Disclaimer
From Fan History Wiki
Disclaimer is a part of the fan fiction header where the author claims they do not have the rights to the show, book, movie, game, etc. This is often found the author's notes or introductory material for a fic. While this is not always done, it is encouraged that authors include a disclaimer in their fan fiction.
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[edit] History
This section needs more information.
[edit] Disclaimers in fanzines
Disclaimers have historically appeared in fanzines, dating back to the 1970s. The following is an example of a disclaimer from a Star Trek fanzine dating to 1977:
- Copyright September, 1977, by Love Child Press, D.T. Steiner, Ed. All rights reassigned to individual authors and artists. No material may be reprinted without the written consent of the editor. Only original material herin is covered by this copyright, and no attempt is made to infringe upon the copyrights of Paramount Studio, Norway Productions, NBC, or any other holders of copyright on Star Trek material.
[edit] Disclaimers in media fan fiction
In February 1998, Sci-Fi Entertainment ran an article by Melissa Perenson on fan fiction. It referenced the disclaimers saying:
- For the moment the studios are leaving fanfic sites alone, even when they've gone after fan Web sites with a vengeance. All fanfic carry a disclaimers, noting that the writer is just burrowing the characters that belong to someone else. If they're smart, studios will continue to let fanfic thrive, if for not other reason that the fact that fanfic helps generate interest in the series. "It's a vicious circle, really," explains Rebecca Anderson. "I read fanfic because I'm at least partially interested in the series to begin with; the reading fanfic sharpens by interest in, and knowledge of, the series."
[edit] Disclaimers in bandfic
Disclaimers have long played a role in the Real Person Fic (RPF) community. Most bandfic communities who might have interaction with traditional media based fan fiction communities found them extremely necessary for their own sanity and safety in the fan fiction community. This is because of long standing fears in the traditional media based fan fiction communities that the material will result in fan fiction authors getting sued and the actions of real person fiction authors getting their material targetted and shut down. The traditional media based fan fiction communities also has some components that view this material as intrinsically different, not fan fiction, slander and an invasion of privacy. When real person fic, bandfic would appear, there would often be conflict. The bandfic and larger real person fic community reacted by demanding disclaimers on all real person fic material. This allowed for the uneasy and generally loathed existence of this material near traditional on-line fan spaces. Attitudes towards disclaimers relaxed when larger automated sites, like FanFiction.Net, did not require them for this material. As a result, many young bandfic fen in more isolated communities are not aware of them and did not and do not use them from 2000 to the present. The parts of the bandfic community with members who have been more involved in fandom, operating on the peripherial of traditional media based fan fiction communities have historically always used them dating back to the mid 1990s. Parts of the bandfic community tied in to on-line erotica communities remain more isolated, not seeing themselves as connected to either community. Like teen fen tracing their roots FanFiction.Net communities, disclaimers are a hit or miss affair. (Survey of Literotica and Nifty disclaimers.)
