#dmca

[avaantares]

Fanfiction Authors: HEADS UP

(Non-authors, please RB to signal boost to your author friends!)

An astute reader informed me this morning that one of my fics (Children of the Future Age) had been pirated and was being sold as a novel on Amazon:

(And they weren't even creative with their cover design. If you're going to pirate something that I spent a full year of my life writing, at least give me a pretty screenshot to brag about later. Seriously.)

I promptly filed a DMCA complaint to have it removed, but I checked out the company that put it up -- Plush Books -- and it looks like A LOT of their books are pirated fic. They are by no means the only ones doing this, either -- the fact that """publishers""" can download stories from AO3 in ebook format and then reupload them to Amazon in just a few clicks makes fic piracy a common problem. There are a whole host of reasons why letting this continue is bad -- including actual legal risk to fanfiction archives -- but basically:

IF YOU ARE A FANFIC AUTHOR WITH LONG AND/OR POPULAR WORKS, PLEASE CHECK AMAZON TO SEE IF YOUR STORIES HAVE BEEN PIRATED.

You can search for your fics by title, or by text from the description (which is often just copied wholesale from AO3 as well). If you find that someone has stolen your work and is selling it as their own, you can lodge a DMCA complaint (Amazon.com/USA site; other countries have different systems). If you haven't done this before, it's easy! Here's a tutorial:

HOW TO FILE A COPYRIGHT COMPLAINT FOR STOLEN WORK ON AMAZON.COM:

First, go to this form. You'll need to be signed into your Amazon account.

Select the radio buttons/dropdown options (shown below) to indicate that you are the legal Rights Owner, you have a copyright concern, and it is about a pirated product.

Enter the name of your story in the Name of Brand field.

In the Link to the Copyrighted Work box, enter a link to the story on AO3 or whatever site your work is posted on.

In the Additional Information box, explain that you are the author of the work and it is being sold without your permission. That's all you really need. If you want, you can include additional information that might be helpful in establishing the validity of your claim, but you don't have to go into great detail. You can simply write something like this:

I am the author of this work, which is being sold by [publisher] without my permission. I originally published this story in [date/year] on [name of site], and have provided a link to the original above. On request, I can provide documentation proving that I am the owner of the account that originally posted this story.

In the ASIN/ISBN-10 field, copy and paste the ID number from the pirated copy's URL. You'll find this ten-digit number in the Amazon URL after the word "product," as in the screenshot below. (If the URL extends beyond this number, you can ignore everything from the question mark on.) Once this number has been added, Amazon will pull the product information automatically and add it to the complaint form, so you can check the listing title and make sure it's correct.

Finally, add your contact information to the relevant fields, check the "I have read and accept the statements" box, and then click Submit. You should receive an email confirmation that Amazon has received the form.

Please share this information with your writer friends, keep an eye out for/report pirated works, and help us keep fanfiction free and legally protected!

NOTE: All of the above also applies to Amazon products featuring stolen artwork, etc., so fan artists should check too!

[catchymemes]

[alex-a-roman]

It’s finally time for me to make this post.

Since my 1st year here on Tumblr, every couple of months I find my own poetry copied word for word and signed under a different name. Those people don’t seem to shy away from interacting with my blog at the same time, which is how I usually find out.

At first I ignored them because I thought it wasn’t a big deal. I was expecting this to happen from time to time, but this year, it happened 3 or 4 times, all different people.

I can’t lie, it’s not pleasant to see your own work, often about deeply personal and sensitive topics signed under a different name, by someone who doesn’t have a clue what you’ve been through.

This happened again today!

I won’t mention the blog, it’s still active and it’s definitely ran by a real person. I just want to know why??? You’re not gaining anything from this. I know you’re not making money writing poetry because I’m not making money writing poetry. So what is the point? The ones you steal from are real people with real memories, emotions and life experiences that you’re trying to claim as your own. What you’re doing is messed up and I’m sure you’re aware.

[unravelynn]

Reporting misattribution is no longer available(PLEASE REBLOG THIS)

So basically the door is open for all the reposters. Thank you Tumblr ! I tried to report someone who reposted a gif that I edited weeks ago, but when I was searching for the option “report misattribution”, well, the option doesn’t exist anymore. All I see is a DMCA Copyright Infringement file, that is for owners of the original content, not for editors, like many users of Tumblr. I would say 99% of the users are editors, not “owners”. So that leaves us without any protection or help from this website. I’ve had many positive experiences with the Tumblr staff, their quick response and the removal of the reposts that I reported. All good, until now. 

