Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
Amy Kang
Fanfiction writer sues author – loses lawsuit and loses his work
You have heard about authors suing fanfiction writers, you have heard about authors suing ChatGPT, but have you ever heard of fanfiction writers suing authors? In a rather bizarre case, Demetrious Polychron, an avid fan of the Lord of the Rings franchise, decided to sue the Tolkien Estate and Amazon for alleged copyright infringement […]
Legal risks for modding in video games?
As a fan of video games, one of the benefits to gaming on PC rather than on console is the freedom to “mod” the games. Modding is when fans create assets or software which change an aspect of the game, such as its appearance or mechanics. For example, one of my personal favourites is the […]
Use of copyrighted material to train generative AI – is it fair dealing?
I have an interest in how copyright applies to fan works (such as fanfiction and fan art) and was doing some research on the topic when I ran across the following article: https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/openai-chatgpt-lawsuit-george-rr-martin-john-grisham-1235730939/ In essence, George R.R. Martin, the author of the acclaimed A Song of Ice and Fire book series (which was adapted into […]