swaythisway

Emma Gonzalez

Malala Yousafzai

Ruby Bridges

Greta Thunberg

Mari Copeny

Autumn Peltier

Afreen Khan

Sophie Cruz

Charlottesville Black Students Union

Naomi Wadler

DAPL protestors (names not found)

Claudette Colvin was actually the first one to refuse her seat in Montgomery, Alabama to a white passenger. The movement chose to promote Rosa Parks as the figure for that form of protest because Claudette was a pregnant 15-year-old girl.

Barbara Rose Johns was a 16-year-old who organized a student strike protesting segregated schools. This strike, after gaining support of the NAACP, became a lawsuit that turned into Brown vs. The Board of Education and resulted in the desegregation of U.S schools nationally.

7th-grader Mary Beth Tinker, disturbed by the Vietnam War, decided to wear an arm band with a peace sign on it in protest. Her school suspended her. Her family filed a suit, Tinker vs. Des Moines, which reached the Supreme Court and ruled in her favor, ensuring that students and teachers maintain their right to free speech while in school.

Freddie & Truus Oversteegen were sisters who joined a Dutch resistance movement in WWII in their teens. They lured, ambushed, and assassinated Nazis and Dutch collaborators. They also blew up a railway line, transported Jewish refugees to new hiding places, and worked in an emergency hospital. 

In recent days, there have been a number of posts on tumblr about third party apps that host AO3 fic on them. A lot of people are worried and even more people are pissed.

There is no need to send in emails to AO3 Support or to the Policy and Abuse team. They are fully aware of the situation and are probably drowning in emails right now. 

Here’s what I know and what you can do about it.

Fluff app / Fanfiction Pocket Archive Library app / Archive Track Reader app:

These apps work as a sort of skin for the AO3 site itself. They don’t download works and redistribute them. They provide an access point to AO3.

The developers of these apps are making money from the app itself (through tips and subscriptions - both voluntary), which wouldn’t exist without the free content created by AO3 authors. Since people post their work to AO3 because it is free to access and hosted without ads, authors are understandably angered by this.

Because these apps are basically just a portal to the site, a DMCA notice will not apply in this case. All works currently hosted on AO3 will show up on these apps, because these apps are simply letting you view AO3 through their interface.

Woodsign company apps (including MCU, Harry Potter, Sherlock, Creepypasta, and more):

These apps seem to curate  some fic from the various fandoms and rehost it. They allow users to read offline, so it’s possible they are redistributing it. In this case, a DMCA takedown might be effective.

This app developer is also making money by hosting fanfic that was written and posted for free on AO3. They have put up a paywall so that you can only access the complete fic if you pay for it or rate the app in the App store. 

If you want to post a negative review, consider saying things like:

* these fanworks are free already at archiveofourown.org * you can kudos, comment, bookmark, subscribe, and mark to read for later for free with an archiveofourown.org account * you can also download fics to read later in various file formats - both pdf and formats that are usable by ereaders * archiveofourown.org is a website with full mobile browser accessibility. Anything you can do in this app, you can do on the site - for free, and without ads * the Archive is a fully-licensed non-profit organization run by volunteers, unlike this for-profit app

There is no official AO3 app. The website is mobile friendly and if you want to have quick button access to it, you can Add to Homescreen on your phone and you can click in just like you would on an app. None of these third party apps can provide you with AO3 support. Only AO3 can do that. The best version of the site will always, always be the site itself.

YOU ONLY KEEP ONE BULL 

Good Morning Friends:

I am going to channel my outrage into what I hope will become a positive public discussion around copyright in the social media and digital age. Let me start by saying, in most cases I believe people either don’t know or just don’t think about their use of other people’s art, images, words when it comes to “sharing” on social networks or online. I never assume malintentions. I do my best to gently educate folks on copyright and crediting when I see my work used without a shout out or some acknowledgement that I created it.

In this new era, I believe we need to be having conversations about how to respect the creative work of others while also uplifting it and honoring it – through sharing. Plagiarism is an important thing we teach in school. You can be kicked out of college for plagiarizing someone. I believe we should be deeply considering and having meaningful discourse about “sharing” on social networks. What does “citing a source” look like today in terms of social media?

These insidious little moments of sharing without citing the source might seem silly to some, but I argue they lay the groundwork for much more egregious plagiarism or just straight up theft. Let’s explore a case study that is happening right now and has led me to want to write this article.

LASULA boutique is an online clothing store that seems to cater to both the UK and US markets. It is “home to the latest fashion flashes from across the globe.” 

Based on my research, they appear to make what I call “disposable clothing” that is modeled after whatever some celebrity wore that week. I call it “disposable clothing” because it’s made cheap and fast in developing nations where they no doubt exploit labor and use cheap-ass materials in order to create clothing that is “in fashion” for a moment. Then that shit falls apart or is “out of fashion” in a few weeks and you dispose of the items and have to buy more. #FuckTheEnvironment #FuckHumans

Their online reviews, depending on where you look, range from 5.8/10 starts to 1.7/5 stars; most reviewers speaking to the shoddy quality of their products. But hey I’ve never bought anything from them so who knows.

What I do know, is that they downloaded the free pattern I created for DMC and they are stitching it onto jeans, using my name in the product description, and selling them for 22GBP (roughly $30 USD) on their website.

