Why the most devoted fans are often the most vulnerable to copyright litigation.
Have you ever thought you could write the best next version of Star Wars? If you do, and they use it, you may find you have no rights at all, as an erstwhile author of a Rocky script found out. Welcome to fanfiction! The world’s largest body of derivative works ever created exists across the internet in the form of fanfiction, odes by fans of particular universes to their favorite characters, stories, universes. And it is exploding in the AI age as video AI machines enable cheap recreation of visual universes for everyone.
At the same time, little of it has been litigated. This program will explore fanfiction through copyright law, from derivative works to fair use, and right of publicity law, all of which touch on fanfiction. It will take you on an odyssey through case law from Sherlock Holmes, to Rocky Balboa, all the way to Batman, Sam Spade, Gone with the Wind, and Fifty Shades of Grey, and offer practice pointers for clients who may be fanfiction authors, publishers trying to manage the threat to franchises, and original creators.
Legal Technology & Education
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Intellectual Property and Entertainment Lawyer
Peter has been named a Top Intellectual Property and Entertainment lawyer by Variety magazine and has been a legal commentator on NBC, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, and national radio programs. His focus is on intellectual property and appellate litigation, and he has litigated scores of federal appeals on copyright, trademark, patent, and related business tort issues. He directs a Ninth Circuit Appellate Litigation Clinic at the UCI School of Law, where he litigates political asylum and refugee appeals. His recent book, "Burning Bridges," has been optioned and is under development by Hollywood, receiving widespread acclaim for its account of the Cold War serial trials against labor leader Harry Bridges. Peter is also a faculty member at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and a recognized “Super Lawyer.”
