To quote the owners of actual Japanese IPs:
“Fanzines don't usually cause many problems as long as they are sold only at one-day exhibitions. We don't categorically reject fanzines in general as a base of manga culture as long as they remain within reasonable bounds. The Internet society is helping the violation of copyright. It might be time for fanzine publishers, who are supposed to expand the horizons of manga culture, to seriously face one rule of the real world - respecting copyright.”
Yes, companies do enjoy people creating fan work and engaging with their fans. But they only do so when it’s legal and legitimate.
You made a claim that speaks for the Blue Archives devs. I will concede this point if you have proof of them saying this. Until then, I will choose to believe in what they have said themselves.
NEXON America Guidelines for creators seeking to create User Generated Content ("UGC")
Commercial use of UGC is prohibited.
- You may not demand nor receive financial compensation for creating UGC.
- You may not sell, display, or otherwise provide access to UGC in return for monetary compensation.
- You may not submit your UGC to competitions that provide financial incentives, or that make commercial use of your submissions.
Notwithstanding the above, the following uses of UGC are permitted:
- You may collect advertising revenues or donations by uploading your UGC to content platforms (e.g., YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, etc.) that anyone can access for free. This includes UGC that makes direct use of game soundtracks.
- You may sell the game merchandise you created at events officially hosted by NEXON, or at events that permit the sale of such game merchandise. For more details, please refer to the homepage of the respective event.
To quote another big company.
“We’d love for your fan content to be created by fans, for fans. Therefore, you cannot do anything with our games for any commercial purpose, unless explicitly permitted otherwise below. We’re happy for you to accept reasonable donations in connection with your fan content, but you’re not allowed to make people pay for it or have it behind any sort of paywall (e.g. don’t make content only available to paid subscribers).”
Like I said, things such as a fandom are built around a group of like-minded people who share something in common. Yet here we are in a pirating thread with two groups of people each defending their actions. Let me share experiences from real and legitimate fan creators and you tell me if putting unlicensed stuff behind a Patreon paywall echoes the sentiment.
Very few fan creators make a profit financially from their work. Items are often sold cheaply with cost of printing, shipping, material, entry fees, travel tickets, posters/signs, and hotels to consider. The amount you would have to sell in order to break even is large. Overestimate, and you’re left with piles of fan work that no one wants and a bill you cannot pay. Only the largest circles can get global recognition and actually make a profit out of this. The vast majority of creators at these events, however, are in it for reasons other than the money. Perhaps as an expression of love for a hobby, gaining recognition for their talent, or just meeting other fans to socialize. Most works are exclusively available at conventions such as Comiket, where Doujinshi are sold as fan creations for fans and not in the commercial market for profit. Most legitimate creators work full time to earn a living while doing this as a hobby.
The same can be said of fanart. Most fanart that I consider buying, is from a convention or a legit online illustrator who owns a license. The rest is generally free. It’s good you are willing to buy pay walled art. I respect it even. Although if someone who creates unlicensed stuff is buying from another unlicensed creator, I believe that is making the current problem worse and not better. This kind of thinking is a bit disrespectful to the people who do go through the formal procedures to create a real relationship with the IP holder. It’s unfair for people who do sell licensed fan art to see someone else doing the same thing without one.
