This Is Annoying

[Ballom Nom Nom]

We should seriously put this to court. This is plagerism. Plagerism is against the law.They are making money off other people's work without even thanking, emailing, commenting on, or even paying the people who are creating this. When you think about it that way, it almost seems like a form of slavery.

It isn't even remotely close to any form of slavery; the site isn't subjugating the affected authors. If anything, piracy might be the applicable word, as it is unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted works.~B~

[BioGio]

Now, technically, selling these stories ripped off of Wikia is not a copyright matter, as Wikia is under Creative Commons. That is to say, the material has been "donated" without copyrighting it for anyone to use and profit from. I don't know the status of the BZPRPG sales (assuming they are directly from the BZPRPG and not Wikia) and the legality of publishing it, but I doubt that it is actually legal. However, it is true that there is a clear copyright issue in that LEGO owns BIONICLE and related trademarks. In other words, it's actually not the author's problem--but LEGO's.

On amazon, it even say that the "author" is wikia.We should seriously put this to court. This is plagerism. Plagerism is against the law.They are making money off other people's work without even thanking, emailing, commenting on, or even paying the people who are creating this. When you think about it that way, it almost seems like a form of slavery.

Plagiarism is an intellectual and moral issue--but far from a legal one. Further, equating this to slavery is truly exaggeration, as I just realized Ballom said above.~ BioGioEDIT: Ballom, you ninja! Edited November 9, 2011 by BioGio

[Ektris]

Uh. Guys? Are those of you who have found your content "stolen" posting any of it on a Wikia website? If so, then as BioGio explained rather well, nothing can be done. If, however, the only place your content has been posted is here, then it's a whole different. Now they're also lying about the source and not in the least giving credit where credit is due.MakutaKlak, in your email, did you make note of the fact that you were from the website "BZPower" and NOT Wikia? If not, I suggest a follow-up email explaining that the content that was stolen was not in any way from Wikia. See what they say then.All of that said, I doubt any of this really matters and that they're really getting any sales off of this. But I'm always one to care for the prinicipal of the matter. ~|ET|~

Edited November 9, 2011 by Electric Turahk

[Klak]

Still, it's our intellectual property, and many of us are concerned that we aren't getting credit for it. He did explain that the wikia content was getting "credit" through a supposed "link", but as a writer, I wish there was more done in favor of us.My email was for another site, but I'll gladly send another one mentioning BZPower. Thanks for the ideas and feedback guys!

[UltraHau]

So, one could sell wiki stuff, and it would be legal?

Shockingly enough, yes. It probably shouldn't be legal, but the stories aren't copyrighted. Thus, it's legal. Still, it's taboo in a way.

The authors knowingly (hopefully) allowed it, by licensing their work under the CC-BY-SA license (and GNU Free Documentation License, in BS01's case); therefore, it is legal, and will remain so. Whether it is moral is up for debate, but Books, LLC is perfectly within their rights to sell such licensed content.

So, one could sell wiki stuff, and it's be legal?

Depending on the wiki. For BSO1, Wikipedia, and Wikia, the answer is yes.

Still, it's our intellectual property, and many of us are concerned that we aren't getting credit for it.

Now, the CC-BY-SA license explicitly requires the copier give credit to the original author, so you can tell them they're breaking the law if they don't give you credit (because they'd be violating the CC-BY-SA license). Although, if you posted your work on one of those wikis I mentioned, there's nothing you can do about them selling your work - it would be perfectly legal for them to do so. On the other hand, if you never posted your writing on any of those wikis, and kept it on BZP's forum, you have a leg to stand on.Quick note: If you posted your work on BS01, they aren't required to give you credit for your work, because the GNU Free Documentation License, which BS01 uses, does not require credit to be given. Edited November 9, 2011 by UltraHau

[Padishah Mehmet II]

Actually guys.Fanfiction cannot be sold.Period.Even if the authors agree, it's illegal.The content, at least in some extent, belongs to Lego.-Dovydas

[UltraHau]

Actually guys.Fanfiction cannot be sold.Period.Even if the authors agree, it's illegal.The content, at least in some extent, belongs to Lego.-Dovydas

