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2009

Intellectual Property Law

User-generated content

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Tangled Web Of Ugc: Making Copyright Sense Of User-Generated Content, Daniel J. Gervais Jan 2009

The Tangled Web Of Ugc: Making Copyright Sense Of User-Generated Content, Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Even as a mere conceptual cloud, the term "user-generated content" is useful to discuss the societal shifts in content creation brought about by the participative web and perhaps best epitomized by the remix phenomenon. This Article considers the copyright aspects of UGC. On the one hand, the production of UGC may involve both the right of reproduction and the right of adaptation-the right to prepare derivative works. On the other hand, defenses against claims of infringement of these rights typically rely on (transformative) fair use or the fact that an insubstantial amount (such as a quote) of the preexisting work …


The Tangled Web Of Ugc: Making Copyright Sense Of User-Generated Content, Daniel Gervais Jan 2009

The Tangled Web Of Ugc: Making Copyright Sense Of User-Generated Content, Daniel Gervais

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Even as a mere conceptual cloud, the term "user-generated content" is useful to discuss the societal shifts in content creation brought about by the participative web and perhaps best epitomized by the remix phenomenon. This Article considers the copyright aspects of UGC. On the one hand, the production of UGC may involve both the right of reproduction and the right of adaptation--the right to prepare derivative works. On the other hand, defenses against claims of infringement of these rights typically rely on (transformative) fair use or the fact that an insubstantial amount (such as a quote) of the preexisting work …


"Transformative" User-Generated Content In Copyright Law: Infringing Derivative Works Or Fair Use?, Mary W.S. Wong Jan 2009

"Transformative" User-Generated Content In Copyright Law: Infringing Derivative Works Or Fair Use?, Mary W.S. Wong

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In the United States, the line between the type and level of transformation required for a copyrightable derivative work and that required to constitute fair use has not been drawn clearly. With the rise of user-generated content, this question (which arises in two distinct copyright contexts) has become even more important. At the same time, copyright law has generally shied away from defining authorship as a legal concept, preferring instead to develop and rely on the related (but not identical) concept of originality. This has resulted in a low copyrightability threshold that does not adequately account for the fact that …


Mass Culture And The Culture Of The Masses: A Manifesto For User-Generated Rights, Debora Halbert Jan 2009

Mass Culture And The Culture Of The Masses: A Manifesto For User-Generated Rights, Debora Halbert

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

User-generated content is a term used to describe the division between culture produced as a commodity for consumption and the culture that is generated by people acting as creative beings without any market incentive. While under current copyright law all types of creativity are protected, the laws of copyright exist primarily to protect commercial forms of expression, not the non-commercial ones that form the foundation of user-generated content. The disconnect between what current copyright law protects and how most people create generates tensions that must be addressed. This Article presents an argument for broader protection of all creative work, including …