Copyright Information

Q: What is Copyleft?

A: Copyleft is a licensing agreement designed with freedom in mind. Copyleft allows for the copying, distribution, and modification of a work whether or not it is for monetary gain. Unlike the Public Domain, Copyleft requires that the original copyright holders are credited and that every derivative work is also Copyleft.

Q: What are the conditions for Copyleft?

A: The type of Copyleft license I am using is called the Free Art License, which is specifically used for artistic works rather than software. You can find the full license here: https://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en

In layman's terms, here's the conditions:

1. You have full permission to copy, distribute, and/or modify Viable for both commercial and noncommercial purposes.

2. You must give credit to the original Copyright holders and provide a link or copy of the Free Art License. 

• This can be done by clearly including the following text within your copy or derivative work:

🄯 Joshua Stephenson, Viable, 2024. Source: www.viablemanga.com

Copyleft: This is a free work, you can copy, distribute, and modify it under the terms of the Free Art License

https://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en

• If you can't use the Copyleft symbol "🄯" due to the font not supporting it, you can alternatively use "(ɔ)".

3. Your derivative work must also be Copyleft.

• For derivatives, you should also include the Copyleft symbol "🄯" with your name, the title of the derivative work, the year the derivative work was produced, and the derivative work's source location. 

• This can be placed under my Copyleft information. For example, if John Smith made fanart of the Viable character Lucy eating an apple, this is how he should include both of our Copyleft information: 

🄯 Joshua Stephenson, Viable, 2024. Source: www.viablemanga.com

🄯 John Smith, Lucy Eating an Apple, 2024. Source: {image url}

Copyleft: This is a free work, you can copy, distribute, and modify it under the terms of the Free Art License

https://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en

• Your derivative work being Copyleft means that you give everyone full permission to copy, distribute, and/or modify your derivative work as well.

4. Failure to follow the terms of the Free Art License is considered copyright infringement.

• Be sure to give credit and make your derivative work Copyleft as well!

Q: What steps do I need to take in order to make my derivative Copyleft? Do I need to register it anywhere?

A: In the United States, Copyright exists from the moment a work is created. Your derivative of Viable is Copyrighted, whether it is published or unpublished, and you don't need to register your Copyrighted material with the government in order for that Copyright to be valid. 

However, because your derivative is, in fact, a derivative of another Copyrighted material, your derivative of Viable, while still Copyrighted by you, can easily infringe on the exclusive rights given to Viable itself by its own Copyright, which is not owned by you. In order to circumvent Viable's exclusive rights, you need to be given permission to do so from Viable's original Copyright holder - me. 

I've given you that permission preemptively through the Copyleft licensing agreement. So long as you credit me and also preemptively give that same permission to everyone else for your own derivative work, you're good to go. 

With all that being said, all you need to do to make your derivative Copyleft is clearly state that your Copyright permissions follow the Free Art License. Because you own the copyright of your derivative work at the moment of its creation and I have preemptively given you permission to circumvent my exclusive rights through the Copyleft license, you don't need to contact me, sign up for anything, or even register for anything. You simply need to follow our agreement.

Q: If Viable is Copyleft, does that mean I can make money off of fan art?

A: Yes! You are allowed to make money using any copy or derivative work of Viable, including fan art.

Q: How can I make money with Copyleft if anyone can copy my work?

A: I would recommend using the same model that I'm using for Viable - earn money through production rather than distribution. You can do this through commissions and/or crowdfunding. While it is possible to make money through distribution as well, it may be more competitive than non-Copyleft works.

It's important to note that you will also be credited whenever people sell your derivative works, and if you provide a website where they can find your original fan art, they are also required to include that as a part of the Copyleft information. If they don't include this information, it's considered copyright infringement, and you are allowed to sue them for damages. 

Since you will be credited, your derivative work of Viable - being freely available to copy, modify, and distribute - can be good advertising for your other financial endeavors! Maybe your artwork's source location is your Patreon account! Maybe it leads to your merchandizing website, where they can get the image printed on different items! The possibilities are endless, I think.

Q: Can I use non-Copyleft characters in a fan work of Viable?

A: No. If the work itself is a derivative of Viable, anything that is included within the Copyleft derivative needs to be subject to the same (or equivalent) license.
If using a non-Copyleft character within a derivative of Viable were to be allowed, it would be impossible to copy, modify, or distribute the derivative of Viable without completely replacing or excluding the copyrighted character from the derivative. This would make it impossible for the derivative to be truly Copyleft, which is why doing so is not allowed.

This means that if you use your original character in a derivative of Viable, you need to make the character Copyleft before you're allowed to implement them. This is also true for music, footage, and vocal performances amongst other things. 

