original

Definition

Original is a copyright tag used for content that does not belong to any existing fictional franchise, series, or intellectual property. This encompasses original characters, often referred to as OCs, that are wholly created by the writer or artist rather than being sourced from pre-existing media such as anime, games, literature, or other copyrighted works.

This tag also applies to a specific and common practice where an image of an existing copyrighted character is used as a visual reference, but the character depicted is an entirely original creation with no relation to the source material. In these cases, the visual appearance may match an existing character, but the personality, backstory, and identity belong to an original creation.

Usage

Apply this tag to any post featuring a character that is not from an established franchise or intellectual property. This is the appropriate tag for all original characters regardless of whether they use a custom image or an image sourced from existing media.

In cases where a post uses an image of a copyrighted character but the bot itself is an original character rather than the character from the source material, both copy:original and the relevant copyright tag such as Pokemon should be applied simultaneously. This dual tagging indicates that while the visual source has a copyright, the character being portrayed is original.

Do not apply this tag to posts where the character depicted is actually the character from the copyrighted source material, even if the personality or scenario has been modified. Only use copy:original when the character itself is a unique creation.