Intellectual Properties and the Protection of Fictional Characters

Intellectual Properties and the Protection of Fictional Characters

Author: Dorothy J. Howell

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 1990-07-30

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0313388873

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In this pioneering volume, Howell addresses the extent to which fictional characters are legally recognized and protected as intellectual property. Through a judicious selection of cases chosen for their bearing on the popular arts, the author reviews the basic legal principles involved--copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and contract law--and analyzes their applications to fictional characters. In addition to tracing the evolution of the law relating to the protection of fictional characters, Howell explores the feasibility of isolating characters and protecting them via stringent copyright and/or trademark laws, addresses character merchandising and the associated legal issues, and suggests legal reforms aimed at protecting the creator. Detailed case information serves both to illustrate the legal principles and actions discussed and to stand as a model for the proprietors of future characters. Divided into two major sections, the volume begins by offering a comprehensive introduction to intellectual property law. Specific topics addressed include basic concepts of property, statutory protection of intellectual property, elements of an infringement action, defenses to copyright infringement, unfair competition, and the application of trademark principles to literary properties. In the second section, Howell analyzes the extent to which the fictional character is legally regarded as intellectual property. She reviews situations in which copyright and trademark law have been invoked to protect the creator of a fictional character, examines cases involving such well-known characters as the Lone Ranger, Superman, and the crew of the Starship Enterprise, and presents an extended analysis of the case of Tarzan. Finally, Howell considers whether right of publicity and merchandising offer additional protection for fictional characters. In the concluding chapter, she offers an analysis of copyright decisions and a proposal for their reconciliation. Both practicing attorneys and students of entertainment law will find Howell's work an important contribution to the professional literature.


Book Synopsis Intellectual Properties and the Protection of Fictional Characters by : Dorothy J. Howell

Download or read book Intellectual Properties and the Protection of Fictional Characters written by Dorothy J. Howell and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1990-07-30 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this pioneering volume, Howell addresses the extent to which fictional characters are legally recognized and protected as intellectual property. Through a judicious selection of cases chosen for their bearing on the popular arts, the author reviews the basic legal principles involved--copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and contract law--and analyzes their applications to fictional characters. In addition to tracing the evolution of the law relating to the protection of fictional characters, Howell explores the feasibility of isolating characters and protecting them via stringent copyright and/or trademark laws, addresses character merchandising and the associated legal issues, and suggests legal reforms aimed at protecting the creator. Detailed case information serves both to illustrate the legal principles and actions discussed and to stand as a model for the proprietors of future characters. Divided into two major sections, the volume begins by offering a comprehensive introduction to intellectual property law. Specific topics addressed include basic concepts of property, statutory protection of intellectual property, elements of an infringement action, defenses to copyright infringement, unfair competition, and the application of trademark principles to literary properties. In the second section, Howell analyzes the extent to which the fictional character is legally regarded as intellectual property. She reviews situations in which copyright and trademark law have been invoked to protect the creator of a fictional character, examines cases involving such well-known characters as the Lone Ranger, Superman, and the crew of the Starship Enterprise, and presents an extended analysis of the case of Tarzan. Finally, Howell considers whether right of publicity and merchandising offer additional protection for fictional characters. In the concluding chapter, she offers an analysis of copyright decisions and a proposal for their reconciliation. Both practicing attorneys and students of entertainment law will find Howell's work an important contribution to the professional literature.


Literary Characters in Intellectual Property Law

Literary Characters in Intellectual Property Law

Author: Jani McCutcheon

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2023-03-02

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1788114329

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This ground-breaking book critically interrogates how literary characters are regulated under copyright, moral rights, and trademark law, challenging important foundations that underscore engagement with literary characters. Using interesting examples, and referencing literary theory, Literary Characters in Intellectual Property Law offers an in-depth exploration of both the law and the diverse and conflicting interests that are impacted by literary character appropriation, incorporating the perspectives of owners, authors, appropriators, and consumers.


Book Synopsis Literary Characters in Intellectual Property Law by : Jani McCutcheon

Download or read book Literary Characters in Intellectual Property Law written by Jani McCutcheon and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2023-03-02 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ground-breaking book critically interrogates how literary characters are regulated under copyright, moral rights, and trademark law, challenging important foundations that underscore engagement with literary characters. Using interesting examples, and referencing literary theory, Literary Characters in Intellectual Property Law offers an in-depth exploration of both the law and the diverse and conflicting interests that are impacted by literary character appropriation, incorporating the perspectives of owners, authors, appropriators, and consumers.


