Fandom and the Law: A Guide to Fan Fiction, Art, Film & Cosplay

Fandom is a cultural phenomenon, embraced by millions of people worldwide, and its expression is the driving force for fan conventions, websites, and other forms of expression. Fandom and the Law is a current and unique resource that looks at the sociology of fandom, as expressed in fan-created content, and how established legal doctrines affect the creation and dissemination of fan fiction, fan art, fan film, and cosplay (costume play).

Author Marc H. Greenberg is a law professor who teaches in the areas of entertainment, copyright, and pop culture, and he also represents comic book creators and historians on a diverse array of legal projects. He looks at the four main areas of creative fandom--fan fiction, fan art, fan film, and cosplay, and examines the role of fan content creators within this participatory culture, explaining the meaning of this phrase, the importance of this concept to fan content creators, and the critical element of communities of fandoms.

The book next discusses the legal doctrines that affect fan-created works, providing in-depth historical and legal analysis of those aspects of U.S. law whose impact is felt through all fan-created creative works, especially copyright law that is the most relevant to the fan-content creator. This section concludes with a focus on two relevant legislative developments: the PROTECT Act and the CASE Act, the latter of which is currently pending final legislative approval.

Next, the book provides a narrow focus on the interaction between the law and the different types of fan-created works with consideration of the specific legal issues regarding each type of content. Further, the book examines the critical role of social media in fandom and fan-created content. This chapter examines the legal issues arising from the huge role social media plays in fandom as this is the primary means by which fan-created content is displayed and distributed.

Perhaps more so than in other areas of endeavor, fan-created content, with its inherent tension between fan creators and the original creators of the works that inspire them, turns to the law and the legal system to moderate that tension. The book looks to the future of fan-created content and how legal likely to impact that future, in both positive and negative ways, including how production companies have chosen to respond to fan-created works based on their content in the past and whether those reactions are likely to change in the future.

Who can use this book? First and foremost, it is written to meet the needs of attorneys who counsel fan content creators and scholars who are interested in how the law affects this creative process. Yet the book also provides approachable and practical information for fan content creators themselves and the growing number of "acafans" or academics who study pop culture and fandom.

Marc H. Greenberg is a Professor of Law and the founding Director of the Intellectual Property Law Center and Program at Golden Gate University School of Law.  A member of the faculty since 2000, he teaches Intellectual Property Survey, Internet and Software Law, Intellectual Property and New Technology, and Entertainment Law in the IP curriculum.  He also teaches Contracts, Civil Procedure, Business Associations, Property, Wills and Trusts, and related courses in the general curriculum. He was the 2010-2011 Chair and is presently on the Executive Board of the Art Law Section of the American Association of Law Schools, and is a past co-chair of the Copyright Section of the San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association. He is a member of the Books Editorial Board of the IP Law Section of the ABA

Professor Greenberg received his A.B. degree in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley; and his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. While in law school he served as an Articles Editor of the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly and published the first of his scholarly works analyzing the First Amendment cases of the Supreme Court’s 1978 term.

Professor Greenberg’s scholarship has focused on legal issues pertaining to comic art, content on the Internet, obscenity law in online contexts, and copyright issues both in the U.S and in China.  In 2014 his book, COMIC ART, CREATIVITY AND THE LAW was published by Edward Elgar Publishing. In 2016, his book, COPYRIGHT TERMINATION AND RECAPTURE LAW: GOOD INTENTIONS GONE AWRY, was published by ABA Publishing and the IP Law Section. His articles have been published in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal, The Syracuse Journal of Law and Technology, The John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law, and The Loyola Chicago University Journal of International Law.

Professor Greenberg is still an active practitioner providing legal services to select clients via his firm, Law Office of Marc H. Greenberg. He can be reached at mhg@marcgreenberglaw.com. or mgreenberg@ggu.edu.