Welcome to The Fine Print

If you are here, then you either want to know: A.) why you've just received a "Cease and Desist" letter from Henson & Co.; B.) have run out of clever disclaimers and are wondering why you even bother; or C.) you think you just saw John Crichton getting his butt kicked by a character you created last year and want to know if you can get paid for it or maybe just a tour of the studio given by The Raven-haired Goddess. In any case, well...any civil case, you can find the answers to these questions here at The Fine Print. We've found links to several sites that discuss copyright law and/or copyright as it pertains to fandoms. Don't say you weren't warned!

SciFi.com:

Be sure to read the section on "Submissions" carefully if you plan to post your work on their site. For many, it's not a big deal, but good to know when you become a famous writer and someone is putting together an anthology of your work. You'll want to know who owns it.

Tushnet's:

This is an article about fan fiction and not only copyright laws, but how fan fiction began, the culture of fan fiction, and legal cases regarding copyright infringement. You know it's comprehensive, 'cause it's got footnotes! Lots of 'em!

Writers University:

There isn't much this site doesn't have. The Law Department is pretty comprehensive with several articles regarding fanfiction issues as well as a message board to discuss them.

Copyright 101:

If you want an amusing de-legalese-ing of the copyright laws, this is the place to go. It uses many great fandom examples (especially Xena!) to explain the laws. It explains why the use of disclaimers are important as well as defines the consequences of losing a copyright infringement case in terms of dollar amounts.

Chilling Effects Clearinghouse:

The Fanfiction section of this site has a fairly brief synopsis of fanfiction and copyright law if you're in a hurry to know, but also a pretty good Q & A section that goes even deeper. Included are some well-known copyright infringement cases. Bet you didn't know Barbie was a pro on the court circuit, did you?!

10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained:

is about just that. While mostly a general copyright article, it does make mention of fan fiction.

DigiLaw Legal Document Publishing Site:

is another general copyright information site with a focus on web publishing and web sites, however, you can also find any documents you might need to copyright your own work.

ScapeRoute can not, by any means, guarantee that you won't get sued by someone
with a lot of power and money to back them for your fan work. Heck, we can't be sure we won't
get sued for what we are doing! We just wanted to give you some sort of understanding why
fandom creativity can be...sticky. Be careful out there!