In some cases, this might be true, but for fanfiction that doesn't use any Lego-created characters (not to mention Lego actually doesn't trademark/copyright the names of 99% of its characters), I'm pretty sure CC-BY-SA/GNU FDL-licensed fanfiction can be sold. Edited November 9, 2011 by UltraHau

[Klak]

What about characters borrowed from other works for fanfiction purposes? They belong to their respective authors, correct?EDIT: Sent another email saying this:

Thank you for adding the URL, it really assures us Wikia authors that we are being represented in some way. However, I also am speaking for another group that is not being credited: authors of BZPower epics. Books LLC is selling several publications that appear to be copied from epics/comics/other media posted on the site known as BZPower. None of the authors recall your corporation or any party affiliated to it ever contacting them. Many of them are very angry about this. Also, considering the fact that many of these publications, including those in the BZPower Battles Wikia, have content that belongs to other companies and properties, I am concerned over legal matters involving these books.And now that you mention the constructive comments, in the BZPower Battles book, you must remember to add the Yoniverse. Caiaphus's name is actually Yon, and he leads all the characters in the Yoniverse and their adventures in high school.Books referenced: http://booksllc.net/book.cfm?id=6067443http://booksllc.net/book.cfm?id=6084577http://booksllc.net/book.cfm?id=6074820http://booksllc.net/book.cfm?id=6087181Regards!

Edited November 9, 2011 by MakutaKlak

[~kh]

Again, while this whole discussion about legality is being brought up, I'll restate my initial suspicion that this company is probably violating LEGO's contract with Scholastic. However, they technically can use wiki articles from Wikia and distribute them through other means legally (from that viewpoint, at least). It is a shame, but it is legal. On principle, however, it is not possible. What is possible, however, is that the "company" doesn't realize what its selling; I'm betting its a completely automated process, and they just select articles from popular wikis and copy-paste them into books/pdfs.As for me, I'm not so much infuriated by loss of sales or lack or profit, but on the principle that someone would take my and many other people's work without their permission and try to make money off of it.

[Dralcax]

Again, while this whole discussion about legality is being brought up, I'll restate my initial suspicion that this company is probably violating LEGO's contract with Scholastic. However, they technically can use wiki articles from Wikia and distribute them through other means legally (from that viewpoint, at least). It is a shame, but it is legal. On principle, however, it is not possible. What is possible, however, is that the "company" doesn't realize what its selling; I'm betting its a completely automated process, and they just select articles from popular wikis and copy-paste them into books/pdfs.As for me, I'm not so much infuriated by loss of sales or lack or profit, but on the principle that someone would take my and many other people's work without their permission and try to make money off of it.

Well, you would know, wouldn't you? :PAnyways, even if they can immorally yet legally steal from Wikia, it's BIONICLE. The non-fanfic characters, setting, and concepts belong to Lego.

[Alyska]

So, if it's legal to use content from most wikis, does that mean that someone could take all the online serials from BS01 and put them in a book legally?

[BULiK]

not without having a big lego lawsuit against them. the online serials are official property of lego, so lego would take it to court.

[fishers64]

So, if it's legal to use content from most wikis, does that mean that someone could take all the online serials from BS01 and put them in a book legally?

I wouldn't risk it. In that case, would it be illegal to place copyrighted material on a copyright-free wiki? It goes both ways here, and that's what we are arguing about. We do it on BS01 all the time, and it's a public service. Someone does it to us, and we turn into pineapples.

[UltraHau]

So, if it's legal to use content from most wikis, does that mean that someone could take all the online serials from BS01 and put them in a book legally?

No, because those serials are owned by Lego - I'm not even sure BS01 can even legally host them.

So, if it's legal to use content from most wikis, does that mean that someone could take all the online serials from BS01 and put them in a book legally?

I wouldn't risk it.In that case, would it be illegal to place copyrighted material on a copyright-free wiki? It goes both ways here, and that's what we are arguing about. We do it on BS01 all the time, and it's a public service. Someone does it to us, and we turn into pineapples.

Actually, BS01's content is copyrighted, but under a relatively permissive license - GNU FDL 1.2.

