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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Rise Of Nollywood: Creators, Entrepreneurs, And Pirates, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
The Rise Of Nollywood: Creators, Entrepreneurs, And Pirates, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
The rise of Nollywood illustrates the revolutionary potential of digital technologies in Africa. Nollywood, or the Nigerian video film industry, reflects technology leapfrogging that is increasingly prominent in Africa today. Such leapfrogging, however, may raise significant issues with respect to legal and other institutions. Film production had largely ceased in Nigeria by the end of the 1980s. Despite this absence, in the early 1990s, Nigeria started on a path that has led it to become the top producer of digital video films in the world. Nigeria is, however, an unlikely locale for the development of a major film industry. In …
Creativity, Improvisation, And Risk: Copyright And Musical Innovation, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Creativity, Improvisation, And Risk: Copyright And Musical Innovation, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
The goals and beneficiaries of copyright frameworks have long been contested in varied contexts. Copyright is often treated as a policy tool that gives creators incentives to create new works. Incentive theories of copyright often emphasize appropriability, which enables copyright owners to ensure that they profit from their copyrighted works by exercising control over uses of, and access to, such works. Although copyright clearly imposes costs in the form of restrictions on access to copyright-protected works and inefficiencies in the form of deadweight loss, the benefits of copyright are thought by many to outweigh the costs. Copyright discussions may at …
The Freedom To Copy: Copyright, Creation And Context, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
The Freedom To Copy: Copyright, Creation And Context, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Although much separates them musically, George Harrison and Michael Bolton share a common legal fate. Both have been held liable in copyright infringement cases in which a court articulated theories of liability based on subconscious infringement. This Article discusses how decisions in the Bolton, Harrison, and other copyright infringement cases reflect a common failing. Such decisions highlight the incomplete nature of the theories of creativity and creation processes in copyright doctrine. After discussing current approaches to questions of creation, this Article suggests ways in which copyright theory can better incorporate a contextualized understanding of creativity and creation processes. Creativity in …
Copyright And Borrowing, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Copyright And Borrowing, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Olufunmilayo B. Arewa
Borrowing is a norm in much cultural production that should be better incorporated into copyright doctrine. Copyright doctrine governs both the creation and distribution of cultural works, such as literary texts and musical works. Consideration of borrowing and copyright largely relates to the creation side of copyright. A number of terms may be used to illustrate the ways in which new cultural texts relate to existing cultural texts. Further, a significant commentary exists in fields such as literary theory and musicology that discusses and analyzes the significance of such relationships. Terms such as borrowing, self-borrowing, transformative imitation, quotation, allusion, homage, …