BlackHeart Biohazards

wittyno:

shreedle:

ao3commentoftheday:

[standard disclaimer that I am not a lawyer and this is as far from legal advice as it gets]

The OTW / AO3 does not allow monetization on their site. This is for two reasons:

1) the legality of it is still somewhat unsettled in the USA where OTW is based and
2) (my conjecture), the people who started it wanted a place that was not part of the capitalist ecosphere

However, the OTW having this stance doesn’t mean that’s just the way things are. Lots of spaces outside of AO3 monetize fanfic. It’s a robust tradition in some areas of fandom. It’s just the fact that AO3 has become so huge that people assume AO3’s Terms of Service are the same thing as… I guess, international law? A moral code of fandom? Who can say.

If you want to monetize your fanfic, go for it. Just don’t mention it on AO3 and don’t link out to your monetized platform from AO3. Not because it’s illegal but because it’s against the site’s Terms of Service and if you get reported, your fic could be taken down.

Create a commission price list. Start up a patreon. Sell printed copies of your work. Whatever you want. Just don’t talk about it on AO3. Not in your author notes. Not in the comments. Not on your profile.

If you decide to write fic for money, you’ll run the risk of the original creator potentially suing you, but Anne Rice is dead now and I’m betting George RR Martin has calmed down in the last decade or so. These days, fandom is seen as part of the capitalist engine. It’s free marketing. Even if an author or show runner or director really does hate fanfic, they probably won’t actually say that near a microphone in case that hype machine disappears.

Back before I truly realized the issues (so roughly 7-10 years ago) and when I was jobless and struggling for money, I did offer up fanfics as commissions, and some people did purchase them.

I stopped for multiple reasons:
– The potential legal issues
– I eventually found a job, and therefore didn’t need to do it anymore
– Writing is a hobby for me, and this turned it into work
– The difference between minimum wage and what people were willing to pay was massive.

I am a lawyer and THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Go talk to a copyright lawyer if you need help.

1) yeah it’s legally a grey area and courts, as they stand, don’t really look like they are going to side with the fanfiction authors of the world. One of the ways Ao3 keeps itself out of legal trouble is by not allowing monetization, because making money of of copyrighted material is one of the quickest way to get it taken down and sued.

2) Ao3 knows how to do math. The real problem aren’t the Anne Rices or George RR Martins of the world. While they do have a lot of money for legal counsel Ao3 probably (I’m guessing) has enough to defend against them. The real problems are the Disneys of the world. Who have money to burn. Which means they can fight a legal battle for as long as they want without batting an eye. Also Martin relies on his fans to buy his next book. Some of the most ardent of which write and read fanfiction. Disney couldn’t give less of a shit about pissing off fans because they’ve got the rest of the public by the short hairs. So many casual fans will watch whatever Disney puts out that pissing off fanfiction writers won’t be as a big deal. Plus their annual revenue is just so much higher than an individual author.

3) fanfiction is weird. It is one of my greatest loves. I think it is a truly human expression of love and says wonderful things about humanity. However, it’s fucking weird. While the public perception of fanfiction has improved a lot. When I was in Highschool ten years ago no one said they read fanfiction. It was just not done. Remember that post of someone‘s friend asking them if they read fanfiction and they looked then dead in the eye and said no. While having a ton of fanfiction tabs open on their phone. That was the general vibe. Now there are more depictions of it and some are even positive but the overall vibe is till „that’s weird“

4) one of ao3s main goals is stability. Because the internet moves so fast it’s easier to forget that fanfiction internet used to be the Wild West. The whole motto was „move fast break things“ so many archives popped up and ended with tons of drama and infighting. With someone deleting all the fanfics without notice. Ao3 has a program where they port over old inactive archives. To preserve the art.

5) it’s also an archive. Archives don’t work if they are shut down. They cease to do the archiving, which is what it sets out to do. It’s about preservation out creative output.