[Hanako Herupa]

You shouldn't be selling something that's technically free in the first place...these books aren't likely being sold, but the intent to sell them, that's what sickens me.Not too mention they're basically selling public domain books and trying to make a profit...that's....just sickening to me as well."Oh we don't have the email addresses or contact information, so we just went ahead and took it." Yeah, that totally excuses your behavior Books LLC.Like Dovydas has said, in some sense Lego is legally entitled to it and making a profit off fanfiction that's low, but trying to make it without even being the author of the fanfiction, that's even lower. It would also allow some loopholes, which is why I think this needs to be stamped out.

[CroMagnonMan]

I still can't get myself to be outraged over this. It's too ridiculous, and I don't know what y'all wanna do about it so badly.Way to go, "Books LLC", ya freaks. If you make so much as a cent on this, you have my honest admiration.

You shouldn't be selling something that's technically free in the first place...these books aren't likely being sold, but the intent to sell them, that's what sickens me.

Nothing is "technically free". If you slap a price tag on it and someone is hooked into buying it, it obviously isn't free. And if something is free, one wonders what right anyone has to claim someone else cannot put a price on it, since they're not making any money on it themselves.I'm having trouble taking your moral indignation seriously. Maybe if we were talking about something other than Bionicle fanfiction/wikia pages...~QMark

[Phovos]

Is BZPower covered by any copyright laws?

[- JL -]

1. If they expect money from this, they're stupid.2. If people buy this, they're stupid.I don't get it. Are they serious? They put these stuff up? Really? THey even took stuff from the BZPRPG? Are you friggin serious? This is laughing stock!

[Hanako Herupa]

I still can't get myself to be outraged over this. It's too ridiculous, and I don't know what y'all wanna do about it so badly.Way to go, "Books LLC", ya freaks. If you make so much as a cent on this, you have my honest admiration.

You shouldn't be selling something that's technically free in the first place...these books aren't likely being sold, but the intent to sell them, that's what sickens me.

Nothing is "technically free". If you slap a price tag on it and someone is hooked into buying it, it obviously isn't free. And if something is free, one wonders what right anyone has to claim someone else cannot put a price on it, since they're not making any money on it themselves.I'm having trouble taking your moral indignation seriously. Maybe if we were talking about something other than Bionicle fanfiction/wikia pages...~QMark

Well first of I hope no one is that stupid to buy it in the first place. Secondly, like Kahi said, they probably don't even know what they're selling, rather it's an automated system that's gathering the information for them and then they decide to sell it. People here only seem to be angry because they'd rather see their work be for free rather than some moron trying to make a quick buck off it.Will the company make any money on this, it's very likely they won't cause who the heck would want to buy a Wikia page?It's the principle of their actions, that frustrate the people on here. I'm not too serious about, but I think letting something like this go, allows quite a bit of legal loopholes, that should have been stamped out in the first place.

[Leg O'Brick]

This would be sad if it weren't so funny. They're totally ripping off epics from BZP. That almost makes a a teeny bit proud, actually. Who would buy these things?

[UltraHau]

Is BZPower covered by any copyright laws?

Of course it is. Everything on the Internet (except for public-domain content) is.

It's the principle of their actions, that frustrate the people on here. I'm not too serious about, but I think letting something like this go, allows quite a bit of legal loopholes, that should have been stamped out in the first place.

The thing is, BS01 and Wikia intentionally (I hope) chose a content license that would allow redistribution of their content like this. So they (hopefully) knew someone could do this, and thus they're fine with it. Why would anyone chose such a license?

• [*]If BS01 shuts down, people are free to copy its content into a new wiki[*]If someone wants a printed copy of a BS01 article (or even the entire wiki), they're free to make it - they're even free to share their printed copies to people around them, even for a fee[*]Content from BS01 can be freely re-posted on another site, including BZP. This is a major reason to choose the GNU FDL.[*]In the specific case of the GNU FDL and CC-BY-SA, any copy of the licensed work (this being BS01 or Wikia) must stay under the original license - the GNU FDL, in BS01's case. So those 3 freedoms I mentioned earlier are passed on to whoever receives a copy of any BS01 or Wikia material.

[Mad Scientist BioBeast]

Title: BZPower Roleplaying - Toa (BZPRPG)(Several lines down...)Random excerpt from the book:The requested page title was invalid, empty, or an incorrectly linked inter-language or inter-wiki title.It may contain one or more characters that can't be used in titles. Return to BZPower Roleplaying Wiki.

