Mer Rui

fanworks (fanart, fanfiction, and any transformative work utilizing copyrighted characters/settings/other assets) are unambiguously illegal and violations of copyright law. im sorry if someone told you otherwise, but title 17 of the us code specifies that the copyright owner has the exclusive right to produce derivative works based on their property. "fair use" is not a right, it is a circumstantial provision that may be used as a defense in the case of a copyright infringement lawsuit, and the only party that can determine whether a derivative work falls under "fair use" doctrine is a federal court. if "fair use" is even on the table, youve already violated copyright law.

you might say to yourself, as many bootlickers in my replies have, that fanworks automatically fall under "fair use" because theyre not for profit. this is both a misunderstanding of "fair use" and deeply ignorant of what typical engagement with "fandom" actually entails. profitability is only one of multiple factors the court takes into consideration of a "fair use" defense, and perhaps more importantly - profiting off of fan works is extremely normalized (and imo justified!) in fandom.

ever bought or sold a commission featuring copyrighted characters or settings? thats a fair use violation. ever bought or sold an art print (or a sticker, or a button, or some other kind of merchandise) featuring an anime character at an artists alley? thats a fair use violation. have you ever donated to a fanartist or a fanfiction writer, even without the expectation of receiving something in return? as of yesterday, thats a fair use violation - the court held that the archive's publication of copyrighted books was "commercial" because the website solicits donations from its users. sorry about your medical bills, but linking your gofundme or ko.fi on the same blog where you publish genshin impact a/b/o yaoi or whatever the fuck means that, under the precedent set by the ia ruling, your works are not defensible under fair use, and mihoyo or whoever is fully entitled to drag you to court and wring you dry for exploiting their property for profit.