Protection of Cartoon Characters Under Intellectual Property Law Regime

Protection of Cartoon Characters Under Intellectual Property Law Regime

Author: Dharmveer Singh Krishnawat

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Fictional characters are at the center of a multibillion-dollar industry, a fact that offers strong motivation for authors to fight to preserve their monopoly in any way they can. Usually copyright law protects a fictional character within the context of the work in which the character appears. In these cases, infringement is found if the alleged infringer had access to the copyrighted work and there is substantial similarity between the copyrighted work and the allegedly infringing work. The issue of separate protection for literary characters arises when the character is removed from the original work, so that the character leads a new and independent life in a separately written piece. Characters that are capable of leading independent lives are those who are especially memorable, such that they stay in a reader's imagination long after the original storyline is forgotten. An author seeking to write a new adventure for Superman, Tarzan, or Sherlock Holmes, must be aware of the legal considerations involved. Literary characters are protected within the copyright of the original work in which they appear, but the law is less clear when a character is separated from the original work and leads an independent life. Therefore, a new approach has to be derived where both the Copyright Laws as well as the Trademark Laws should go side by side.


Book Synopsis Protection of Cartoon Characters Under Intellectual Property Law Regime by : Dharmveer Singh Krishnawat

Download or read book Protection of Cartoon Characters Under Intellectual Property Law Regime written by Dharmveer Singh Krishnawat and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fictional characters are at the center of a multibillion-dollar industry, a fact that offers strong motivation for authors to fight to preserve their monopoly in any way they can. Usually copyright law protects a fictional character within the context of the work in which the character appears. In these cases, infringement is found if the alleged infringer had access to the copyrighted work and there is substantial similarity between the copyrighted work and the allegedly infringing work. The issue of separate protection for literary characters arises when the character is removed from the original work, so that the character leads a new and independent life in a separately written piece. Characters that are capable of leading independent lives are those who are especially memorable, such that they stay in a reader's imagination long after the original storyline is forgotten. An author seeking to write a new adventure for Superman, Tarzan, or Sherlock Holmes, must be aware of the legal considerations involved. Literary characters are protected within the copyright of the original work in which they appear, but the law is less clear when a character is separated from the original work and leads an independent life. Therefore, a new approach has to be derived where both the Copyright Laws as well as the Trademark Laws should go side by side.


Fan Fiction and Copyright

Fan Fiction and Copyright

Author: Aaron Schwabach

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-15

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 1317136454

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As long as there have been fans, there has been fan fiction. There seems to be a fundamental human need to tell additional stories about the characters after the book, series, play or movie is over. But developments in information technology and copyright law have put these fan stories at risk of collision with the content owners’ intellectual property rights. Fan fiction has long been a nearly invisible form of outsider art, but over the past decade it has grown exponentially in volume and in legal importance. Because of its nature, authorship, and underground status, fan fiction stands at an intersection of key issues regarding property, sexuality, and gender. In Fan Fiction and Copyright, author Aaron Schwabach examines various types of fan-created content and asks whether and to what extent they are protected from liability for copyright infringement. Professor Schwabach discusses examples of original and fan works from a wide range of media, genres, and cultures. From Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter, fictional characters, their authors, and their fans are sympathetically yet realistically assessed. Fan Fiction and Copyright looks closely at examples of three categories of disputes between authors and their fans: Disputes over the fans’ use of copyrighted characters, disputes over online publication of fiction resembling copyright work, and in the case of J.K. Rowling and a fansite webmaster, a dispute over the compiling of a reference work detailing an author's fictional universe. Offering more thorough coverage of many such controversies than has ever been available elsewhere, and discussing fan works from the United States, Brazil, China, India, Russia, and elsewhere, Fan Fiction and Copyright advances the understanding of fan fiction as transformative use and points the way toward a safe harbor for fan fiction.


