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My 2 Cents on AO3 Hosting Original Works
Apr. 18th, 2010 12:44 pmI've been fascinated by the recent discussions of whether AO3 should allow original fic to be archived. And I'm very impressed by the tone of the discussion, which seems in the main serious, intelligent, and non-dogmatic.
I'm in favor of allowing original fic for multiple reasons, many of which others have discussed eloquently. But my personal motive for wanting to post original fic is one I haven't seen much discussed: wanting to write fic that is broadly allusive. Today's copyright law is, in my opinion, insane in its rigidity. I'll give you a case in point from a story I actually really published in the old-fashioned, "professionally" acceptable and legal way. It's called "God of Lemons" and features a girl and some historical figures getting trapped in the afterlife. This story was written right around the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's death, so I wanted it to include a Lennon tribute. The way this fit was to end the story on the symbolic resonance of noting that "all you need is love." Except "All you need is love" is a line from a Beatles song, and therefore, I am not allowed to quote it without obtaining copyright permission and paying royalties. In practice, this means that, if you include this kind of quote, no publisher will look at you if you're not already famous because they don't want to do this/pay this on your behalf. I don't blame them. So I sent in my story with some half-assed line about how love is very important or something. It really undercut the power of the ending. To what purpose? The purpose of not having as strong a tribute to Lennon and the Beatles as I would have if I had violated their copyright.
( Read more... )
I'm in favor of allowing original fic for multiple reasons, many of which others have discussed eloquently. But my personal motive for wanting to post original fic is one I haven't seen much discussed: wanting to write fic that is broadly allusive. Today's copyright law is, in my opinion, insane in its rigidity. I'll give you a case in point from a story I actually really published in the old-fashioned, "professionally" acceptable and legal way. It's called "God of Lemons" and features a girl and some historical figures getting trapped in the afterlife. This story was written right around the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's death, so I wanted it to include a Lennon tribute. The way this fit was to end the story on the symbolic resonance of noting that "all you need is love." Except "All you need is love" is a line from a Beatles song, and therefore, I am not allowed to quote it without obtaining copyright permission and paying royalties. In practice, this means that, if you include this kind of quote, no publisher will look at you if you're not already famous because they don't want to do this/pay this on your behalf. I don't blame them. So I sent in my story with some half-assed line about how love is very important or something. It really undercut the power of the ending. To what purpose? The purpose of not having as strong a tribute to Lennon and the Beatles as I would have if I had violated their copyright.
( Read more... )
