Omegaverse Litigation

Notes on addition criteria
The following article is not intended to serve as a legal reference, but rather as a document of an event in fandom and the fan reactions to it. Please do not add excessive amounts of legal detail to this page. Editors are encouraged to discuss any proposed changes on the Talk page before making them.
The Omegaverse Litigation is the commonly used phrase to describe the lawsuits involving two authors: Zoey Ellis and Addison Cain, both of whom wrote romance/erotica novels with "omegaverse" tropes. The lawsuits and their resulting publicity resulted in a number of "mainstream" news outlets reporting on this formerly obscure kink trope.
The instigating event for the lawsuits involved one author (Addison Cain) filing DMCA takedown notices against the other (Zoey Ellis) for alleged plagiarism of her work. In response, Zoey Ellis filed two lawsuits alleging abuse of DMCA takedown notices. The central question of these lawsuits then became whether there was true plagiarism involved, or whether the two works were simply similar because they called upon established hallmarks of the same trope (A/B/O, or Omegaverse). 
While the case closed in July of 2020, it continues to be widely discussed online, with many people (both fannish and non-fannish) discovering the existence and history of Omegaverse tropes for the first time via these lawsuits. Additional drama has played out online, particularly surrounding the two videos created by Lindsay Ellis summarising the case (see: 2020 Timeline).
==What is Omegaverse?==
Omegaverse (also Alpha/Beta/Omega) is a kink trope wherein some or all people have defined biological roles based on a hierarchical system. 
The trope developed in fanfiction around 2010 and has continued to grow in popularity. The trope has crossed over from fandom into original fiction and appears in some original romance erotica.
===Omegaverse: Its Origins and Connections to Fandom and Fanworks===
Although individual elements of the trope appeared much earlier in fandom, the Omegaverse originated in Supernatural fandom with a few very specific AU kink meme prompts for the J2 RPF ship. The firstAccording to an anon on fail_fandomanon: 2016-03-02 comment. was posted to spnkink_meme in May 2010,Request: Jensen/Jared - AU Doggy style, bottom Jensen comment in spnkink_meme, posted 2010-05-17. followed by a similar prompt that was posted to two different Supernatural anon memes in November 2010 and January 2011. This prompt contained the now-standard alpha/beta/omega terminology and inspired several different fills.The prompt, Request- J2- AnimalTraits, Claiming, Knotting, DomJared, SubJensen, Impregnation was posted at spnkink_meme on November 8, 2010 and received one fill, "Heat" by the_miss_lv. The same prompt was later posted at blindfold_spn on January 10, 2011 (now locked) where it inspired the fill "No Substitution" by pianoforeplay.
The trope was a natural extension of Supernatural's popular werewolf and knotting kinks, and may also have been influenced by Dark Angel, where heat cycles were canon and often explored in fic. It spread rapidly beyond Supernatural and J2 fandom into other fandoms as well as original fiction and other media.Some examples of this include the Omegaverse project series of doujin anthologies and the BL game Omega Vampire. Het omegaverse fanworks, while comparatively less common, have also been around since the beginning of the genre; All Ways by netweight, published in 2011, is an early example.
For a more thorough overview of the history and evolution of the omegaverse in fandom, see Alpha/Beta/Omega.
===Pro Author Omegaverse===
Some early professionally published works that are often cited as containing "omegaverse tropes" are the 2007 novel With Caution by J.L. Langley, the second novel in the M/M werewolf romance series 'With or Without'; and the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs, a het werewolf romance series that also began in 2007. These were both erroneously cited by Lindsay Ellis in her first video about the Omegaverse Litigation as early, professionally-published examples of the genre,Into The Omegaverse: How a Fanfic Trope Landed in Federal Court by Lindsay Ellis via YouTube. 'With Caution' is referenced at 7:30, and 'Alpha & Omega' is referenced at 22:22, although Lindsay states that the series began in 2008, when there was an initial novella published in 2007. despite the fact that their publication predated the documented origins of the trope in Supernatural RPF fandom. Wikipedia also cites With Caution as "the first commercially-published novel with Omegaverse tropes".Revision of Omegaverse on Wikipedia, dated 10 November 2020. 
However, while there is an evident trope overlap between werewolf erotica and omegaverse, including the fact that both feature "Alphas", "Betas" and sometimes "Omegas", the collectively-established A/B/O universe has a specific set of tropes that separate it from the werewolf genre (and for the most part it does not feature actual werewolves, unless these are a hallmark of the fandom it is being written in, such as Teen Wolf).
