[ SECRET POST #2868 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2868 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 075 secrets from Secret Submission Post #410.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Fanfiction extrapolates on the world we're infringing (usually) to a much greater extent than fanart. It's producing an image of (again, usually) a single moment that can potentially stand alone, and in some cases the actual visual representation of the character isn't even set in stone (2D artwork of movie characters for example, or book characters). How do you claim copyright on something that doesn't have an agreed-upon image? You'd have to make the case that regardless, people could still identify that character, and you'd have to make the case that in doing so it's somehow infringing on your ability to make money from it.

Written words on the other hand do have an agreed-upon 'image' because they're already in written format. There's already something very concrete to refer back to, and it's harder to claim transformative work status because it's harder for that work to stand alone without reliance on the original source.

There's a reason 50 Shades of Grey had its serial numbers shaved off.

[(Anonymous)]

I admit there is a lot more grey area with fanart than fanfiction.

But there are still problem. Like you said with a book there is no agreed upon look, but there's a description and fans usually have a pretty vivid ideal of what said char will look like. Plus most books become TV series or movies at some point. Does it become unacceptable to fanart once there is a set image?

But like I said I think it's a very grey area with fanart, because it's more accepted by the originators of works compared to a fanfic which tries to retell their story or changes it.

I agree though with fanfics. And yeah I wish the literary world didn't give 50 shades and Twilight such a free pass because it got people reading again.

[(Anonymous)]

There can be a pretty wide variation when it comes to how each one of us imagines a book character though. I'm sure that for a lot of e.g. ASOFAI readers, the images of the GoT cast might not have been anything like they imagined the character (check out the fanart on the wikia -- some characters seemed to have a previously fannish-agreed image that bears no resemblance to the TV show). But now those characters, albeit in a different medium, do have a visual representation, so... where do you draw the line?

It's definitely harder to reach the burden of proof with a lot of fanart, especially those that depict the characters in non-canon situations. When you're identifying a character in writing, it's a little more clear-cut.

[(Anonymous)]

DA

Actually I think the ASoIaF example is a pretty good one of why it's much simpler for creators, should they choose to, to go after profitting fanfic rather than fanart.

Say I offer to sell a commissioned artwork of Daenarys, in my art style but based on the TV show. Who's copyright am I infriging here? The descriptions of the character in GRRM's intellectual property? HBO's costume, hair and make up department or their conceptual artists? Emilia Clarke's image rights? I'd argue that of them all, the latter has the best of flimsy cases, because she's the one who 'owns' the image I'd be selling unauthorized versions of, but even then, how much of an impact on her ability to sell those rights would a 2D drawing have?

If I offer to write a commissioned fanfic about Dany, however, and it becomes so much less convoluted and simple. I am infringing GRRM's intellectual property, and he'd be well within his rights to sue the shit out of me. I think it'd be ill advised, and no creator with a decent PR setup would do it (I agree with the people who've said they'd try to make money off it themselves, in which case you could kiss goodbye to the freedom of creativity and expression that exists within online fanfic) but he'd still be completely within his rights.

It's MUCH harder to pin copyright infringement on most fanart. Yes, obviously, if you're basically tracing Mickey Mouse and putting it on Etsy then Disney will shit bricks down upon you, but a great deal of fanwork is:

a) In the artist's own particular style, which is the thing they're popular for in the first place and why people would want their interpretation of the character, and

b) Vastly different from the original source.

Add in things like a huuuge proportion of fanart being for Japanese IP which not only deals with international laws but also with an industry that is far more tolerant of fanwork-as-free-publicity in general. That's why doujinshi is so prevalent, despite the fact that it's as illegal as anything else mentioned in these comments. Western IP owners do not treat copyright that way. You may or may not agree with their stance, but the fact is they can, will and do crack down if they're aware of things.

Fanfic is a different matter simply because, should creators decide to go after fanwriters, it's going to be much easier to build a case against them than it is fanartists. That's why people are more worried about the very awareness among TPTB of fanfic, let alone paid fanfic.