Quote:
Originally Posted by alansplace
Read here starting at 34 and go to 43.
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Wow, I'd missed that.
I've posted links to fics at Archiveofourown several times and nobody's warned me. And I'd argue loudly if they did... AO3 is run by the OTW, which contends that most fanfiction is transformative, not derivative, and therefore covered under fair use laws, at least in the US.
Fair use favors uses that (1) are noncommercial and not sold for a profit; (2) are transformative, adding new meaning and messages to the original; (3) are limited, not copying the entirety of the original; and (4) do not substitute for the original work. None of these factors is absolutely necessary for fair use, but they all help, and we believe that fanworks like those in the archive easily qualify as fair uses based on all these factors.
The vast majority of fanfic fits all four of those criteria.