Copyright Ethics in Multi-Media Fan Works

[Jephael]

So for the last year or so I've been working on all sorts of TMNT based video/audio projects at school where they have some sweet editing systems. On occasion, one of the media instructors will come up to me and give me a typical lecture of his about using pre-created material from films, tv shows ect. He explains it to me quite well and I agree with him to some degree. Whenever I do use copyright material, I always go out of my way to fully credit the source, be it a famous singer or tv company.

Of coarse for all purposes the TMNT videos are not intended in any way shape or form to be school projects. They are strictly fan-base material and therefore it is essencial to have actual clips from the TMNT series. Otherwise, it would just be a bunch of dudes dancing around in homemade Halloween costumes to the tune of a local garage band (although it's not a bad idea).

What is your opinion on this matter?

[Michaelangelo]

I feel that fans and people have the right to create what they want.  Be it from something already created or something original.   As long as they're not making money off of other people's product.

I love going to places like AMV and seeing what people come up with to different animes with music.  It's why I push so hard for the music videos in this group.   I feel that fans have a lot of great ideas that we'll never see in the show or comic, so we can share it here online and see where it goes.   I know there's a lot more fun stuff that can come up through fans.  So I enjoy seeing fan art, fan videos, and fanfics to see where people are going with the areas they love.

I also enjoy seeing original stuff.  It's interesting to see what comes up from the people.  Though I don't push it.  I had a teacher who hated the fact that I would draw TMNT at school.  Though he was an art teacher I NEVER did one TMNT project in his class.  I used my original characters, The Shapers for one project and other than that I liked to focus on animals.   Though when I was taking independent art under a different teacher I asked my teacher if I could do a clay Turtle.  Since the clay was belonged to the other class, I had to ask the teacher who hated the fact that I would draw the Turtles.  He agreed ONLY if I did a human in the same pose.  I did get both the Turtle and the Human made, though never got to finish the Turtle because the human took up the rest of the school year.  I would of love to  have the Turtle colored.   If you want to see the Turtle check it out at

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17536898/

If people want to draw something, let them... if people want to try making a video of something let them...

Never hold back anyones creative side even if it involds copy righted characters... because that inspires them to keep going on with their art.  And maybe some day when they feel it in their heart, they'll create something they love just as much as they love that copy righted character.

[Mindy]

I think as long as it's fan-based and you're not making a profit from it, it's ok to use copyrighted characters. IMO, it IS public domain. I've created audio dramas from several copyrighted works and I always give credit where it's dued.

A lot of art and media teachers disapprove of this simply because they want you to be original and come up with your own creations.

[Fugitoid]

Like Michaelangelo I agree that using copyrighted material is okay when it's for personal use and not for profit. Because copyright was created to protect another's intellectual property where the ultimate goal is to not let someone else take credit or gain money from the original person's work. So, I have to disagree with Mindychan where she considers copyrighted characters as public domain. In fact, we should be grateful that the creators/authors of things don't strictly enforce copyright. Because we, as the public, have very little claim on what is out there.

That being said, I think it is quite short sighted that teachers these days are still enforcing originality. You gotta wonder if they know what millenium we live in. These days ideas/concepts come at you literally at the speed of light. The world is so small now. Almost every minute detail of our lives is reported and worse, we have very little time to consume it. So, of course anything you do will have something gained/influenced by something that is already out there. I almost think we're at a point of human knowledge that pretty much everything that has been thought of HAS been thought of. The only reason we think something is original is because nobody remembers the last time it was seen.

In the end, I say just plug away at what you're doing. Give credit where credit is due. And just try not to be so obvious.  

[Raphael]

I started typing a reply to this last night, but my mind was jumbling things too much so I trashed what I was typing.

Apparently, my mind is still jumbling things, but what the hey...

My personal opinion is that, as fans, our "rights" end with the original works.  We have no more right to use someone else's characters, for whatever reason, than we have to walk up to a celebrity and say we have the right to use their children however we want, just because they're famous.

