Copyright Infringement

[Todd]

I read this news story the other day: http://mynintendonews.com/2015/10/03/fa ... n-company/

A man tried to throw a Pokemon-themed party and was sued by Pokemon Company. From what I understand, he was going to profit from the party, which is different from fansites that we make, but it made me think about shrines, because this is one of my bigger fears when I make a fansite.

Are any of you ever worried about being sued by the owner of the subjects you shrine? Do you feel like making shrines is infringing on copyright? Are there any actions you take to hopefully prevent being sued?

[Samantha]

Ugh, this does stress me out. I wish there was some kind of official document somewhere that we could reference to be sure we're taking the proper measures to prevent something like this! I know we talked about this online, and the chances of it happening to us aren't likely, but... It's scary to think about.

What do others think?

[Camy]

Well, they did it because he was going to make a profit. As long we don't make a profit with our fansites and give credit correctly (by not claiming official images and such as ours), we should be fine.

[Crystal]

I haven't really thought too much about it to be honest. Like, it is a concern I have but I don't worry about it.

[Robin]

I do worry about people getting the wrong idea that I am somehow profiting off my fansite building. But as long as I link back to the official stuff and make it clear that I am a fan sharing my opinions and love for the series, I think I'm good. Anybody who would even try to bring charges against us wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on anyway. ^_^

[dubiousdisc]

There's nothing to worry about, as long as you don't profit there are no grounds to press charges. Not to mention that, if discussing other people's creations constituted a copyright infringiment, critics would be out of job :P

Edit: ALSO I HAVE TO SAY THAT WHEN I SAW THIS THREAD THE TITLE ALONE GAVE ME A CRAMP

[Camy]

Glad I wasn't the only one who reacted that way seeing the tile XD

[Todd]

Edit: ALSO I HAVE TO SAY THAT WHEN I SAW THIS THREAD THE TITLE ALONE GAVE ME A CRAMP

lol Sorry!

I think as long as we don't profit, we'll be fine, too. Like dubs brought up, critics would be out of a job if writing about a copyrighted subject could result in legal charges. I think summary and analysis is absolutely A-OK. The one issue I think any of us would have is image galleries, or altered official images for layouts.

[Emma]

It's not something I worry about. Yes, we are technically infringing on copyright with the images we use (as far as I know), but we don't profit from it and could you imagine trying to police that and the horrible backlash it would have if TPC said unauthorised use of their images wasn't allowed? They'd be alienating the people who play their games and who go to fansites and wikis for news and game tips. It would be impossible to police, not worth their time, and would piss off their customers.

I'd be more worried if I was an Etsy seller selling, say, Pokemon themed crafts.

Also, TPC and Nintendo are really bad for this kind of thing, as much as I love them. They did claim ad revenue from LPers using their games and generally were (still are?) against streaming. (Remember they blocked Smash Bros from streaming at EVO until they realised what a bad idea that was and reversed it?) They just seem to be really against anyone using their IPs for profit, however little. I always thought it was interesting that they had an issue with LPers when other game companies will send out preview copies to popular ones because they know it's basically free advertising for them.

[Destinie]

This is the reason I always put a note on my sites. And I think it's clear we are definitely not making any money so we should be fine. I think of all the Pokemon fangames and things that continue to exist with no problems. It would be unrealistic for a company to try to sue every person who enjoyed their products. How would that make them look?