A few days ago, we explained the background of malicious violators of the Terms and Conditions and posted an English version of the Terms and Conditions for
secondary works.
As we mentioned at that time, we are taking appropriate measures such as applying for deletion or filing a DMCA application in accordance with the terms and conditions against derivative works of the Monster Girl Encyclopedia that are in violation of said terms.
Regarding this matter, some people have asked, "Isn't there a problem
because derivative works are fair use?" "Wouldn't this be a problem
as an abuse of DMCA applications?" We asked Mr. Fuyuki Kawano (@kawano_lawyer), a lawyer specializing in copyright-related matters, for a paid consultation.
I showed him the terms and conditions, the explanation of the background and the Twitter posts, etc., and as a result, he said that there was no particular problem with the contents of the terms and conditions, the application for deletion and the DMCA application, and rather, he could not understand the basis for the claims of those who are arguing for fair use. That's what was said.
The offender's claim that fair use laws protect fan art appears to be
wrong.
In addition, "whether or not money is awarded when publishing derivative works" is completely irrelevant, and even if the work is free of charge, it is legally problematic. It is a mistake to think that "there is no legal problem because it is free fan art".
We also confirmed that distributing fan art on the internet does not constitute private use, regardless of whether it is distributed through social networking services such as Discord or Twitter, or posted on anonymous forums that are treated as quarantine areas.
In addition, in the case of requests for illustrations such as skeb and
commissions, the person who receives the request to draw the illustration
is also infringing on the rights of the artist, so illustrators who receive
requests for the Monster Girl Encyclopedia are asked to check the terms and conditions of the agreement. |