I also know that they posted a photo of said jeans on their Instagram, which has 723,000 followers, which earned them 3,329 likes, without crediting or tagging me (gee I wonder why).

To be clear: I DID NOT know about this. I DID NOT give them permission to use my design or my name. I DID NOT sign a licensing agreement. I DID reach out to them via Instagram yesterday and have not heard back from them.

Perhaps now you can see why I want discourse around this.

The piece of art I made that is now “famous” I guess, was created when our shitbag president said “grab ‘em by the pussy” on film AND STILL GOT ELECTED PRESIDENT. But that is not when that piece got famous. That happened when celebrities shared it when fuckbag Harvey Weinstein got called out and taken down.

I got over 1,000 requests via Etsy and Instagram from folks who asked me to stitch them one and/or “put it on a shirt” so they could wear the message around. That led me to: create a FREE embroidery pattern so that those thousands of people could stitch their own to wear or gift to others. I also created a RedBubble shop with some products with the design/expression on it so folks could wear it loud and proud – I have always clearly stated that I make NO PROFIT off of this. I donate all of the proceeds (which is like $2 an item because I chose to keep the price point as low as possible for buyers) to the nonprofit Advancing Justice | Chicago. To date, we have raised just over $1,000 for the organization through the sales.

Profiting off of this message and this moment is NOT something I am willing to do. I have been very clear about that. So the fact that LASULA (and many others as you will see below) are stealing my work to profit off of is UTTER BULLSHIT. They are slapping MY ART onto shitty jeans (that no doubt come at a great price for many humans and the environment) and selling them to you as a “fashion flash”… whatever the fuck that means.

They used MY NAME in their product description without my permission…no doubt thinking that was them being “thoughtful” or “citing their source”.

Here’s the deal, I literally teach classes at Columbia College on how to protect creative works, write licensing agreements and contracts, and how to protect your name, brand, and art. I would be a really shitty teacher if I didn’t use this moment to bring this to light.

I am pissed right now. I am angry that my art and my name have been coopted to make this company money.

I am angry that they are selling women the idea that a piece of my art that represents the women’s movement should be stitched onto the butt of skinny jeans and paired with “a bodysuit and some boots for the ultimate babe vibe.”

SOD OFF BRO.

The part that I am grateful for is that I know my rights and I have a digital community that regularly has my back. So many artists do not have that. They are making incredible art and are REGULARLY being ripped off and their work exploited by fashion companies who apparently can’t seem to afford to hire artists.

I MUST stand up; not just for me but for every other creator whose work is being bit-for-profit and their objections aren’t being heard or listened to.  

My website states:

BadassCrossStitch.com™ © 2015, All Rights Reserved Worldwide

What does that mean?

It means that I created this art for you to use to make your own art. If you share your art with the world all you have to do is credit my art too. If you post it on Instagram for example, you would say something like: Pattern by: @BadassCrossStitch – it’s like citing your sources. And you know I’m going to double tap that and share the love! (win/win)

It also means that you can’t sell the work without my permission. Here’s the deal, if you are an independent artist or crafter and you want to stitch a piece or two to sell at a craft fair or on Etsy – you have my permission so long as you clearly state the pattern is mine. I extra approve if you give a portion of your profits to a nonprofit doing great work for women.

No one has my permission to use my work on a large scale (making more than 3 pieces to sell, or any advertising, or commercial applications – you know billboards, t-shirts, jeans, mugs, and shit like that) without my written permission. Businesses, brands, ad agencies, and the like (should know better) and should definitely not be biting my work. That said, I’m totally down to talk about all sorts of applications but it will require a contract, licensing agreement, and dollar bills y’all. 

Cool? Cool. Thank you for supporting and respecting the work of artists! You are badass.

I am not an unreasonable human. I create art to inspire other people to create art. I do NOT create art so companies can exploit my work and profit from it.

Think I’m exaggerating? Check this out:

That is just from a simple google search that took me 3 seconds. I still have $40,000 in student loan debt. You think I couldn’t use the money? OF COURSE I COULD!

*takes deep breath*

My friends, thank you for reading this. The only call to action I have for you right now is to please have an IRL conversation with someone today about this idea. Talk about how you share things on social media. Talk about what you think crediting a creator looks like. Talk about plagiarism in the digital age – what does that even mean? Let’s have conversations around this NOW. Let’s work together to define what we believe is just and equitable.

Thank you. I love you.

If you’re suffering from fear or anxiety, or know someone who is, call the NAMI helpline at 1-800-950-6264 or text NAMI to 741741. Trained counselors are available 24/7 to help you process what you’re feeling, free and confidentially.

Where do we go from here?

This won’t be the last mass shooting in America. Until Congress puts aside the politics of gun control and honestly faces the human toll of their inaction, guns will continue to ravage our communities.

If you’ll be 18 by November 6, 2018, please register to vote. Help your friends register. Help your neighbors register. On election day, organize carpools to polling places. Trade shifts with people who can’t get time off, or babysit their kids. A single vote for gun control is more powerful than all the thoughts and prayers in Washington.

Tens of thousands of people will be killed by guns before we can wrest control of Congress from the gun lobby. Many hundreds will be students sheltering in classrooms. But change is possible.

TurboVote.org will help you register online or by mail. Go now. We don’t have time to wait.