Law Commons^™

Social Semiotics In The Fair Use Analysis, H Brian Holland

H Brian Holland

Social Semiotics in the Fair Use Analysis

34,314 words

3,809 footnotes (Bluebook formatted)

This article presents an alternate theory of fair use, employing social semiotics as a process theory of meaning-making to frame the transformativeness inquiry. It is an argument for an expansion of fair use based not on theories of authorship or rights of autonomy, but rather a theory of the audience linked to social practice. The article asks, in essence, whether audiences determine the meaning, purpose, function, or social benefit of an allegedly infringing work, often regardless of what the work’s creator did or intended. If so, does …

Transformation In Property And Copyright, Christopher M. Newman

Christopher M Newman

Copyright requires us to distinguish between two different ways of transforming a “work of authorship”: “derivative works” and “transformative fair uses.” The absence of a clear line results in a tendency to assign all value arising proximately from a work to copyright owners. Many people blame this expansionist tendency on a “propertarian” understanding of copyright, and argue that the solution is to abandon any notion of copyright as property. I agree that current copyright doctrine often gives excessively broad scope to the exclusive rights of copyright owners, but argue that this may be a result of copyright not being “propertarian” …

Essence Of Copyright By Raheel R Daureeawo Llm, Raheel R. Daureeawo

Raheel R Daureeawo

Copyright is and has always been about policy. And what I intend to discuss in this paper is a list of topics which have always been center of debate in copyright courts. Although each topic is a book in itself, but my attempt here is to consolidate this list. The goal of the law of copyright has always been to promote scientific, literary and artistic creativity and protect as well as limit these rights in order to prevent monopolies. In order to understand the present and future of copyright it is imperative to know its past. There is a debate …

The Fifth Element: The Unspoken Element In The Fair Use Four-Part Test, B. Douglas Robbins

B. Douglas Robbins

For artists seeking to use copyrighted media in their installations without having to purchase a license, fair use seeks satisfaction of a fluid four-part test. Nowhere in this four-prong test is there any mention of whether the copyrighted material used is unique or a member of a category of work in limited supply. Yet numerous courts have pondered this unspoken “Fifth Element,”—the question of limited availability or uniqueness—when evaluating fair use claims. This paper examines the Fifth Element and the deeper analytical and policy reasons for its emergence, despite any explicit endorsement from Congress.