PSA to Fanfic Writers

Okay, I posted about this on fandom lawyers and have decided to make the fanfic writers on my flist aware of it as well [ETA - after posting this, leaving to run errands, came back to a huge number of responses from fandom_lawyers, who did not respond to the post in the way I'd expected, they were defending doctor_beth2000. Anyhow, my initial take on this appears to be in error, I thought what doctor_beth was doing was illegal. It's not. Please go to fandom lawyers for more info and before posting alerts in your own journals.]

"If you are a Fanfic writer or Artist please go to this ebay site doctor_beth2000 and check to see if YOUR fanworks or someones you know and like are being sold as Fanzines for profit in what appears to be a very lucrative and active operation. One Fanficwriter found their work listed for sale, and it has now been pulled, but it looks like everything doctor_beth2000 is selling is stolen, printed and put in a cheap binder with fanart without the knowledge or permission of the writer or artist. [ETA: see fandom lawyers - apparently you only need to worry if you submitted your fanfic for publication in a fanzine.]"

According to what I've read from people who have visited the site - there are over 700 stories being offered for sale [ETA: originally published in fanzines]. They are from Star Trek, LiRO, Buffy, Star Gate, Doctor Who, Angel, etc.

If you write fanfic? [ETA: that has been published in fanzines only.] Go there. And check.

It is, in case you are at all curious, illegal. This is a clear violation of copyright law on several levels. But I've been out of the field for a bit so am not privy to the current laws. I know their are loop holes under Fair Use. But this is not one of them. While it is permitted to create a fanzine and to sell one, you have to get permission from the owners of the work first. IF you do not, then you are in violation of Copyright Law.[This is wrong.]

ETA: Posted from a reply below from morgandawn of fandom_lawyers. By the way - if you have a question regarding copyright law or how legal questions about fandom related issues - do try fandom lawyers. They tend to be reliable and are fairly up to date on copyright laws.

Looking at what she's selling she does not appear to be selling material printed off the Net - just fanzines. So you may want to clarify in the places you've posted your alert that unless the writer has submitted a story to be published in a fanzine there is little risk of their online material being sold (but it can't hurt to suggest to fans that they set up an eBay alert if they're worried about their online fic being sold). No need to raise the alarm for the rest of online fandom. :-)

To clarify - there is no legal requirement for anyone to get permission from the original fanzine writers or publishers to resell a fanzine - in person, at a convention or on eBay. Reselling copies is not permitted.
Look here for a discussion of resale rights (First Sale)
http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/you-can-book-victory-resale-rights-521[It really is no different than if I sold a book or a bunch of comics on ebay. It is permissible.]

Whether we fans need to get permission from the original copyright holders to publish and sell fanzines in the first place - that falls under the same set of questions that all fans face when writing and posting fan fiction. Fan fiction and fanzines are both IMHO fair use of copyright. Fanzines have been made and sold (and resold) for the past 30 years. What is happening on eBay is no different - just more visible.

Now whether reselling fanzines on eBay (as opposed in fan safe spaces like we've been doing for the past 30 years) is wise is another question.

For the rest of the discussion - go here:

http://community.livejournal.com/fandom_lawyers/75585.html

And for a better explanation of the above post by morgandawn go to her dreamwidth site -
here:

http://morgandawn.dreamwidth.org/1007188.html

Again, this is an excellent site for fandom related legal issues. But, also, pay close attention to disclaimers.

My apologies for the misinformation. I should have waited until I received a reply from fandomlawyers - before posting it in my journal.

The name game

So, I went to the internet site to see how many people in the US, this is just the US by the way, who have my given name (not the lj one):
( how many people in US have my name.. )

As an aside, would love to know how many people in the world have my name.

Torchwood - COE Links

I found two excellent meta/reviews on the Torchwood series on my correspondence list:

1. Torchwood is a Horror Story and what that means - to wit, I wholeheartedly agree. This is my problem with fandom in Buffy, Angel, Doctor Who and Torchwood - these are horror shows people. Horror does not equal happy endings, cuddles, and riding off into the sunset. That is "romance". Horror equals character deaths, angst, nightmares, and people doing nasty things. Horror is supposed to scare you. Romance is supposed to make you feel all warm and cuddly inside. Granted you can merge the two, and romances often occur inside horror shows. I mean honestly how did you think these babies were going to end? Angel Shanshuing and riding off into the sunset with Buffy? Hello, that is a ROMANCE a la Twilight, NOT a horror show. Or the group in Torchwood sitting around joking about saving the world yet again? Action-Adventure NOT Horror. If you want action-adventure - watch Star-Gate. If you want gothic romance - watch Twilight movies or maybe True Blood(although I'm guessing Ball is going to go more the horror route not the romance route like Charlian Harris did.)

I more or less agree with most of this post, except the last two paragraphs. The writer clearly has never watched a soap opera - because they are full of nuance and dark gritty storylines. Granted you have to watch 250 some episodes to get that, but still. Be a bit like reading just one chapter of Charles Dickens back in the 1800s and saying, there's no nuance there and it's not that dark. Also, while I adore the endings of Buffy S5(best ending and best character death ever on that series) and of Angel S5 -Not Fade Away may be my favorite series ender.., I did enjoy the comics and do think the writers have a right to keep the stories moving forward. I feel this need to point people to that Neil Gaiman post in which he states - the writer is not your bitch.

2. The Women of Torchwood - a post in which selenak points out in detail exactly why this series is so good and groundbreaking in regards to how women are depicted in the sci-fi and horror genres.
Although women do tend to be treated better in the horror genre than the other ones for some bizarre reason.