Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2020: Week 40

some publishers put a color stamp on the zine to assure buyers they had an authentic copy, anti-piracy stamp here from Slime Trails

While there are many conflicting definitions of what constitutes "pirating a zine," most fans understand it to be reprinting a print zine in full, or in part, to give, or sell, to another fan, without asking the editor/distributor.

Initially, bringing out a zine cost real money, often a lot of it.

Many fan editors adamantly pushed back against fans' unauthorized redistribution of their works, warning that by cutting out the original publisher, fans were stealing, as well as weakening the entire fannish chain of production and vessels of communication.

In 1993, in a rare stance, at least one editor, Candace Pulleine, stated up front that fans were free to distribute her zine to others. Regarding Time and Again, Pulleine's multimedia zine:

UNAUTHORIZED COPIES: The author and publisher are making no attempt to prevent copying. In fact, if you do not have the $10.00 and want a copy, if you have a friend who has a copy, feel free to copy. If two or more want to chip in together and purchase this zine and make copies for your own personal use, feel free. HOWEVER, NO ONE OTHER THAN CANDACE PULLEINE IS AUTHORIZED TO SELL THIS ZINE. Of course if you want, send the publisher your money and a zine will be sent to you.