[edit] Historical Definitions
The following definition dates to February 1999 on cmshaw's Fan Glossary as specific to media fandom:
- disclaimer, n. An obligatory copyright notice attached to each fanfic story, stating who the actual owners of the scenarios and characters used are, that the story was not authorized by said owners, and that the fanfic author intends no copyright violation or material gain.[1]
The following term dates to December 2001 in the Harry Potter fandom:
- Disclaimer: Something you will find on most fan-created websites and fanfictions. Anyone watched "Dogma" before? That was a pretty good explanation in the beginning—something along the lines of "covering your ass". That's what a disclaimer is—a statement disavowing ownership of the fandom/characters and the fact that the site/fanfic in question was done for non-profit reasons. E.g. "I don't own (insert characters here) or the (insert fandom here)—they belong to (insert original author/creator/artist here) and (insert publisher/broadcasting-company/copyright-holder name here). I make no money from this—please don't sue me, I'm only a poor (insert humble occupation) who spent all my money on (insert merchandise from said fandom in here)."[2]
The following definition dates to February 2002 in anime fandom:
- Disclaimer - although the fan fiction is owned by its respective author, the show, movie, book, etc. from which the fanfic is based from still belongs to its original author/writer. [3]
The following term dates to May 2003 in the Dragon Ball Z fandom:
- DISCLAIMER
- The part where the author acknowledges the characters he/she is using, and it usually has the lines "All blah blah characters belong to blah blah..."[4]
The following definition dates to October 2003 and was written by Chantal Gouveia:
- Disclaimers: Pathetic attempt to pretend copyright theft is not happening. “JRR Tolkien owns ‘Lord of the Rings’. [5]
The following definition dates to May 2005 in the slash, Westlife, and Lord of the Rings fandoms:
- Disclaimer - For legal reasons, those are put into story headers to make it clear that the author is not making profit from the story, that they do not know/own the characters and have not recieved permission to write the story about them. [6]
The following definition dates to December 2005 in the Harry Potter fandom:
- disclaimer - A note put on the front of every fanfiction a person writes stating that the characters in the fanfiction are not owned by them, giving a copyright notice, and asking any person who might attempt to sue them to contact them through e-mail first. [7]
The following definition is was written by Jane Leavell and updated in June 2006:
- DISCLAIMER: Also known as HEADER INFO. Traditionally put at the top of the story, a disclaimer may include a legal disclaimer announcing that you don't make money at this and don't want to infringe on the creators' rights; SPOILERS (which see) and warnings such as "character death"; a brief plot summary; a mention of distribution--what archives can post this piece without asking you for permission; a dedication or thank you to beta readers; something about story length; which chapter this is (with the format 1/5 meaning part one of five parts); and so on. Different archives and mailing lists may require different information.[8]
The following definition dates to November 2006 in the Harry Potter fandom:
- Disclaimer
- A feeble guarantee, but a necessary one nonetheless; authors should always state plainly that, while they acknowledge that J. K. Rowling owns the copyright for Harry Potter and all other related names, the fic in question intends only to pay homage to the books by borrowing its characters, with no intention to make a profit. Disclaimers are unnecessary when posting at UnknowableRoom; an automatically generated one shows up in each fic page. [9]
The following definition dates to 2008 in the Superman fandom:
- Disclaimer - A header that MUST be put before all fan fiction which acknowledges that the fan fiction author acknowledges the copyrights to the material which they are writing for. This is both a courtesy and necessity among fans who write fan fiction. All fan fictions on this archive must include disclaimers. [10]
The following definition dates to May 2008 in media fandom:
- Disclaimer -- refers to the legal statement of ownership, or non-ownership, authors make regarding the use of canon characters, settings, premises, etc... Technically, disclaimers do not provide any legal protection against charges of copyright infringement, so it is not truly necessary to include them. However, they are considered a courtesy that is strongly encouraged, in that they do provide a valid defense against charges of plagiarism. The best disclaimers actually mention who the legal copyright holders are, which may mean the creator and/or production network. [11]
[edit] Examples
[edit] Star Trek: Enterprise
[edit] 2006
Reputable Sources by Squeaky:
- Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, but I consider this sharing… [12]
Black, White, Red, Yellow by Squeaky:
- Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. If they were there would be a lot more sex on the show. [13]
[edit] Star Trek: Voyager
[edit] 2007
Patraw Cove by Keanna:
- Disclaimer: This is mine, they are not. [14]
Running the Risk by Keanna:
- Disclaimer: This is mine, they are not. [15]
[edit] Star Wars
[edit] 2003
YOU'RE TOO OLD FOR THIS by Michele:
- Disclaimer: All these wonderful characters belong to George Lucas. No Imperial or Republic credits are being made off this story.[16]
[edit] 2004
MY ALWAYS by Michele:
- Disclaimer: All these wonderful characters belong to George Lucas. No Imperial or Republic credits are being made off this story. [17]
[edit] External Links
This section needs more information. [Category:Fanzine terminology]]