Book Synopsis Fan Fiction and Copyright by : Aaron Schwabach

Download or read book Fan Fiction and Copyright written by Aaron Schwabach and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As long as there have been fans, there has been fan fiction. There seems to be a fundamental human need to tell additional stories about the characters after the book, series, play or movie is over. But developments in information technology and copyright law have put these fan stories at risk of collision with the content owners’ intellectual property rights. Fan fiction has long been a nearly invisible form of outsider art, but over the past decade it has grown exponentially in volume and in legal importance. Because of its nature, authorship, and underground status, fan fiction stands at an intersection of key issues regarding property, sexuality, and gender. In Fan Fiction and Copyright, author Aaron Schwabach examines various types of fan-created content and asks whether and to what extent they are protected from liability for copyright infringement. Professor Schwabach discusses examples of original and fan works from a wide range of media, genres, and cultures. From Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter, fictional characters, their authors, and their fans are sympathetically yet realistically assessed. Fan Fiction and Copyright looks closely at examples of three categories of disputes between authors and their fans: Disputes over the fans’ use of copyrighted characters, disputes over online publication of fiction resembling copyright work, and in the case of J.K. Rowling and a fansite webmaster, a dispute over the compiling of a reference work detailing an author's fictional universe. Offering more thorough coverage of many such controversies than has ever been available elsewhere, and discussing fan works from the United States, Brazil, China, India, Russia, and elsewhere, Fan Fiction and Copyright advances the understanding of fan fiction as transformative use and points the way toward a safe harbor for fan fiction.


The Author and the Public

The Author and the Public

Author: Marilyn Tiki Dare

Publisher:

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis The Author and the Public by : Marilyn Tiki Dare

Download or read book The Author and the Public written by Marilyn Tiki Dare and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Originality and Intellectual Property in the French and English Enlightenment

Originality and Intellectual Property in the French and English Enlightenment

Author: Reginald McGinnis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-10-17

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1135024618

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Are legal concepts of intellectual property and copyright related to artistic notions of invention and originality? Do literary and legal scholars have anything to learn from each other, or should the legal debate be viewed as separate from questions of aesthetics? Bridging what are usually perceived as two distinct areas of inquiry, this interdisciplinary volume begins with a reflection on the "origins" of literary and legal questions in the Enlightenment to consider their ramifications in the post-Enlightenment and contemporary world. Tying in to the growing scholarly interest in connections between law and literature, on the one hand, and to the contemporary interrogation of "originality" and "authorship," on the other hand, the present volume furthers research in the field by providing a dense study of the legal and historical context to re-examine our current assumptions about supposed earlier Enlightenment and Romantic ideals of individual authorship and originality.


Book Synopsis Originality and Intellectual Property in the French and English Enlightenment by : Reginald McGinnis

Download or read book Originality and Intellectual Property in the French and English Enlightenment written by Reginald McGinnis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-17 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are legal concepts of intellectual property and copyright related to artistic notions of invention and originality? Do literary and legal scholars have anything to learn from each other, or should the legal debate be viewed as separate from questions of aesthetics? Bridging what are usually perceived as two distinct areas of inquiry, this interdisciplinary volume begins with a reflection on the "origins" of literary and legal questions in the Enlightenment to consider their ramifications in the post-Enlightenment and contemporary world. Tying in to the growing scholarly interest in connections between law and literature, on the one hand, and to the contemporary interrogation of "originality" and "authorship," on the other hand, the present volume furthers research in the field by providing a dense study of the legal and historical context to re-examine our current assumptions about supposed earlier Enlightenment and Romantic ideals of individual authorship and originality.


The Cultural Life of Intellectual Properties

The Cultural Life of Intellectual Properties

Author: Rosemary J. Coombe

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 1998-10-13

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 0822382490

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Logos, trademarks, national insignia, brand names, celebrity images, design patents, and advertising texts are vibrant signs in a consumer culture governed by a regime of intellectual property laws. In The Cultural Life of Intellectual Properties, professor of law and cultural anthropologist Rosemary J. Coombe brings an illuminating ethnographic approach to an analysis of authorship and the role law plays in shaping the various meanings that animate these protected properties in the public sphere. Although such artifacts are ubiquitous in contemporary culture, little attention has been paid to the impact of intellectual property law in everyday life or to how ownership of specific intellectual properties is determined and exercised. Drawing on a wide range of cases, disputes, and local struggles, Coombe examines these issues and dismantles the legal assumption that the meaning and value of a text or image is produced exclusively by an individual author or that authorship has a single point of origin. In the process, she examines controversies that include the service of turbanned Sikhs in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the use of the term Olympic in reference to the proposed gay Olympic Games. Other chapters discuss the appropriation of such celebrity images as the Marx brothers, Judy Garland, Dolly Parton, James Dean, and Luke Skywalker; the conflict over team names such as the Washington Redskins; and the opposition of indigenous peoples to stereotypical Native American insignia proffered by the entertainment industry. Ultimately, she makes a case for redefining the political in commodified cultural environments. Significant for its insights into the political significance of current intellectual property law, this book also provides new perspectives on debates in cultural anthropology, cultural studies, and political theory. It will therefore interest both a wide scholarly and a general audience.


