Payment in Credit: Copyright Law and Subcultural Creativity

Abstract

From Introduction:

"Copyright lawyers talk and write a lot about the uncertainties of fair use and the deterrent effects of a clearance culture on publishers, teachers, filmmakers, and the like, but we know less about the choices people make about copyright on a daily basis, especially when they are not working. Thus, this article examines one subcultural group that engages in a variety of practices, from pure copying and distribution of others' works to creation of new stories, art, and audiovisual works: the media-fan community. Part II provides a brief overview of fan creativity. As Part III explains, fans justify their unauthorized derivative works as legitimate, no matter what formal copyright law says, with theories that draw on factors similar to those employed by fair use doctrine.

"Part IV then discusses some differences between fair use and fan practices, focused around attribution as an alternative to veto rights over uses of copyrighted works...

"Part V goes beyond attribution and complicates the fan-mass media division, examining the role of commerciality and the rise of hybrid forms of partially or incompletely commodified, unauthorized but tolerated, creative production. In particular, the commercialization of amateur content by third party aggregators needs more attention in a theory of cultural commons."