The Truth Behind ‘Cosplay Goes to the Supreme Court’

Many people have seen an article making the rounds titled: ‘Cosplay Goes to the Supreme Court’. CosPurée has already explored the reasons this isn’t true in depth in their response article. In a previous article, ‘Are There Legal Issues With Cosplay?’ I covered similar material as well. So what is the bottom line? Is cosplay going to become illegal? Will you get in trouble for doing something you love?

Comics are for Everyone: Sometimes that Means Adults

With the upcoming Deadpool movie, some people are expressing concern for the R rating. Old school fans were nervous about the initial announcement that a Deadpool film was happening, because the character is by no means politically correct, or child appropriate. There were concerns that if Marvel, newly owned by Disney, produced the film, it would have to be dumbed down to fit their model. But when lead, Ryan Reynolds, was cast, it helped assure fans that they would stay true to the character.

REAL ID Act: Update 2

King5 reported today that Washington will receive a two year extension to become compliant with the REAL ID Act. This will give Washington state until January 22nd, 2018 to become compliant with federal regulations for IDs. This deadline extends to all states that are non-compliant. Residents will be able to travel on domestic flights with just their Washington state ID, but notices both via TSA at airports and online will increase by July.

Why you should be reading Terms of Service Agreements

Creatives are always excited for contests to get their work seen by more people. Especially fan-creators. So it was easy to see why people were initially excited about Entertainment Weekly running a fanfiction contest, with the prize being your work published in the magazine. But a few well versed users warned potential applicants about the original wording of the Terms of Service Agreement: “Entries become sole property of Sponsor and none will be acknowledged or returned.”

REAL ID Act: Update

Today it was confirmed that Missouri and Illinois state issued IDs were both deemed non-compliant. Missouri still has an extended deadline of January 10th, but Illinois request for an extension was denied. But with that deadline coming closer, and many states still having non-compliant laws on the books it will be interesting to see what happens. Homeland Security has stated that people living within a non-compliant state will be given a 120 day notice before their state’s deadline.

For more on the REAL ID Act & Flying in 2016 check out my other article!

If you’re unsure of your state’s compliance with the REAL ID Act, check out the following websites for more information: Homeland Security FAQ or REAL ID Act Enforcement

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Source: ABC Chicago

Youtube: A Big Step in Protecting Fair Use

Some of you may be familiar with the term ‘Fair Use’ as it relates to copyrights. Fair Use allows creators to use content they did not generate in their own content with education, critique, parody, criticism, etc in mind. Claiming fair use means you are not attempting to lay claim to something, but are using it to illustrate a point, comment on, or otherwise use the content in a transformative way.

Arrests Made in Japan over One Piece Manga Leak

For older fans, scanlations used to be one of the only ways to read new manga within a year of the Japanese release. Scanlations, the process of scanning and translating Japanese manga, then uploading the translated version online for free, has been the bane of the US manga industry for well over a decade. These days the US license holders and publishers have stepped up the game significantly with faster releases, better translations, and even digital versions. But scanlations are still hurting the industry, joining the ranks of other media piracy like tv shows, blockbuster movie leaks, and more.

Are There Legal Issues with Cosplay?

A new article from Anime News Network is shedding some light on the legality of cosplay in Japan. Recently some fans asked Yūji Ōkuma, a lawyer with Toranomon Law and Patent Office, about the legality of making costumes based on their favourite characters. And while his answer may be expected to some, it will probably still create a bit of panic. Okuma explained that while making cosplay for yourself, for personal and private use, fell into the category of grey legality that a lot of fanworks fall into. But if you’re creating a costume for a friend, or to sell, and yes that includes props, you are infringing on Japanese copyrights.

Copyright Holders Vs. Artist Alleys

We’ve been seeing more and more stories about what is sold in Artist Alleys. Many companies (like Disney, Marvel, FUNimation, etc) are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with fanworks making money. But this isn’t big media cracking down on the little guy. Characters, just like the actual content of books, logos, phrases and more are copyrighted. That means that companies and creators own the rights to produce works based on those characters, use their names, image, etc. While I can understand fans speaking out about these policies, it’s well within the rights of these companies and individual creators to claim the rights to their work and prevent others from making money based on those characters.

FCC at the front of the WiFi battle!

The FCC is taking a stand and telling convention centers and telecom companies that they cannot legally block wifi during conventions and events. In my article last week I talked about how important tech has become to the convention world. Internet is a very important component to much of that technology. From taking credit card payments, to posting on social media, having real time updates, and live streaming content we can’t seem to disconnect from the internet as Conventioneers.