#don't advertise on ao3 that you've monetized any of your work

[nocturnalsleuth]

[ID: Screenshots of a twitter thread.

Image 1: Twitter user hairmetals posts "ao3 getting millions of dollars almost every year in donations but as a fic author you cant even mention needing money in the end notes of your own fic because ao3 will ban you swiftly for that. cant even have a button thats like hey if you liked my works pls consider just $1". Twitter user brosnyaa replies "I see the "AO3 should let us make money" takes are going around again, so as a copyright attorney, I'd like to again provide some information about fanfiction and fair use.".

Image 2: Twitter user SolmUnable comments "Wait so these twitter writers that made us pay goals for the next chapter of fanfic is doing something illegal??". Twitter user andawasp replies "for a story they're using another author's characters for? technically yes.".

Image 3: Twitter user brosn comments "In the US, the reason we can create fanworks without getting sued is the fair use doctrine. A lot of you are probably familiar with this - it allows us to use existing IP in limited contexts (i.e., when the work is "transformative"). What most people don't know about fair use is that it's an affirmative defense. An affirmative defense is used when you DID violate the law, but the law provides exceptions where that's okay.".

Image 4: Twitter user brosn comments "All fanworks are infringing by default. When you invoke the fair use defense, you're saying, "Yes, I did infringe on this copyright, but it's okay because x, y, and z." I think this is something a lot of authors and artists don't realize. When you write fanfiction or draw fanart, you are engaging with someone's copyrighted work. You're allowed to do this, but you have to understand that you're doing it with certain rules that need to be followed.".

Image 5: Twitter user brosn comments "Two of the big factors in determining whether you can use the fair use defense are: 1. whether you were paid 2. how much of the original work you used. The 1st is obvious. It's HUGE. The 2nd is, unfortunately, why fanart is generally more acceptable than fanfic when it comes to copyright. Fanart captures a single moment while fanfic uses characters, settings, themes, etc. It's more drawn out.S".

Image 6: Twitter user brosn comments "So saying "but fanartists make money!" doesn't work. The analysis is completely different - fair use is a balancing test, and writing v. art tips the scales in different directions. Do I agree with this? No. Fanwriters should be able to make money! But that's how the law is. Back to the 1st factor. There are a lot of creators who are fine with fanworks now, but they're Only fine with it because fanfic is free. If that changes, we would most likely see more lawsuits. As a non-profit, AO3 is able to face the world and say "all our fanfic is free." ".

Image 7: Twitter user brosn comments "Their policy is in place so that they're able, in good faith, to certify that all of the fanfiction on their site is unpaid. It's a MASSIVE boost for the fair use defense. It means that if anyone sues the site or an author on the site, they'll have a much harder time of winning. I won't tell you not to include ko-fi in your twitter bios or to tweet fanfic links with tip jars, I just want everyone to understand why ao3 has this policy.".

Image 8: Twitter user brosn comments "Because heres one other thing more people could understand: lawsuits are EXPENSIVE. Especially copyright suits. It's really a gray area what's allowed and what isn't in terms of fanworks, but the point is, if someone sues you and you win, it could still cost you A LOT OF MONEY. What ao3 is doing isn't only to protect you legally, it's to make sure that no one even TRIES to sue you. So yes, they are being more cautious than the law necessarily requires, but in this case, caution is a very good thing.".

/End ID]

The rest of the thread is here.

tl;dr: Don’t monetize AO3, kids.  You won’t like what happens next.