I think not just fandom, but the populace at large struck a pretty telling blow against the current legislation - at the moment it's tabled indefinitely.
Thank heavens.
it is only a branch of the company, while the other branches are busy trying to make people cease and desist and the one fun group is saying "wow, we love you guys".
I've noticed this too... I wish I could remember company names off the top of my head, but I've seen places encouraging fanart (I know the author of the Temeraire series had a fanart contest, but she's like... the biggest published proponent of fanfic EVER, so I'm not sure she's such a good test case...) and I know that Lucasfilm actively encourages Star Wars fanfilms with original stories.
I think that the companies and individuals that hold the copyrights need to reconsider their. Right now, they seem to be working off of the assumption that ANY unauthorized use/downloading of their material loses them money. Which just isn't true, as this post about fandom and "piracy" points out rather eloquently. As far as I can see, the use of a picture or a screenshot to make an icon that might make new people go, "Who are those pretty people and what is that from?" *watches show* is free advertising, not damaging piracy.
And when it comes to the most heinous kind of media piracy, the SELLING of unauthorized DVDs, I think that fandom is in agreement with the copyright holders. In fact, I think that MOST fans would be appalled if anyone came into our communities and started offering to sell us pirated copies of the shows we love. I can see any poster who tried to either sell or buy unauthorized copies getting jumped all over by the mods of pretty much every comm I'm a member of. The comments would mostly consist of "Stop making us look bad!" and "Go buy the real DVDs and support the creators/actors/writers!"
no subject
Thank heavens.
it is only a branch of the company, while the other branches are busy trying to make people cease and desist and the one fun group is saying "wow, we love you guys".
I've noticed this too... I wish I could remember company names off the top of my head, but I've seen places encouraging fanart (I know the author of the Temeraire series had a fanart contest, but she's like... the biggest published proponent of fanfic EVER, so I'm not sure she's such a good test case...) and I know that Lucasfilm actively encourages Star Wars fanfilms with original stories.
I think that the companies and individuals that hold the copyrights need to reconsider their. Right now, they seem to be working off of the assumption that ANY unauthorized use/downloading of their material loses them money. Which just isn't true, as this post about fandom and "piracy" points out rather eloquently. As far as I can see, the use of a picture or a screenshot to make an icon that might make new people go, "Who are those pretty people and what is that from?" *watches show* is free advertising, not damaging piracy.
And when it comes to the most heinous kind of media piracy, the SELLING of unauthorized DVDs, I think that fandom is in agreement with the copyright holders. In fact, I think that MOST fans would be appalled if anyone came into our communities and started offering to sell us pirated copies of the shows we love. I can see any poster who tried to either sell or buy unauthorized copies getting jumped all over by the mods of pretty much every comm I'm a member of. The comments would mostly consist of "Stop making us look bad!" and "Go buy the real DVDs and support the creators/actors/writers!"