Ellis then clarified in her follow-up video that she had been wrong in calling Patricia Briggs' Alpha & Omega the first het omegaverse novel,Addison Cain's lawyer e-mailed me, and it only got worse from there by Lindsay Ellis via YouTube. Timestamped to 23:11. when that title is in fact held by Taken by Darkness by Nora Ash, published in 2014. It is generally acknowledged that prior to this point the genre was dominated by M/M (as it is in fandom), but it is not known which was the first commercially published M/M novel to use omegaverse tropes as recognised by fandom.
==The Litigation: An Overview==
In April 2018, Blushing Books Publications, the publisher of Cain's "Alpha's Claim Series," sent DMCA take-down notices to retailers relating to Ellis' "Myth of Omega Series," alleging substantial similarities. A few retailers removed the books from sale for a period of time (no less than three months). Amazon did not remove the books at any time.
Ellis, through her company Quill Ink Books Limited, filed two lawsuits against Blushing Books Publications and Cain, respectively, alleging misuse of the DMCA take-down notices. In 2019, Blushing Books settled, releasing a statement that there had been no plagiarism and that the DMCAs were invalid.
The second lawsuit against Addison Cain remained. As of August 2020, three of Zoey Ellis' four claims, brought by her publisher Quill Ink Books, have been dismissed with prejudice.2019 Judgement in Virginia suit, Oct 29 2019, accessed 17 Aug 2020. The fourth claim, Intentional DMCA Misrepresentation, was dismissed for lack of prosecution, as Quill Ink Books went bankrupt and were unable to continue with the suit. The case is now closed.
===Timeline of Relevant Facts and Dates===
====2018====
* April 19, 2018 - Cain and Blushing Books send DMCA take-down notices to all retailers where "Myth of Omega" was published.
* April 26, 2018 - Cain is made aware that retailers are taking down "Myth of Omega" books (but book 3 remains up for preorder). 
* May 15, 2018 - Cain and Blushing send second round of DMCA notices for Ellis' book 3's preorder.
* May 16, 2018 - Quill Ink Books Limited is made aware that book 3 is being taken down as well.
* May 17, 2018 - Counsel for Quill Ink Books Limited sends a Cease & Desist Letter to Blushing Books as a counter-notice to the DMCA notices.
* May 2018 - "Myth of Omega" Series titles are reinstated on other platforms.
* May 23, 2018 - Crave to Claim, the third book in the "Myth of Omega" series, is published in ebook form.Crave to Claim Kindle edition, Goodreads. Accessed August 16, 2020. The paperback edition is published on May 27.Crave to Claim paperback edition, Goodreads. Accessed August 16, 2020.
* September 18, 2018 - Zoey Ellis and Quill Ink Books Limited file the first lawsuit in an Oklahoma Federal District Court against Addison Cain and Blushing Books.
* October 18, 2018 - The website omegaverselitigation.com is created and a copy of the 10/17/18 Amended ComplaintAmended Complaint (pdf) in the Oklahoma Lawsuit was published on that site, including the headline “No one owns a genre, Especially Omegaverse.” (By 2020, no post of that title was on that website; presumably it was moved or copied to the author's site.) That site was created and maintained by Quill (admitted in answer to Counterclaim).
* October 19, 2018 - Zoey Ellis writes a Facebook post about Cain and the litigation ; the statement was duplicated on the omegaverselitigation website. She directs any inquiries to be made to an omagaverselitigation.com email address. Some supporters of Addison Cain believe that this statement contains false claims. They believe that Ellis's assertion that Addison Cain claimed to own omegaverse tropes and that Cain attempted to blackmail Ellis are false. 
:Statement of Zoey Ellis, on Behalf of Quill Ink Books:
====2019====
* September 9, 2019 - Quill Ink Books obtains a judgement that Ellis' Myth of Omega series did not plagiarize Alpha's Claim.
* September 9, 2019 - Quill Ink Books Limited files an Amended Complaint with four counts: Intentional DMCA Misrepresentation, Tortious Interference with Business Relationships, Defamation, and Statutory Conspiracy. 
 
* September 23, 2019 - Cain files a Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint.
 
* October 29, 2019 - Counts II, III and IV of the Amended Complaint were dismissed, leaving only Count I, Intentional DMCA Misrepresentation, remaining.
