FOX TV Stations Update Websites' ToU's

I get a Yahoo news alert each day for any news stories that include the words "fanfiction", "fanfic" or "fan fiction", and an interesting "story" showed up today.

It seems that Fox Television Stations, Inc. are in the process of updating the Terms of Use for their websites, and the Atlanta station's TOU update somehow twigged Yahoo's "news" system.

Two clauses that seem to be new are:

You are also strictly prohibited from creating works or materials that derive from or are based on the materials contained in this Site including, without limitation, fonts, icons, link buttons, wallpaper, desktop themes, on-line postcards and greeting cards and unlicensed merchandise. This prohibition applies regardless of whether the derivative materials are sold, bartered or given away.

FIM does not knowingly accept unsolicited submissions including, without limitation, submissions of scripts, story lines, articles, fan fiction, characters, drawings, information, suggestions, ideas or concepts. FIM's policy is to simply delete any such submission without reading it or forwarding it to other FIM staff. Therefore, any similarity between an unsolicited submission and any elements in any FIM creative work including, without limitation, a film, series, story, title or concept would be purely coincidental.

If unsolicited submissions are sent to FIM via this Site, however, these submissions become the property of FIM and may be used, copied, sublicensed, adapted, transmitted, distributed, publicly performed, published, displayed or deleted as FIM sees fit. You agree that you are not entitled to any compensation, credit or notice whatsoever and that by sending an unsolicited submission you waive the right to make any claim against FIM, its parents or affiliates relating to unsolicited submissions, including, without limitation, unfair competition, breach of implied contract or breach of confidentiality.

There's nothing too original about these concepts. Of course the creator/assignee is the owner of the copyright, and it's been standard for Terms of Use to claim all rights and warn against infringement. What's different is the inclusion of wallpapers, icons and link buttons, as well as desktop themes in the things you're prohibited from creating. I highlight desktop themes because I know a number of commentators have argued in articles and notes that such use, if created by someone for him or herself, would fall closer to the Betamax exception - it's more like creating a mix tape and not a public distribution of anything.

I also was amused more than anything else by the mention of fanfiction in the "if you send it to us we own it" section. I know some fans have argued over the years that the "canon creator" owns any fanfiction anyway, but I have also seen arguments to the contrary, especially when the amount of copyrighted content used by the fanficcer or fanartist is almost de minimus, and it's interesting to see FOX cover its arse, and cover its bases, by adding the "we own it" into the adhesion contract that is a ToU - but actually, they are noting that they own it *only if* someone sends it to them. In other words, they're not saying they own it if you write it, post it, share it with your friends but don't send it to the station or FOX itself. Now, technically, that doesn't *mean* 100% they don't own it if you don't share it with them, but it is an argument that if you don't send it to them, they don't own the work that was generated by you.

I know, I'm weird. I love reading Terms of Use - I've been writing them since 1993 or 1994 - and it's fascinating to see how this update's being rolled out to all the FOX local affiliates, and...

Then, I googled the line about fan fiction, and either FOX gacked it from somewhere else, or it's being gacked by other entities, or the same law firm is working for FOX and the Jerusalem Post and the National Council for Economic Development Organizations.

So all of you, please be warned!* Do not send your fanfic to the National Council for Economic Development Organizations! THEY WILL 0WNZ0R U!



* This is not legal advice or a legal-advice-warning. None of this is.

The Allen Campaign and Writing

When I first read that the George Allen campaign in Virginia was deeming Jim Webb's novels about the Viet Nam war smutty and saying he was unworthy to be a senator because he'd written sex scenes, I felt like making a post along the lines of "well, that takes most of fandom out of the running for a political career - if you don't write it, likelihood is you've read an R- rated or higher story sometime in your online career.

Then, when I saw this letter of resignation from the Republican party I had a little glimmer of hope that the public really might realise that writing about something isn't the same as condoning it.

I know this is something that's been through discussion after discussion. It's an argument made by book-banners - that Book X includes Y as a plotline and thus condones it. Obviously, I don't think that writing about something inherently condones said thing happening in real life. FictionAlley has gotten some flack over the years for allowing fics with nonconsensual sex, or incest, or student-teacher romances (even post-school, although I haven't seen this argument/complaint much since JKR wrote Remus/Tonks even though he's the same age as Snape who was her professor). While I think the content and language needs to be age-appropriate and parents have the right, legally, to make that call for their kids (although I think they shouldn't overcensor for teens) there is, imho, no subject that can't be written about and sometimes, the material needs to be on the graphic side to tell the story.

( Here's a bit of the letter... )