Copyright & Fair Use

Copyright & Fair Use

Wuxia Tales discusses works of fiction that are owned by their authors, translators, and publishers. We take this responsibility seriously. This page explains the copyright stance behind everything we publish and how we work within fair use.

Last updated: 2026-06-23.

What We Do

Quote Sparingly, Always Attribute

We sometimes quote brief passages from novels, classical texts, or scholarly works in the course of explanation or commentary. When we do, we observe the following limits:

  • Quotations from copyrighted novels are limited to 1–2 sentences per article, used only in the service of analysis or commentary.
  • All quotations carry attribution: the work’s title, author, translator (if applicable), and the platform or publisher where it can be legally read.
  • We do not paraphrase or summarize at lengths that could substitute for reading the original.

This usage falls within the fair-use doctrine in United States copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 107), which permits limited quotation for purposes of criticism, comment, education, and scholarship.

Link Only to Legal Sources

When we recommend or reference a novel, we link only to authorized platforms:

  • Wuxiaworld — officially licensed translations
  • Webnovel — Qidian’s official English platform
  • Amazon Kindle — for officially printed translations including Seven Seas, Yen Press, and others
  • Author Patreons and fan-translator pages where the rights-holder permits or has not objected

We never link to scanlation aggregators, piracy sites, or unauthorized text mirrors, even when a translation we want to discuss is only available through those channels.

Use Public Domain or Properly Licensed Images Only

All images on this site come from one of:

Every image carries a caption attributing its source and license. We do not use:

  • Screenshots from animations (donghua), live-action adaptations, or films
  • Fan art, even art shared “freely” online, unless the creator has issued an explicit CC0 / CC-BY license
  • Stock photography from paid services where we cannot verify the license

Cite Cultural and Scholarly Sources

For factual claims about Chinese culture, religion, philosophy, medicine, or history, we cite the source in the article. Standard references include:

  • Wikipedia articles (CC-BY-SA; we paraphrase and credit)
  • Academic books and journals (cited with author and title)
  • Recognized cultural institutions and their publications
  • Primary historical texts that are in the public domain (e.g., Dao De Jing, Zhuangzi, Records of the Grand Historian)

What We Do Not Do

  • We do not host novel chapters, full or partial. We are not a translation platform.
  • We do not reproduce illustrations from licensed novels or their adaptations.
  • We do not republish substantial passages of copyrighted text. Quotation is limited as described above.
  • We do not modify or remove authorship attribution from quotations or images.
  • We do not claim ownership of cultural concepts that belong to no one — qi, dao, the cultivation realm framework, etc. We write about these concepts; we do not own them.

Our Original Content

The articles on Wuxia Tales — the explanations, analyses, descriptions, and editorial commentary — are original works produced for this site. They are made available to readers free of charge.

If you wish to quote our articles in your own work, you may do so under standard fair-use principles: brief excerpts with attribution. For longer excerpts or republication, please email us at [email protected] for permission.

We do not at this time release our content under a Creative Commons license. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.

Copyright Complaints and DMCA

If you are a copyright holder and believe an article on Wuxia Tales infringes your rights, we want to know. Please email [email protected] with:

  1. Your identification. Name, organization, and contact information.
  2. The work you claim is infringed. Title, author, and (if applicable) registration or publication details.
  3. The specific URL or article on this site where the alleged infringement appears.
  4. The specific text, image, or content you believe is infringing.
  5. A statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by you or the law.
  6. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
  7. A physical or electronic signature.

This conforms to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice requirements (17 U.S.C. § 512).

We will review every complete notice and respond within a reasonable timeframe (typically within seven days). If a complaint is valid, we will remove or modify the disputed content promptly. Where we believe a use is legitimate fair use, we will explain our reasoning and may file a counter-notice.

We do not respond to:

  • Automated form letters from rights-monitoring services unless they contain the elements above
  • Demands to remove content that is plainly fair use, common cultural concept, or factual reporting
  • Repeated submissions about the same content after we have responded

Trademarks and Series Names

Specific novel titles, character names, and series identifiers are trademarks or trade dress of their respective owners. Mentions of Coiling Dragon, A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality, Mo Dao Zu Shi, Reverend Insanity, Cradle, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and other named works are editorial references and do not imply affiliation, endorsement, or licensing.

Updates to This Page

We may update this page when our practices change or when copyright law in relevant jurisdictions evolves. Material updates will be reflected in the “Last updated” date at the top.

See also: About · Contact · Privacy Policy