Does that mean I disagree with fanworks, be it fanfic, videos, RPing (*G*), or whatever? No, not at all. If we're lucky enough that the creators of the works (Mirage, etc) are ok with fanworks, then great! As has been said, it inspires creativity which is usually a good thing. (there are some cases where creativity can go too far)  

Being able to use the TMNT (etc) in our own creative endeavours is a privilege we have been given by Mirage (etc)...it is not our right.

[Donatello]

Yeah.. I tend to learn int eh way of Raphemer on this.  Mainly, I have been on both sides of the argument when I I studied for a MAsters in New Media.  We hit on this topic quite a bit, as the teacher did not want us to use others people's work in our stuff if we don't have solid permission from said person for using it.  Thus.. as long as we have the creators rights to incorporate their work into ours.. all was good.  But this also applied to school projects and those we may make for others, for profit.  Of course, they say if you do like someone elses style, and you do want to make money out of a similar design, as long as you change the orginal design 25% or more to make it more your own... you could get away with it.  (ie.. my HorseTchie avator is a mix of TMNT and Beast Wars, so I can now say that design is my own original design as it does not resemble either).

On the fanfront.. it is more lenient.  But I have found if just borrowing from fan to fan, it's still polite to ask the other artists first before using their fanart in your stuff, then credit them too.  It's poor ettique when someone had practically traced over Greenwillow's drawing of Leo, then submitted that to the Mirage art contest as their own.  No credit whatso ever that the drawing was a copy of GW's.  

That's just for contests and things that fairness and orginality should be considered.  But if you just studying another person's style, and looking right off the the cartoon show or the comic book to practice drawing the TMNT in the same pose.. that's okay for practice reasons.  If you publically post the sketches, make sure to creidt what you were looking from.  One should also try using the learned style to draw some things on their own afterwards too.  Try new things, instead of always being a copy-cat. That's how it's best learned, I think.  

[Michaelangelo]

I totally agree with ya Donny...

I mean having someone just steal others stuff from their sites and stuff is wrong.  I know I was troubled when I was working on a web page (the crosswinds one that crashed back in 1998) and people were just taking my images for their web sites.  I worked hard to make it so everything on my page was either scanned, fixed up or drawn by me.  I don't like putting stuff up that you can see on other people's web pages.   It's no fun going web page to web page finding all the same stuff, it's what discouraged me from surfing the web as much as I use too.

I never agree to fans making money off of others proptiers even though I may be one of ones who did that worse on this list.  Back in the day I was Mikey the Party turtle and made money doing Birthday parties.  Though I felt so guilty about it, we always said this was just so we have some training behind us.  Which is why in 1993 I told Mirage everything about us, crashed ourselves really.  I know what we did was wrong, but...

Would you do the whole thing all over again, knowing what you know now and knowing what you knew than?  He smiled at me like the old punkin King I knew and said... "Wouldn't you?"

I can't denie that I enjoyed that time in my life, and I don't feel bad because all the money I made went into offical TMNT products, toys, comics, magazines, video tapes, ect.   I know it doesn't make it right or excuse me for it... but I loved every minute of it... even the times we were doing free gigs.

Though with being creative, the TMNT has inspired me a lot, and drawing the TMNT make me happy... I don't sell or put it up as offical art or lie about where the art came from it's something I just love to do.  And I think as long as someone is doing the drawing for themselves there's no harm in it.   But the minute you take someone elses art and put it up taking the credit or not giving any credit so people know where it's due... that's wrong.

OH!  There's a TMNT book out right now I'm not too thrilled with because it doesn't give the credit where it's due.  I don't know if I would of even noticed if it wasn't pointed out to me by one of the Artist.  Dave Aikins was selling Turtles in Action! (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) (Hardcover) at Motor City Comic Con and pointed out how none of the artist who worked on the stories in this book got their names in it.  Disappointing huh?

Anyone how... I rambled long enough, and jumped from one topic to another already on ya all.. *G*

[Mindy]

Wow, fandoms need more fans like you guys !