubrey's know how etc. According M's lawyers her streaming and social media company and so Spotify, Twitter, Amazon will limit Aubrey's biz and spread of his theories and Josh's podcast will be curated to be conspiracy, hate free.

Elina Cassell has new biz. Home design. I recommend to check crazy fashion style of Austin Matthews. Crazy like his 60 last season.

IN by Elina Castle, Suz Sabat MUA and undisclosed company's IN of Marketa BLW

#elinacassell #chicago blackhawks #home & lifestyle #home design #niklas hjalmarsson #auston matthews #Megan butler #jonathan toews #meghan markle #Royal family #Kate Middleton

[takerfoxx]

Much like the recent Doctor Strange movie, I find myself torn on the recent Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers movie, though this time my thoughts are a bit more positive.

So overall I liked it. It was clever, fairly well written, had not only a lot of animation cameos but also animation styles at play, like stop motion and muppets. That was neat. Plus the sheer amount of cameos really meant that the Disney lawyers must've been working insane overtime. And while we might be getting tired of meta humor, it still lands pretty well.

Biggest pop for a cameo? Well, the Bonkers was blink and you miss it, but it still took me by surprise and it still made me smile. But what was up with Lumiere? Beauty and the Beast is still a big deal! Why is he having to hustle the convention circuit?

On the other hand, it was also really, really cynical. I mean, sure, you expect some level of self-deprecation, but even so. Like, I won't give too much away (though I imagine most of you have either already seen it or were spoiled), but the main villain is an established cartoon character whose arc was that he washed up after his famous role and became bitter and angry and became a crime boss. Okay, fair enough, but considering what happened to that character's actual voice actor and what happened to him in real life...Yeesh. That's uncomfortable. Plus, I couldn't help but notice that the whole plot about the movie is that making bootleg versions of Disney's intellectual property is akin to human trafficking. Yeah.

Plus, this really didn't need to be a Chip and Dale movie. At least with Roger Rabbit they used an original character to be the main cartoon and had the recognizable faces just playing support. You could've swapped Chip and Dale out for literally any nostalgic property and the story would be more or less the same. And I was surprised by how little Gadget there was, considering how popular she still kind of is. I didn't mind the whole thing with Zipper because of Harkniss's Law, though I would pay to find out what that one Russian cult thought of that.

Also, they do know that Chip and Dale had been established Disney mascots for years before Rescue Rangers, right? Like, they weren't A-tier, but they were recognizable, and they were still used in non-Rescue Rangers stuff after the show ended.

And finally, in regards to THAT character that everyone is talking about, yes it was really funny and crazy to see him, and I really like what they did with him, but I also didn't see anything about the permissions used to get him in the credits. Was that because it was parody, so they're arguing fair use? If so, I guess it's legal, but considering how Disney itself usually reacts to parody and how the theme of the movie is the sacredness of intellectual property...yeah. Or did they still have the rights from the last time that character appeared in the film?

#chip and dale rescue rangers

[sharqlawfirm]

Establishing Your Legal Footing: Navigating Qatar's Corporate Law Landscape.

In the dynamic business landscape of Qatar, having the support of a reputable commercial and corporate law firm is essential. This article delves into the world of legal services in Qatar, specifically focusing on law firms in Doha and the best lawyers in Qatar, all while emphasizing the significance of Intellectual Property (IP) law firms in the region.

The Legal Framework in Qatar.

Qatar's legal system, deeply rooted in civil law, has undergone significant transformations in recent years to align itself with global standards. Understanding this legal framework is crucial for businesses and individuals seeking legal guidance.

Commercial and Corporate Law in Qatar.

Commercial and corporate law in Qatar form the backbone of the nation's economic activities. These laws govern various aspects of business, including contracts, corporate governance, and dispute resolution. Establishing a strong presence in Qatar requires comprehensive knowledge of these laws.

Legal Services in Qatar.

When it comes to legal services, Qatar offers a plethora of options. From established law firms to individual practitioners, clients have diverse choices for their legal needs.