* November 12, 2019 - Addison Cain files Answer to Amended Complaint (Count I only). 
====2020====
* May 23 - New York Times ArticleA Feud in Wolf-Kink Erotica Raises a Deep Legal Question, New York Times article from May 23, 2020, accessed Aug 17, 2020 is released with interviews from Zoey Ellis, Gideon Lincecum, and Professor Kristina Busse as well as reference to emails and documents that resulted from the subpoenas in this case. 
* June 3 - Cain files a motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution and a brief in support.
* June 18 - Quill Ink Books Limited files a Notice of Liquidation advising the Court that it is filing for bankruptcy.
* July 1 - Cain's request to dismiss for lack of prosecution is granted.
* September 3 - Lindsay Ellis publishes her first video summarising the case: Into the Omegaverse: How a Fanfic Trope Landed in Federal Court.
* October 23 - Lindsay Ellis publishes her follow-up video, Addison Cain's lawyer e-mailed me, and it only got worse from there, detailing her further interactions with Addison Cain and the DMCA takedown notices that she received. It is even more widely shared and discussed in both fannish and non-fannish circles than the first video.
==Fandom Comments & Response==
===Regarding Plagiarism: The Pro Books===
News of the plagiarism complaint was spread quickly online, particularly on Twitter. "I just want you all to know that an ABO plagiarism lawsuit was filed today. Reading the complaint was one of the best experiences in my life" from @Anaphiel_ gained 3k+ retweets and 4.8k+ likes. "Imagine being Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki and knowing this paragraph is now part of the official record of a US court case" from @arthur_affect User LilithKitty tweeted "Imagine getting jury duty, and it's the ABO lawsuit" [4:47 AM - 13 Mar 2019] from @LilithKitty gained 1.6k+ retweets and 3k+likes There was also some talk comparing it to the #CopyPasteCris scandal, and pushback against that comparison. One example was a twitter thread by former law professor Courtney Milan that was widely shared in fannish spaces. 
@courtneymilan's twitter thread continued, eventually getting the attention of Addison Cain. 
Some people agreed with Cain's complaint, pointing to similarities between the two series. 
A user on Goodreads named Meredith, who identified themselves as a fan of Addison Cain who had initially been inclined to support her GoFundMe to cover the cost of her legal defense, posted an extensive review detailing the ins and outs of the situation. Some quotations:
===Regarding Fanfiction and Original Origins===
Some fans focused on the fact that the trope began in fanfiction.
Some fans drew comparisons to other complaints of plagiarizing tropes or copyright infringement, made by fans/writers in the past.
==Fanworks in Response==
* One fan wrote her own fanfic AU about the litigation, casting Star Wars characters Ben Solo and Rey as associates working in the firm that is defending an author against plagiarism and copyright claims "brought by a published author of original A/B/O fiction." Another fan created a mood board for the story.
* A group of fans penned the 
* A fan wrote a fanfic of the lawsuit if it had happened in the TV show "The Good Fight," titled "The One About Wolf Porn."
==Further Reading/Meta==
* No one owns a genre, least of all Omegaverse, a blog post by Zoey Ellis (October 20, 2018)
* Discussion of Addison Cain's Alpha's Claim and Zoey Ellis's Myth of Omega by Kristina Busse, kristinabusse.com. 
* by earlgreytea68 (March 13, 2019)
* and , an analysis by lawyer Mark Whipple (March 14, 2019)
*, analysis by GoldenAngel, one of Addison Cain's supporters (March 14, 2019)
* follow-up to GoldenAngel's earlier post (March 20, 2019)
* by Courtney (March 14 2019).
*A Feud in Wolf-Kink Erotica Raises a Deep Legal Question (archived link) by Alexandra Alter for the New York Times. (May 23, 2020)
* [podcast] (July 3, 2020)
* A win for the author community! (archive link), an account published by Addison Cain to her own website. (August 17 2020)
* The legal battle over the omegaverse and why the south is the worst by Bliss Fully Aware podcast - commentary (August 20, 2020 ), plus Updates Up The Wazoo, which provides updates on the situation (September 20, 2020) 
* Into the Omegaverse: How a Fanfic Trope Landed in Federal Court a video essay by Lindsay Ellis (Sep 3 2020). And its sequel, Addison Cain's lawyer e-mailed me, and it only got worse from there (October 23 2020).
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Fandom Occurrences
Category:Scandals
Category:2018 Events
Category:2019 Events
Category:2020 Events