Now this is the DMCA file:

[macmanx]

La Sirena just so happens to also be the name of one of DMCA Piracy Prevention Inc’s clients—La Sirena 69, an adult content creator notably not involved in the Star Trek fandom. In one recent copyright claim, the monitoring service targeted over 90 Tumblr posts that matched a keyword search of “la sirena.” But instead of alerting our team to La Sirena 69’s allegedly infringed content, the company reported a wide array of @mappinglasirena's original posts—like a short essay about a new La Sirena booklet, an article analysis of the starship’s design, and even the blog owner’s thoughts on the fourth trailer for Picard season two. None of these reported links from mappinglasirena.tumblr.com contained infringing content from La Sirena 69—instead, they focus on La Sirena, the starship. As you probably expect, we rejected this complaint.

A peek behind the curtain at [tumblr] keeping you safe from DMCA trolls.

[animepopheart]

I want to put this out there for others who may be dealing with this firm or with something similar in hopes of helping you.

Tumblr removed one of my posts on @beneaththetangles​ and gave us a strike (three and you're out!) because a DMCA firm claimed we stole it...

The post that I wrote..featuring photos I took...posted on a website I own...based on an interview I conducted with a personal friend.

The firm's name is DMCA Piracy Prevention Inc. They're located out of Canada, apparently. The "copyright holder" is Michael Hecl, though through searches, I've seen other names used in other claims.

Here’s a portion of the letter Tumblr sent when the claim went through:

DMCA Piracy Prevention Inc. might be a scam or it might be a very poorly run company. Responses I’ve seen by them online indicate either could be true The company never reached out to me before submitting the claim and did not respond to repeated email requests I sent before I finally submitted a counter-claim to Tumblr.

Speaking of Tumblr, I don’t expect much to come out of my counter-claim. This site has denied me on four (!) previous occasions where I had received permission to post artwork but was reported as not having permission to do, even though I provided proof of my claim and followed all of Tumblr’s directions in doing so.

Just a reminder, I’m sure the people working at Tumblr are wonderful, but the firm is not on your side. They don’t support you, even though their marketing makes it seem as if they do. They are no better than Twitter, even though they’ve taken aim at that company as of late. In fact, Tumblr is similar to that platform when it comes to the issues they have, but with hypocrisy on top of it all (Look we’re selling a blue verification sticker haha we’re so clever! BUT PAY US FOR IT.).

I’ll repost this at some point with follow-up let you know how it resolves. DMCA Piracy Prevention has ten days to “initiate legal action directly against you for the alleged infringement” (way to scare off all the small artists and writers out there, yeesh!).

If you have similar problems with this company, feel free to reach out to me. I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

[xinfinitegalaxiesx]

FANFIC WRITER RIGHTS: WHAT TO DO IF YOUR WORK HAS BEEN REPOSTED OR COPIED

So you were brave enough to not only write a fanfic, but you actually did it: You posted it on the World Wide Web! Go You!

Sharing your writing is such a brave and vulnerable act. You should be very proud.

​​It's so lovely to be able to share your work in a community forum and interact with readers who appreciate the free entertainment. However, unfortunately, some readers appreciate it a little too much and decide they're going to repost it without your consent.

RUDE!

I've seen instances where someone will take a fanfic and change the character names to another fandom, or just straight up wholesale copy a fic from one platform to another as if it were their own. This, and I cannot stress this enough, is jerk-like behavior.

Whether you're an author or not, you still might be wondering, "well what's so bad about this? After all it's a form of flattery and exposure." Some may even argue that because it's not technically "original" it's not plagiarism, blah blah blah.

But let me tell you, it's very bad, straight up rude, and very uncool! Here's why:

It takes away the protections offered by Archive of Our Own/The Organization for Transformative Works such as freedom from censorship and litigation. 

It removes the ability to tag properly and protect/warn readers

Editing/updating or removing your own work is not possible. It may be outdated or you may not wish for it to be in the world anymore, as is your right as the creator.

It can prevent authors from publishing their own work. If it already exists online, this can affect your copyright claims as an author.

Is my fanfic affected?

Start with Google Search Search your username/handle, your fic titles, and select lines/passages from your fic. Sample query: site:<site>.com "search term"

Plagiarism checker Paste a passage from your fic into https://www.grammarly.com/plagiarism-checker

Light Novel Paradise/GoodNovel The latest ridiculousness comes via a site known as lightnovelparadise.com (LNP) which  appears to have been abandoned. It has retooled as GoodNovel, both as a site and an app. It's functionally unusable, and has no support or contact information apart from banner ads redirecting you to the new app. There are many fandoms and likely thousands of works copy/pasted in here, so this is not just a one-fandom issue! 

Here are a few methods you can use to search LNP since the user interface is basically unusable and the search bar doesn't work. Mobile gives you a slightly better view if you want to scroll through the hundreds of works under each fandom. 