Law Firms in Doha: A Hub for Legal Expertise.

Doha, the capital city of Qatar, is home to a multitude of law firms. These firms cater to both domestic and international clients, providing a wide array of legal services. From startups to multinational corporations, Doha's law firms cater to a broad spectrum of clients.

Choosing the Best Lawyer in Qatar.

Selecting the right lawyer can be a game-changer for your legal needs. Qatar boasts some of the best legal minds in the region. But what sets a lawyer apart as the best? We explore the qualities to look for when seeking legal representation.

Safeguarding Intellectual Property.

In today's knowledge-driven economy, protecting intellectual property is paramount. Intellectual Property law firms in Qatar play a pivotal role in safeguarding the creative and innovative assets of businesses and individuals.

Understanding Intellectual Property Rights.

We delve into the world of intellectual property rights, explaining the significance of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Knowing how to protect your IP assets is a fundamental aspect of doing business in Qatar.

Intellectual Property Law Firms: Your Guardians of Innovation.

Qatar's IP law firms are equipped with specialized expertise to guide you through the intricate realm of intellectual property. Discover how these firms can help you secure your innovations and creations.

In the ever-evolving landscape of commercial and corporate law in Qatar, having a robust legal support system is non-negotiable. From navigating the legal framework to choosing the best lawyer in Qatar, and safeguarding your intellectual property, this article has provided valuable insights into Qatar's legal landscape.

FAQs

1. What are the key aspects of Qatar's legal system? Qatar's legal system is primarily civil law-based, with recent reforms aligning it with international standards, especially in commercial and corporate law.

2. How do I choose the best lawyer in Qatar? Look for qualities such as experience, specialization, communication skills, and a track record of success when choosing a lawyer in Qatar.

3. Why is intellectual property protection essential in Qatar? Intellectual property protection is crucial to safeguard your creative and innovative assets from infringement and misappropriation.

4. Are there any notable intellectual property law firms in Qatar? Yes, Qatar boasts several specialized intellectual property law firms renowned for their expertise in protecting IP rights.

5. How can I access legal support in Qatar? To access legal support in Qatar, reach out to reputable law firms in Doha or consult with individual practitioners specializing in your specific legal needs.

understanding Qatar's legal landscape is vital for businesses and individuals looking to thrive in this dynamic economy. Whether you need assistance with commercial and corporate law, are seeking the best lawyer in Qatar, or want to protect your intellectual property, Qatar's legal services have you covered.

[sunset-a-story]

Just wondering about copyrighting work. How exactly does one do that? I did some research and it said u could get copyright with law, etc. Would u need to do any processing w/government, etc. To copyright your work? Because Ive also seen that it said you automatically have copyright rights. Thanks!

Hooboy. Here, have this legal disclaimer that I'm just some queer on the internet and not a lawyer of any kind and you should absolutely not take my word on anything. I'll do my best but, to be clear, I am unqualified as fuck. All I can speak to is what my plan is right now with how I understand it. (And only for how things work in the United States of Gun Violence)

Technically, yes, you are automatically granted copyright when you write something.

The fun part about that is without a government paper trail there's no solid way to legally prove your rights.

So if someone steals your work and they opt to ignore you telling them to cease and desist, your prospects in court are not guaranteed with an automatic copyright.

My goal for 2023 is to release arc 1 of Sunset but before I do, I'll be registering it with the US Copyright Office. Mostly because I have ~the anxieties~ and it won't hurt anything.

The process seems fairly simple: filling out a couple application forms and uploading your work to their site. There's a fee which seems to be around $50. Then you have a legal, registered copyright and you ought to be able to wipe the floor with people in court if they try to step on your intellectual property. Or, hopefully, the legal clout to make people back off without needing to go the court.

The less fun part is that their website is a clusterfuck. It's glitchy and unclear, and setting up an account took me a couple of tries in two different browsers. So, you've been warned.

I hope that's a little bit helpful???

#unqualified af #answered asks #writeblr #writer problems