Book Synopsis The Cultural Life of Intellectual Properties by : Rosemary J. Coombe

Download or read book The Cultural Life of Intellectual Properties written by Rosemary J. Coombe and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 1998-10-13 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Logos, trademarks, national insignia, brand names, celebrity images, design patents, and advertising texts are vibrant signs in a consumer culture governed by a regime of intellectual property laws. In The Cultural Life of Intellectual Properties, professor of law and cultural anthropologist Rosemary J. Coombe brings an illuminating ethnographic approach to an analysis of authorship and the role law plays in shaping the various meanings that animate these protected properties in the public sphere. Although such artifacts are ubiquitous in contemporary culture, little attention has been paid to the impact of intellectual property law in everyday life or to how ownership of specific intellectual properties is determined and exercised. Drawing on a wide range of cases, disputes, and local struggles, Coombe examines these issues and dismantles the legal assumption that the meaning and value of a text or image is produced exclusively by an individual author or that authorship has a single point of origin. In the process, she examines controversies that include the service of turbanned Sikhs in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the use of the term Olympic in reference to the proposed gay Olympic Games. Other chapters discuss the appropriation of such celebrity images as the Marx brothers, Judy Garland, Dolly Parton, James Dean, and Luke Skywalker; the conflict over team names such as the Washington Redskins; and the opposition of indigenous peoples to stereotypical Native American insignia proffered by the entertainment industry. Ultimately, she makes a case for redefining the political in commodified cultural environments. Significant for its insights into the political significance of current intellectual property law, this book also provides new perspectives on debates in cultural anthropology, cultural studies, and political theory. It will therefore interest both a wide scholarly and a general audience.


Statutory Copyright Protection of Fictional Characters

Statutory Copyright Protection of Fictional Characters

Author: James Robert Parish

Publisher:

Published: 1964

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Statutory Copyright Protection of Fictional Characters by : James Robert Parish

Download or read book Statutory Copyright Protection of Fictional Characters written by James Robert Parish and published by . This book was released on 1964 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Legal Stories

Legal Stories

Author: Gregory Steirer

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2024-07-01

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 047222171X

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Tracing the emergence of what the media industries today call transmedia, story worlds, and narrative franchises, Legal Stories provides a dual history of copyright law and narrative-based media development between the Copyright Act of 1909 and the Copyright Act of 1976. Drawing on archival material, including legal case files, and employing the principles of actor-network theory, Gregory Steirer demonstrates how the meaning and form of narrative-based property in the twentieth century was integral to the letter and practice of intellectual property law during this time. Steirer’s expansive view of intellectual property law encompasses not only statutes and judicial opinions, but also the everyday practices and productions of authors, editors, fans, and other legal laypersons. The result is a history of the law as improvisatory and accident-prone, taking place as often outside the courtroom as inside, and shaped as much by laypersons as lawyers. Through the examination of influential legal disputes involving early properties such as Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, and Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, Steirer provides a ground’s eye view of how copyright law has operated and evolved in practice.


Book Synopsis Legal Stories by : Gregory Steirer

Download or read book Legal Stories written by Gregory Steirer and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2024-07-01 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing the emergence of what the media industries today call transmedia, story worlds, and narrative franchises, Legal Stories provides a dual history of copyright law and narrative-based media development between the Copyright Act of 1909 and the Copyright Act of 1976. Drawing on archival material, including legal case files, and employing the principles of actor-network theory, Gregory Steirer demonstrates how the meaning and form of narrative-based property in the twentieth century was integral to the letter and practice of intellectual property law during this time. Steirer’s expansive view of intellectual property law encompasses not only statutes and judicial opinions, but also the everyday practices and productions of authors, editors, fans, and other legal laypersons. The result is a history of the law as improvisatory and accident-prone, taking place as often outside the courtroom as inside, and shaped as much by laypersons as lawyers. Through the examination of influential legal disputes involving early properties such as Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, and Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, Steirer provides a ground’s eye view of how copyright law has operated and evolved in practice.


Lo's Diary

Lo's Diary

Author: Pia Pera

Publisher: Foxrock Books

Published: 2000-12-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780964374027

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Now in paperback comes Pia Pera's bestselling answer to "Lolita", where the novel is told not from the point of view of the seducer, Humbert Humbert, but of the young girl herself.


Book Synopsis Lo's Diary by : Pia Pera

Download or read book Lo's Diary written by Pia Pera and published by Foxrock Books. This book was released on 2000-12-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback comes Pia Pera's bestselling answer to "Lolita", where the novel is told not from the point of view of the seducer, Humbert Humbert, but of the young girl herself.