That made my day.But seriously, why would they even try to sell this? It doesn't make any sense.

[Klak]

I got a response, and the guy seems confused. Epics writers, Comics writers, etc., you may go to their website and send your own emails, and work something out.Let's hope everything gets fixed. Otherwise, this will be messy.

Nothing is "technically free". If you slap a price tag on it and someone is hooked into buying it, it obviously isn't free. And if something is free, one wonders what right anyone has to claim someone else cannot put a price on it, since they're not making any money on it themselves.I'm having trouble taking your moral indignation seriously. Maybe if we were talking about something other than Bionicle fanfiction/wikia pages...

Ya don't need to be mean about it, you know. We all have a right to be within any level of the angry spectrum.

But seriously, why would they even try to sell this? It doesn't make any sense.

Nope. Another reason why we should help them get rid of this (or at least reach a compromise). It's in their benefit, and they won't get hurt by Lego. Edited November 11, 2011 by MakutaKlak

[Guest Saya Moonshadow]

.

Edited July 4, 2020 by Saya Moonshadow
Moving on from this site.

[Inferna Firesword]

Again, while this whole discussion about legality is being brought up, I'll restate my initial suspicion that this company is probably violating LEGO's contract with Scholastic. However, they technically can use wiki articles from Wikia and distribute them through other means legally (from that viewpoint, at least). It is a shame, but it is legal. On principle, however, it is not possible. What is possible, however, is that the "company" doesn't realize what its selling; I'm betting its a completely automated process, and they just select articles from popular wikis and copy-paste them into books/pdfs.As for me, I'm not so much infuriated by loss of sales or lack or profit, but on the principle that someone would take my and many other people's work without their permission and try to make money off of it.

This.It's not so much that I'm not seeing profit from it (I'm more interested in reviews), it's that someone looked at stuff I posted on the Epics Wiki for the convenience of my readers, decided to put it in a book and try to make profit from it without putting in the effort to try and contact anyone that was posting information on said Wiki.Besides, as Dovydas said, it's all fanfiction. Even if Lego let it slide (which I doubt they will, as all the work is based off of one of their lines), it was created by other people. They should at least have the deceancy to make an effort to contact us. -InfernaEDIT: For those that have sent complaints to Amazon about this, how'd you do it? Is there a complaint site somewhere? Edited November 11, 2011 by Inferna Firesword

[Swert]

In actuality, if someone were to try and publish BS01, they would still have to give credit TO BS01, and its editors, which is everybody here pretty much. As that stands, that's over 6000 people who signed up for BS01.But, there's two things standing in their way: One, they'd need to contact me for the site name and users' names, and two, they would still have to get past LEGO with their official content.Yes, we have a GFD License, which was the best license I could use to the best of my knowledge.If anybody came up to me to publish BS01? They'd get thrown on their mask and told to have a good day.

[UltraHau]

In actuality, if someone were to try and publish BS01, they would still have to give credit TO BS01, and its editors, which is everybody here pretty much. As that stands, that's over 6000 people who signed up for BS01.But, there's two things standing in their way: One, they'd need to contact me for the site name and users' names, and two, they would still have to get past LEGO with their official content.Yes, we have a GFD License, which was the best license I could use to the best of my knowledge.If anybody came up to me to publish BS01? They'd get thrown on their mask and told to have a good day.

I don't think the GNU Free Documentation license requires attribution. The CC-BY(-SA) does, though.

[Makuta Matata]

That's like uber illegal.

[Peach 00]

Due to technicalities, this is actually legal. Although it's shameful, dishonest, and almost scandalous, nobody can do anything about it but report it to Amazon and inform them of what's going on and A ): The invasion of privacy and that the actual author wasn't contacted, which is a legit complaint, and B ): Inform them of the copyrighted content within the publication.Although Amazon may not be aware of it, they should be told so they can at least acknowledge this. Nonetheless, I don't believe it is illegal, although I believe it should be. Either way, there's nothing anybody - not even LEGO - can do about this. Even if LEGO didn't let it slide, they'd have to deal with the issue by letting it go. If it was illegal, I have no doubt there would be reports sent into LEGO, and they would take affirmitive action with the issue.Otherwise, I don't believe anybody can do anything but besides give the knowledge to Amazon, which is something I fully support, although probably don't intend to do for many reasons, the most obvious being not knowing how to contact them. =|

Edited November 16, 2011 by Peach 00

[Comment Expired]

Wait, people actually spend money on awful fanfiction?!