Google Query for Light Novel Paradise

site:lightnovelparadise.com "rey/ben solo" (enter your fandom, character or ship tag between quotes)

Reylo Fic Google Sheet

For ease of discovery, I've compiled a list of affected Reylo authors for ease of use & collective action, since that is my fandom. List was compiled from the Star Wars tag (691 works total).

Please comment or dm me if you find another Reylo fic not on this list and I will update. If you'd also like me to remove your info just let me know by commenting in the doc. The last thing I want to do is take more of your power away!

​ What can I do about it?

If you write fanfic that is transformative and it is reposted without your consent, you have a right to file a DMCA takedown.

​See section 7 of this helpful blog for more information including the definition of "transformative" and all the potential legal implications. 

​GoodNovel DMCA Takedown Request Instructions

contact@goodnovel.com

​Wattpad - Reporting Copyright Infringement

More Resources

https://www.transformativeworks.org/legal

​legal@transformativeworks.org

whois.com/whois - look up host/registrar for a site if there is no contact info

How to Keep Fanfiction Legal and Avoid Trouble with Lawyers

If you'd like to contribute more to this blog post, would like to support others who have been affected or have more resources to share, please comment below.

Please share this information with your fandom friends. This affects all of us and our ability to post our transformative works and enjoy it as readers - let's stick together on this!

[yukipri]

Facebook DMCA giving me REALLY hard time here. I am not going to back down, I know what's mine and I know my rights. Please remove the art theft reposts of my damn art. Thank you.

[elfwreck]

OTW at Library of Congress - DMCA hearings

@rustiejs - you asked about this in a reply on another thread but I didn't want this buried under 150 other comments. The OTW has been arguing for DRM-removal rights exemptions to the DMCA since 2009.

Replies to their followup questions: https://www.transformativeworks.org/otw-responds-questions-copyright-office-regarding-proposed-dmca-exemptions-remix-artistsvidders/

OTW at the Library of Congress in 2012:

Testimony link: https://tushnet.blogspot.com/2012/06/dmca-remix.html

2015 version (these hearings happen every 3 years):

I don't see any related posts from 2018; I think they testified/filed things, but there's no news post tagged DMCA for it. (Also I think the major media corporations have given up, at this point.)

The OTW's DMCA tag has more info.

The first year: the media companies were deeply upset, but caught off-guard; they weren't expecting any opposition or requests for exemptions, especially not from a combined front of the EFF and this upstart org about... fanfic? That's... Star Trek stories, right? Why are the Trekkie women talking about DVD software?

...Wait, how are the Trekkie women talking about legal rights and creative expression and transformative (wtf is that?) works and what do you mean they have VIDEO ART and they're claiming it needs DRM removal??? Why do they have testimony from professors as well? No no no; if you need to use video clips in a film studies class, you can totally play the movie on a TV and record that with a camera, okay? (...This argument was not deemed convincing.)

The next round, in 2012, they came prepared... with everything but actual logic based on legal precedents.

[sereia1313]

Daiyoukai Make Captivating Art

A little something for all the wonderful artists we have in this fandom. May your art never be stolen, and if it is, may the fluid inside the thieves' eyes boil bigger holes in their heads.

Read it on Ao3, Dokuga, and FFnet.

Summary: Shippou drags Kagome to a gallery in order to meet a local artist. She had no idea a trip down memory lane was a requirement beforehand.

Sneak Peek

"What are you wearing?"

Yuka placed her coffee on the table, then unzipped her jacket, showing off the rest of her shirt. "Isn't it awesome? I found it at a night market with Kenji."

Kagome frowned, tilting her head to the side. The picture was slightly distorted, like it was out of focus, but the colours were captivating, so she could understand why it had caught Yuka's eye. "Is it a fairy tale?"

Her friend nodded eagerly. "I think it's a take on Romeo and Juliet. Doesn't it give off the whole star-crossed lovers vibe?" She reached into her purse and pulled out some postcards with the same image so Kagome could get a better look.

A dark-haired woman stood on the edge of a cliff, face hidden as a man reached toward her. There was something oddly familiar about him, but his face was mostly hidden by silver hair. Kagome turned it over, looking for a name. "I don't see a signature."

Yuka shrugged. "Who cares? The art is gorgeous, and that's all that matters." The conversation shifted, and the postcard was slipped into Kagome's bag, mostly forgotten.

[patmax17]

Question about copyright and IP on creator sites like etsy or redbubble

My wife is considering selling her craft/artwork on etsy and/or redbubble. She mostly makes fan art, and we're wondering how the fan products sold on those (and other similar) sites aren't taken down for copyright infringement? If I want to sell a pokémon t-shirt on redbubble, or a plush on etsy, wouldn't that be copyright infringement because I'm making money off the pokémon IP?

