Reminder that, as far as Iâve been able to track down (and Iâve been looking), there has never been a lawsuit over free fanfiction.
Thereâve been a lot of C&D orders, plus the Chelsea Quinn Yarbro legal settlement (which didnât involve going to court; the lawyer demanded stuff and the fans caved because they didnât think they could fight it). There are takedown notices. There are a lot of archive website, and web host platforms, that decline to host content that an author/publisher claims is infringing.
But none of that has been found guilty of copyright infringement in court. Nobodyâs sued a fanfic writer for copyright infringement. Not even Disney.Â
And the OTW knows that. Knows exactly what legal stance theyâre taking when they refuse to disallow fic because an author doesnât like it. Knows what the copyright cases for profit-based works have been - Suntrust v. Houghton Mifflin, Campbell v. Acuff-Rose, others⊠they know that, when you combine the concept of parody (the legal term, not the casual meaning of âfunny mockeryâ) and the utter lack of profit, a copyright holderâs case would be very thin indeed.
A Harry/Draco story runs solidly into the legal issues of Suntrust: this is a story the original author would never write, appealing to readers who arenât reading it instead of Rowlingâs works (because if you donât know Rowlingâs works, you may not understand the characters), with fictional elements that comment on the gaps and world structure of the original. RPF is even more protected - Hustler v. Fallwell had a SCOTUS ruling that incest porn about Fallwell was protected speech since Falwell was a public figure and the parody could not have been reasonably considered believable.Â
âNext episode in the seriesâ fanfic might be infringing; âAvengers Orgy Tower OT8âł is better protected. âMy date with the lead singerâ might be infringing (on publicity rights, not copyright) but âthe band is actually werewolves and Iâm the alpha female who bonded with all of themâ is implausible enough to be free speech.
Rice (and the other takedown authors) managed to stifle fic about their works through bullying intimidation tactics, not a solid legal foundation. They counted on fic authors and website hosts not being copyright law experts, AND not having the money to challenge a suit if one is filed, even if thereâs no way it could win against any kind of defense.
Part of why the OTW was created, was to end those tactics. To say to authors, publishers, production companies: If you think fanfic is actually illegal, bring on your lawyers and letâs get a court to actually make a ruling.
10+ years, and not a damn one of them has made a move.Â
You think Disney doesnât know Star Wars fic exists? You think Warner Brothers is happy with Snarry novels? Think Viacom hasnât noticed Star Trek fanzines? Think Diana Gabaldon, George RR Martin, and Orson Scott Card are unaware that AO3 hosts fic based on their works?Â
Disneyâs done takedown notices over the Baby Yoda gifs⊠but nothing about the fanfic at AO3.Â
Dâyou think Abrams is happy with all the FinnPoe fic and memes? That he wouldnât shut it down if he had any legal way to make it stop?
Weâre on solid ground at AO3. We just needed a host that wouldnât cave to the pressure of â[author] doesnât approve of fanfic; remove it or else.âÂ