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William & Mary Law Review

Journal

2009

Fair Use

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Economies Of Desire: Fair Use And Marketplace Assumptions, Rebecca Tushnet Nov 2009

Economies Of Desire: Fair Use And Marketplace Assumptions, Rebecca Tushnet

William & Mary Law Review

At the moment that "incentives"for creation meet "preferences"for the same, the economic account of copyright loses its explanatory power. This piece explores the ways in which the desire to create can be excessive, beyond rationality, and free from the need for economic incentive. Psychological and sociological concepts can do more to explain creative impulses than classical economics. As a result, a copyright law that treats creative activity as a product of economic incentives can miss the mark and harm what it aims to promote. The idea of abundance-even overabundance-in creativity can help define the proper scope of copyright law, especially …


Administering Fair Use, Jason Mazzone Nov 2009

Administering Fair Use, Jason Mazzone

William & Mary Law Review

Fair use is not working. As written by Congress and applied by the courts, the fair use law fails to give individuals sufficiently clear guidance to determine in advance whether their uses of copyrighted works are fair and therefore noninfringing. When the law does not regulate adequately, markets can supply the rules. Thus, copyright owners and prospective users of copyrighted works can-and donegotiate over and enter into contracts specifying permissible uses. However, leaving fair use to the market is far from desirable. Fair use is not meant to be something that is sold and bought like other market goods. Fair …