I tried to google some information and everything seems to point at the fact that it would actually be a violation of the copyright. My guess is that it *is* copyright infringement, but it's simply tolerated by the IP copyright owners.

Can anyone help?

[berlinini]

LOL if it isn't the consequences of your own actions

is this just a general thing or did something happen 👀

Apparently people on tumblr and twitter have received DMCA notices claiming copyright infringement. They think it's because of the use of the sentence Faith in the Future but as I've explained here, that's not possible. It's most likely that the notices are targeting the posts that shared the album cover. The cover is protected under copyright as it is an artistic work (photograph). Normally, the photographer will have signed their rights to the label.

What's interesting in this situation is using the DMCA mecanism as a way to erase the album cover prior to its official release.

The way the DMCA works is that platforms like Twitter, Youtube, Facebook etc are not liable if one of their users infringes copyright - they are simple the medium. They are however required to have a copyright reporting mecanism. If you believe a copyright is infringed (it doesn't have to be yours), you can fill out a form. The platform will then notice the "infringing party" and ask them to remove the infringing work. Sometimes they block the account until the work is deleted. The user has the right to contest the claim - for example if they own the copyright or if the work is free of copyright (in the public domain).

Obviously, Louis and Syco haven't been going around sending DMCA notices every time someone posted the cover from Walls. Or when UAs post the photos of Louis' merch, etc. You have to consider that when you're sharing stuff online chances are very high that at one point you are infringing copyright. However, it's the way the internet works and everyone just rolls with it. Unless the unauthorized act will affect your brand/your revenues/your reputation, it's unlikely that you'd be going around filling copyright infringement claims left and right (it would be a full time job!). So for this to happen, there needs to be intent.

Now I don't know who's filling the reports so I don't know what's their intention. In any case, it's working because it's getting the picture removed and erasing, as much as it can, the leak.

In another interesting turn of event, it looks like Tumblr uses the Fair Use defense against DMCA claims. Let's recap quickly what that means. For certain purposes (sometimes explicitly written in the Copyright Act of a country, sometimes not), the use and reproduction of a work without the consent of the copyright owner is permitted. The most common examples are for criticism, review and news reporting. Let's say you're making a documentary on an actor, and you want to include footage from one of his movies, you can claim fair use/ fair dealing. It's a viable legal defense should the copyright owner sue you for infringement. Usually there is a legal test and several factors come into play (was your reproduction for commercial purposes, did it impact the market of the original work, etc). Fair dealing in the US is way more permissible than in other countries.

I assume Tumblr, being a platform that sides with its users more than others, and given the type of content that's around here, says the reproduction is legal because it's fair use. However that's not their conclusion to make... Every infringement claim is specific to the reproduction that was made, so here we're walking in the dark. But again I'm sure the DMCA notices were for the album cover - in which case there is no fair use defense. And as Tumblr says, "the complainant may chose to pursue this". We'll have to wait and see...

[jazzmandd]

31 - Ok Jazz, you did the Devil for the 30th of October, how scarier can you get then the genesis of all evil?

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of course!

Happy Halloween! Thanks for viewing my month 'o' spooks!

[spaceswordblaster]

New Twitter shenanigans dropped

In the last day I've seen threads of people posting Tokyo Drift and Hackers one 2:20 video at a time

[l00k4tm4m45c415]

Got a dmca notice for a carrijune anne bowlby post i barely remember putting up. What annoys me is they could’ve asked, and I’d have happily complied. I really don’t care that much to fight over some pictures. Just a bit extra.

[sreegs]

Hi Sreegs! Don't know if you know but maybe if you don't, some of your followers might shed some light. Some years ago many blogs were terminated as some agency sent in DMCAs for copyrighted photos. And so it was going around that: 1) your blog gets terminated if you get 3 strikes in 18 months and 2) if you get more strikes in a short period of time, this counts as one strike and not the number you originally received. Is this true?

I do know there's a strike system in place for Tumblr ToS violations, be it DMCA or other stuff (like hate speech). Not all violations result in an equal number of strikes (the strikes are point based and some offenses like hate speech count as 3 strikes immediately).

As for the specifics around the number of DMCA strikes and how many you can get away with in a certain period of time, I don't know the exact numbers on that.

Since DMCA claims have to come from the legal owners of the content, and aren't automated, it will come down suddenly for people who have violated the policy and gotten away with it unnoticed at first. If someone has multiple DMCA-violating posts on their blog, those strikes will add up basically immediately.