The Kender said:
My computer has been strange lately. It didn't show all of the replies until today. I'm not too afraid of the copyright stuff though. I'm 12 and don't know the law too well, so how can they sue me if:
1. I don't make any money off of it
2. I have the disclaimers
3. I am smart enough to not claim that any of this is mine
None of the above matters to the law. They won't sue you at first -- they'll send you a Cease&Desist. If you ignore that, THEN, they'll sue you.
In order:
a)Making money has nothing to do with whether or not a thing violates copyright. This is the most important thing you must understand. "I'm not making money" means NOTHING. (If you were to distribute electronic copies of the Harry Potter books for free, do you think you wouldn't be violating copyright because you weren't making money?) The issue isn't money. It's about the RIGHT to COPY -- hence, "Copyright".
b)Disclaimers mean nothing. You can't commit a crime and then excuse it by pointing to a sign saying "I did not commit a crime".
c)Not claiming you own it doesn't protect you from copyright law.
Sure, there are fifty zillion fanfic sites out there, for all sorts of things, from Star Trek to Beverly Hills 90210. Fact is, almost all of them violate copyright law to some extent. Most corporations don't care -- it's a waste of time and effort for very little gain. The odds are good you will never be noticed, much less sued.
But don't let that confuse you as to what the law says. It's very much in your own self-interest to know what you legally can and can't do, never mind the odds of anyone paying attention to you.
I'm not trying to discourage you. Smeg, I write Transformers fanfic, which is likewise a copyright violation. But you really should know the facts.
