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Guys, what do you think about censure in Fanfiction? If the Govermment turns it into crime, what do you do?

@neko neko blue: First of all, I think you mean "censorship" and not "censure", and second of all--I hate to be the first one to tell you this, but fanfic almost certainly already is illegal in any country signatory to any of the major international conventions on copyright. Fan fiction is what's called, in copyright law, an unauthorized derivative work, and the creator of the original work you're deriving your fanfic from can drag you into court over it. Fortunately, most of them have better sense than to try, since it tends to create a massive backlash among fans. (It's sort of like jaywalking--in most places you could get into legal trouble for crossing the street in the middle of a block without a crosswalk, but nothing's liable to happen unless the police have it in for you or you cause a major accident.)

eliddel: Sorry bad spelling. Thanks, you're the first one who answered like that. I've been asking to fandom sites, fan sites, etc. Some of them said that if you put a Disclaimer on it, you're safe. If you aren't getting money with it, it's okay. I was really confused about that. In my country they created a project that can arrest a guy for one to three years. Till that I never thought about that.

@neko neko blue: There's a reason I put that "almost certainly" qualifier in there--to my knowledge, none of this has ever been tested in court (although there have been some fringe cases in the US which sort of come close). How things would actually fall out if someone was brought to court for committing fanfic would depend a great deal on what precedent in that country defined as "a derivative work" (or, in countries like France, on exactly how the law was worded). Also, there's one exception: parody is protected by law in most places, so if your fanfic falls into that category, you are automatically safe. (You may also be safe if your fanfic is sufficiently bad/deviant from the original that it's no longer obviously a derivative work.) Likewise, it's safe to write fanfic based on something that has fallen out of copyright.

Disclaimers aren't any kind of protection (but they are a sort of courtesy acknowledgement to the original creator, which is why I put them in anyway). Not making any money from the fanfic would reduce the damages you would have to pay in some places (specifically, the US) if you were found guilty of copyright violation, but lack of commercial intent isn't a protection in and of itself, either. The sites/other people you've been asking about this probably badly want what they're doing to be legal, so they'll clutch at any available straw. I'm a bit more of a realist, unfortunately--knowing all this does not do wonders for someone suffering from chronic depression, believe me.

There are, fortunately, cultural reasons why writing fanfic based on works of Japanese origin isn't likely to land you in court unless you do something really stupid. Basically, as I understand it, taking someone to court in Japan, even if you're in the right, entails massive loss of face, and so is avoided if at all possible. Japan has very few lawyers compared to most other civilized nations. In general, they're just not a litigous society. Writing fanfic based on works of Western origin (which I meticulously avoid) is a lot more likely to get you in trouble.

I should note, however, that IANAL,NDIPOOTV (I Am Not A Lawyer, Nor Do I Play One On TV), and even if I were, what I know probably wouldn't apply to your country in every detail--laws still differ from place to place even with regard to stuff that's been agreed upon in international treaties, and how they're actually applied differs even more. Also, whether or not the law is morally correct and should be obeyed is yet another question. (Personally, I think the entire body of law dealing with copyright needs to be torn out and redone--it was supposed to provide protections for authors of print works against dishonest publishers in the days when setting up to print a book was a major financial undertaking, and has been stretched all out of shape with changes in costs and technology--but I'm also aware that there are potential costs to disobeying the law as it stands.)

hi does anyone know how to send money to other ppl? i tried donate that doesnt work
also up for a little game? I give you a snippet of writing and you have to make it into a story, that snippet have to appear somewhere somehow? 5000 for the winner?

elidell: Thanks, your explanation helped me to think straight. Fanfics are part of my life, it helps me to deal with depression. But since it can bring legal troubles for me, its better stop writing than go to jail. Even that my stories are really different from the original, yaoi, Mpreg, genderswitch, etc.

@neko neko blue: Technically, you won't get in trouble for just writing--it's posting or otherwise circulating what you write that's the problem, and even there the risk is pretty low. You just have to be aware that it isn't non-existent. I haven't drawn any legal flak in more than ten years of posting fanfic on the 'Net, if that's a useful yardstick for you.

@everyone! Hi.... not new to the site, but new to here!! I just wondered if you all had any ideas as to getting your story 'out there'!! To make it more acessible for well.... anyone really?!?! Any thoughts???

*Query to eliddell last post: "How come no one really has been prosecuted in any country for posting 'fan-fics' is it because there really is no moderator to pursue us, or is it written work so boring, or is it because (To parahrase loosely a famous phrase) continuation the sincerest form of flattery.