Q: Can I include Viable's characters in my original copyrighted works?

A: Yes. However, your version of Viable's characters will be Copyleft.

Let's say you're a game company named Bintendo, and you want to include Viable's characters and a stage based on Viable's setting in your fighting game, Mega Smack Bros Conquest. Here's what you would need to include in the credits:

🄯 Joshua Stephenson, Viable, 2024. Source: www.viablemanga.com

The Lucy and Vassa Characters and USSR-Influenced Japan Stage, all of which are derivatives of Viable, are 🄯 Bintendo, Mega Smack Bros Conquest, 2024. Source: {game website}

Copyleft: This is a free work, you can copy, distribute, and modify it under the terms of the Free Art License

https://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en

This means that anybody can copy, distribute, and modify Bintendo's versions of Viable's characters and stage (this includes any vocal performances, sound effects, animations, costumes, ect. made specifically for the characters or stage) so long as they give me and Bintendo credit. This does not give them permission to copy, distribute, or modify anything else in the game, however. 

Q: Do I have to give you a percentage of the money I make off of my fan works?

A: Nope! You can keep 100% of it. However, I will gladly accept any percentage of profits that you decide to give me.

I think that, while advertising your derivative work, you can use the "We support the original artists," tagline to give you an edge against the competition. However, saying that you're supporting the original artists when you're not is considered fraud, so be sure to be doing what you're saying you're doing!

Here's my email if you would like to do so: joshua.caleb.stephenson@gmail.com

If you'd like to skip the formalities, you can put money straight into my PayPal with the donate button below. PayPal keeps the receipts, so I can prove that you've paid me if you need me to!

Q: Why did you decide to use Copyleft?

A: When I was in high school, I wanted to make fan dubs of anime on YouTube. Copyright laws and the Fair Use doctrine were legal gray areas that stressed me out more than it should have. I never knew if or when my channel would be deleted.

I decided to make Viable Copyleft because I did not want the fans of my work to be stressed out about copyright laws when creating derivative works. I want them to be creative and even make money doing what they love to do.

I also believe that the core of Capitalism is competition. The more competition there is, the better the products are for the consumer. Copyright itself is sort of a monopolistic regulation, in my opinion, and Copyleft allows for people to possibly make better versions of my work and sell it. At the same time, though, it forces people to give credit and allow others to make derivatives of their works, too. I think it's super cool!

Q: Why didn't you just put Viable into the Public Domain?

A: I like the idea of the Public Domain, but if I put Viable in there, people would be able to copyright their version of my characters and prevent other people from making derivatives. 

For example, Cinderella is in the Public Domain, but Disney's version of Cinderella is copyrighted. Disney has the legal right to do a DMCA takedown on a little girl who made fan art of the Disney version of Cinderella, even though the Disney version of Cinderella is technically fan art of the Grimms' Fairy Tale version, which is technically a fan fiction of the Egyptian folk tale Rhodopis. This doesn't sit right with me.

I'm also not a big fan of making people wait 70 years after the death of the author before they're legally able to create fan art of fan art.

Q: Will you advertise my fan works and/or products on your website?

A: Sure! Send me an email at joshua.caleb.stephenson@gmail.com! I want to make an AU (Alternate Universe) section of my website where I advertise fan fiction, videos, and fan manga of Viable that I like! I also want to have a merchandise section for the products of Viable that I like! I'll make a page for you! (I might ask you to send me your product, so be prepared for that!) 

Q: Is there anything that I am not allowed to make?

A: You're allowed to make anything so long as it's legal in the country that you're from. Be sure to give credit and make your derivative work Copyleft.

Personally, though, I hate pornography. While I can't stop you from doing so, please understand that if you make lewd or pornographic derivatives of my work, I think you're disgusting. 

Also understand that I am not responsible for any derivative that is illegal in certain countries, which can include but is not limited to: child pornography, depictions of religious figures, graffiti, etc. I am only responsible for what I have personally published.

Q: Can I upload your manga to another website?

A: Sure! You can make money off of it, too! Just keep in mind that I won't upload any more chapters of my manga to this website until my crowdfunding campaign for the next chapter has reached its goal! If you like, you can advertise the fundraiser to get more people on board! 

Be sure to include my Copyleft information! Derivatives of Viable need to have both my Copyleft information and your Copyleft information, but copies only need to include my Copyleft information! If you're simply reuploading our manga to your website or social media, you only need to do the latter! 

Q: Can I translate your manga?

A: Sure, that's fine! Be sure to give credit and make your translation Copyleft as well by providing your Copyleft information! Email me at joshua.caleb.stephenson@gmail.com so I can get your help translating this website, too!