[THREAD] We all know fanfic authors SHOULD get paid for their work, but is it LEGAL for them to? The answer is yes, it literally is. Here's why:

"But Kiel," you cry out before I even start, "copyright infringement!"

So then, what is copyright? Copyright exists for two reasons: encourage original ideas AND to protect the author from harm to their career.

Fanfic does none of this, at least, in its purest form -

Which is what all fanfic authors (that, at least ask for some monetary compensation) do. Where am I pulling my sources, you may ask? Castle Rock Entertainment v Carol Publishing Group inc (because yes, there was a court case about this!)

Let's break this case down.

Have you heard of a little TV show called Seinfied? In the year 1998, a little book called The Seinfield Aptitude Test (which will be short handed to SAT in this context) was published. The book was a trivia book solely meant for entertainment purposes, featuring -

quotes from the series, canonical interpretations of the characters, basically an unofficial "Official Guide to Seinfield" book.

They were sued.

The argument of fair use was attempted to be used in order to explain away what was going on and to protect the author, however -

it didn't matter. The book was deemed copyright infringement, fair use did NOT apply.

Why, then, am I using this case if it failed to protect the author?

Because the argument of fair use is what I'm after. The SAT did not, in any form, transform the media -

that it was taking inspiration from. It was also commercial. Fair use only applies if a) the work is TRANSFORMATIVE and b) for noncommercial use. The SAT was none of this, and thus their use of "well its fair use" didn't apply.

It also harmed the author. Seinfied was still -

- running. It was not public domain. The copyright holder could've easily wanted to make their own Aptitude Test for their show, but now The SAT will harm those sales. It, in the fact that it proceeded anything official, will also make the author be accused of plagiarism

Which would've immediately ended ANY deals the author had, if any material happened to be the same. This is why commercial use of fanfic *not within the public domain* is illegal.

So now what about noncommercial transformative works, as in, the OPPOSITE of the SAT?

Not a single noncommercial transformative work has ever been ruled in the US courts as copyright infringement.

Taking commissions is a one time payment. A person pays you to create transformative work, however, once done, it is distributed for free. You are not getting paid -

For the commissioner to mass produce your work and make it accessible behind a paywall. Sites such as patreon, however, do fall under the commercial distribution of fanfic, thus no fanfic writer can have a patreon for their fanfic. It no longer becomes fair use.

But if you had a tip jar such as Ko-Fi? Or commissions open? As long as no fanfics are able to be a commercial deal (unless, of course, within public domain), you are legally fine! Can't advertise on ao3 since it is a NONPROFIT and thus cannot advertise FOR PROFIT works

But you are free to do so on your social media.

tl;dr: Under fair use, it is in fact legal for fanfic authors to profit off of noncommercial uses of their fanfic, such as a tip jar. You are, at the very least, protected by US law when it comes to this.

I can only speak for America since I am, in fact, American, but any countries with such fair use laws should be the same. Also, some companies such as Hasbro and Star Trek have made *further* rules for what is acceptable and what isn't, so keep that in mind.

But fanfic authors, you are free to take commissions! And in fact, if you're seeing this thread and are a WRITER taking commissions OR have a tip jar, leave it in the replies. I want to help you guys, hence why I wrote this up! Happy writing, you got this

(Just a bit of self background bc this is getting Around and i have art commissioned pinned) yes! I am a writer! On and off though bc I crave that validation and despite seriously writing for longer, art got quicker validation. I seriously hope to help cause a change in that tho