[BULiK]

Wait, people actually spend money on awful fanfiction?!

what awful fanfiction? I don't see any awful fanfiction!

[~kh]

Nonetheless, I don't believe it is illegal, although I believe it should be. Either way, there's nothing anybody - not even LEGO - can do about this. Even if LEGO didn't let it slide, they'd have to deal with the issue by letting it go. If it was illegal, I have no doubt there would be reports sent into LEGO, and they would take affirmitive action with the issue.

Actually, LEGO can do something about this. Its all a matter of whether they want to or not. LEGO may not see it profitable enough to pay for the expenses it would take to take this matter to court, because they're really losing little profit on the books being sold and although it does violate a contract, they may not see it worthwhile. Same with Scholastic; while they could indeed sue the company itself for including such work in printed media, they also may not see it worthwhile.It may be possible that a cease and desist letter is all that's needed, however; I'm somewhat certain that "Books LLC" will not want to pay for the court expenses themselves, and with the relatively little sales books detailing fanon BIONICLE work bring it, they may not see it as worthwhile.Basically, the only ones that are really effected is us, the authors of said work, and even we aren't losing too much from it in a material sense. It is true that it should be considered morally wrong, but then again, most big companies may not want to spend so much cost on something that would gain them so little.

[CaT in Rogue]

That's pretty ridiculous...I can't believe someone is ripping off the BZP community! I wonder what the people whose epics are included would say about this.

[Klak]

Nonetheless, I don't believe it is illegal, although I believe it should be. Either way, there's nothing anybody - not even LEGO - can do about this. Even if LEGO didn't let it slide, they'd have to deal with the issue by letting it go. If it was illegal, I have no doubt there would be reports sent into LEGO, and they would take affirmitive action with the issue.

Actually, LEGO can do something about this. Its all a matter of whether they want to or not. LEGO may not see it profitable enough to pay for the expenses it would take to take this matter to court, because they're really losing little profit on the books being sold and although it does violate a contract, they may not see it worthwhile. Same with Scholastic; while they could indeed sue the company itself for including such work in printed media, they also may not see it worthwhile.It may be possible that a cease and desist letter is all that's needed, however; I'm somewhat certain that "Books LLC" will not want to pay for the court expenses themselves, and with the relatively little sales books detailing fanon BIONICLE work bring it, they may not see it as worthwhile.Basically, the only ones that are really effected is us, the authors of said work, and even we aren't losing too much from it in a material sense. It is true that it should be considered morally wrong, but then again, most big companies may not want to spend so much cost on something that would gain them so little.

They're not even a big company. They seem to publish a lot of random things on the internet. Those legal matters seem appropriate. Also, writers, remember that they have a contact page. You can voice your concerns there.

Wait, people actually spend money on awful fanfiction?!

what awful fanfiction? I don't see any awful fanfiction!

Neither do I!

[CHTrilogy]

Who could be publishing these?! They've got too much time on their hands!

[Lyichir]

Who could be publishing these?! They've got too much time on their hands!

Wait, people actually spend money on awful fanfiction?!

In response to both of these, the company probably doesn't even print a single one of these until they have a sale. Make-to-order publishers are a product of advanced technology, whereby a company no longer needs to produce a quality product to ensure a profit. Basically, because they got the writing in these books for free (courtesy of the internet), they can make a profit on each individual sale rather than having to do large print runs to maintain inventory. Thus it doesn't matter if only a single person inadvertantly purchases a single book: Books LLC still makes a profit on their negligible investment. Sad, but true.

[Protodite Karzahni]

This is just disgusting. They didn't even use anything I'd written! I mean, come on, that can injure a guys ego!

[Makuta of Comedy]

That's crazy... Just wait until they start taking stuff from the other forums."BZP General Discussion Book For Dummies""BZP Book o' Comics"etc.

[Dralcax]

LLC: Lego Loser Copiers