Justice Scalia’s uncredited borrowing from a party’s legal brief escapes condemnation because the social context of his copying makes him a jurist, not a plagiarist. Similarly, fan creations, even without disclaimers, usually announce their unauthorized status so clearly through context

The newer fans’ language is perhaps less measured (and certainly more concise) than that of early Sherlockians, but it carries the same fundamental sentiment: that, regardless of the legal merits (or lack thereof) of their claims, those asserting legal objections

transformativeworksandcultures: TWC #23: Sherlock Holmes, Fandom, Sherlockiana, and the Great Game (special issue, edited by Roberta Pearson and Betsy Rosenblatt) Editorial Roberta Pearson,Betsy Rosenblatt “In all my experience I cannot recall any more singular and interesting study” Theory Ann McClellan,

Nice basic overview of some big fanfic-and-copyright discussions that have taken place over the years, from 50 Shades to Marion Zimmer Bradley to Kindle Worlds. For more in-depth analysis of legal issues surrounding fanworks, check out some of the many,

The late Marion Zimmer Bradley once said of her own most famous fictional world, “I didn’t invent Darkover, I discovered it.” Unlike most authors, who at best enjoy their admirers’ activities, and at worst try to end them, Bradley and

The  basic  ideas  behind  fandom’s  treatment  of  copyright  may track  to  fair  use  and  basic  copyright  law,  but  it  tracks  even  more closely  to  something  else. Consider  three  key  pieces together:  the freedom  to  create  derivative  works,  the  requirement  that

Perhaps most notably, by offering works that arguably “push the envelope” more than the works of the formal manga industry, dōjinshi may produce examples of innovation that create new opportunities for the entire industry. Indeed, mainstream manga publishing companies have

However, because permitting — let alone encouraging — dojinshi runs afoul of copyright law, the agreement remains implicit: The [Japanese] publishers avert their eyes, and the dojinshi creators resist going too far. This anmoku no ryokai [“unspoken, implicit agreement”] business