fan fiction: sharing, creating, and the law. geekgirlcon panel
DESCRIPTION
Navigating the nuances of copyright law can be daunting. Creative Commons was established with the goal of making it easier for people to share and build upon others’ works. We’ll provide an overview of copyright law, copyright licensing, and Creative Commons: what Creative Commons licenses are (and are not), why they may (or may not) work for you, and other important things to consider.TRANSCRIPT
@kristinannk @ArtArtificeBlog @sarterus @durazzi
Kristin Ann King Rachel Buker Brian Rowe Allison Durazzi
Who We Are
www.theWLA.org @the_W_L_A
COPYRIGHT FUNDAMENTALS
Geek Girl Con 2014
Presented by Washington Lawyers for the Arts
COPYRIGHT FUNDAMENTALS
Geek Girl Con 2014
Presented by Washington Lawyers for the Arts
WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?• Copyright
Federal law based in the U.S. Constitution 17. U.S.C. §§ 101-1332
Protects “original works of authorship” that are
fixed in a tangible form of expression
• Examples of Works Protected by Copyright Writings (including web copy) Photographs Software Code Drawings Music Compositions Music / Sound Recordings Film / Video Video Games
WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?
• Copyright – Bundle of Rights Rewards creators of original works with exclusive
right including: Right to Reproduce Right to Distribute Right to Publicly Perform Right to Create Derivative Works Right to Publicly Display Works
WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?
• “Unique Works of Authorship” Only minimal amount of creativity is required
Not the place of copyright law to judge artistic merit
If preexisting material is incorporated into a new
work, the copyright only covers the new work
Note - “New Work” may be considered a “Derivative” of the original
WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?
Ideas Facts Titles Recipes Useful Articles (most notably clothing)
WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY COPYRIGHT?
• Works in the Public Domain The Public Domain is comprised of works that are
unavailable for private ownership or are available
for public use because: The copyright is expired; The copyright has been abandoned or dedicated
to the public domain; Made by the U.S. government; Not protectable by copyright, ie. an idea or
concept
WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY COPYRIGHT?
• Works in the Public Domain Tools for determining whether a work may be in the
public domain https://copyright.cornell.edu/resources.publicdomain
.cfm
http://www.copyright.gov/records/
WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY COPYRIGHT?
Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., 45 F.2d 119, 121 (2nd Cir. 1930)
“[Copyright] cannot be limited literally to the text, else a plagiarist would escape by immaterial variations.”
COPYRIGHT IN FICTIONAL WORKS
• Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., 45 F.2d 119, 121 (2nd Cir. 1930)
"The less developed the characters, the less they can be copyrighted; that is the penalty an author must bear for marking them too indistinctly."
COPYRIGHT IN FICTIONAL WORKS
• Note – Once a creative work becomes Public Domain, the characters within those works are No Longer Protected by copyright
• See, e.g., Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd., 755 F.3d 496, 111 U.S.P.Q.2d 1065 (7th Cir. 2014) (Petition for Cert. pending before U.S. Supreme Court)
COPYRIGHT IN FICTIONAL WORKS
Fair Use IntroGeek Girl Con
2014
Brian Rowe, Esquire @sarterus
The Rent is too Damn High!
Girls, Girls, Girls, do engineer!
<Background>
<Fair UseFree Speech Boot Camp>
Section 107
Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
§ 107 . Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
PS Sorry for the BAD slide with too much text
§ 107 . Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
The fair use of a copyrighted work, including criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.
(1) purpose and character of the use,
(2) nature of the work;
(3)amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole;
(4) effect of the use upon the potential market PS: This one is almost readable
§ 107 . Fair use
(1) Use
(2) Type
(3) How Much
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market
The Rent is too Damn High!
Good Faith Matters
The Rent is too Damn High!
Girls, Girls, Girls, do engineer!
V.
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TheWLA.org
Credits:CC-BY Brian Rowe
Most images were used under my first amendment fair use right
Photo of Brian Rowe: Bipolar Images
@sarterus
TheWLA.org
Credits:CC-BY Brian Rowe
Most images were used under my first amendment fair use right
Photo of Brian Rowe: Bipolar Images
@sarterus
Materials available on our website www.theWLA.org
Resources Comic Book Legal defense fund cbldf.org
Stanford Copyright & Fair Use fairuse.stanford.edu
Columbia University fair use check list copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/fair-use/fair-use-checklist/
Americans Center for for Media and Social impact cmsimpact.org/fair-use
The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) transformativeworks.org
Washington Lawyers for the Arts www.theWLA.org