Since when the fuck have we had to PAY for fanfiction?
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I understand for original books, but for a site that has a huge fanfiction community, I want to explain why this is a grey area in terms of copyright laws.
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You may think I am overreacting, but let me explain myself...
People have never been able to sell fanfiction, with a few cases such as celebrities in Alternate Universes where they only have to change the names (eg. After Series).
There is a reason for this. I will use Harry Potter as an example of this.
The Harry Potter universe was created and copyrighted to JK Rowling, meaning that although we are free to write what we want, the only person who can profit off anything Harry Potter related (except with permissions etc.) is JK Rowling.
Did you hear that?
I said the only person who can profit off anything Harry Potter related (except with permissions etc.) is JK Rowling. INCLUDING FANFICTION WITH HER CHARACTERS AND HER WORLD.
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If you see an ad playing between chapters, technically the advertising is making Wattpad money for giving a platform for your work, therefore just an annoying and sneaky way of making a profit.
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Yet, they won't even let you skip the ad. So you are technically making money off fanfiction by preventing people from reading it when not online unless they pay. Not to mention the already sneaky advertising on the fanfiction. So in other words: Wattpad is profiting off copyrighted content in a legal loophole.
Does that sound ok to you?
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For original content, I can understand the premium use and advertising, as it is benefitting the website supporting the book as well as the author. But fanfiction? One slip and you'll have a big JK Rowling, Disney, GRR Martin etc. court case.
So join me in the protest of including advertising in fanfiction and requiring a premium account to download it.
If you say 'but then the author doesn't get paid'... BIG FUCKING DEAL.
An original author, I am perfectly supportive. But a fanfiction author? As one myself, go fuck yourselves if you think you're entitled to benefiting off someone else's creation.
As a fanfiction author, I am using the characters and world of someone else's work and putting my own storyline to it. I am doing this for pleasure, knowing it is morally wrong to profit off something I did not create.
If you write fanfiction, you do it solely for pleasure and creativity - not profit. Advertising on any fanfictions is MORALLY WRONG.
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HOW TO JOIN THE PROTEST:
- Spread the truth.
- Contact Wattpad with the same message I have.
- Contact authors/publishers about your concerns over their copyright grounds being breached.
- Do not join premium.
- Go to other websites such as A03 and fanfiction.net (I have already ranted about how they are so much better).
