I have been writing. An ethical theory paper, some 5-year-plans, some short pieces in Arabic and French. And my thesis.
But not here. I’m going to work on that. I want to write here. I enjoy writing here. Here is something I’ve been writing:
The Fair Use Doctrine allows unauthorized uses of copyrighted works by scholars, reporters and parodists but does little to protect creative critics, non-commercial transformative works, or fan communities that blossomed in the digital age. To better protect those works and people, Fair Use must be modified in two ways. First, non-commercial derivative and transformative works should be presumptively fair use. Second, creative criticisms of non-technical works should receive stronger protection. These modifications will be a start towards protecting a large and vibrant community producing both creatively critical and entertaining works inside the sandboxes of other authors.
The current Fair Use policy chills the speech of hundreds of thousands of writers, does little to help established authors, and does not “promote the progress of Science and useful Arts”1. The following historical analysis and policy argument is supported by an analysis of three works of historical derivative literature, namely Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cresceda, Publius Vergil’s Aeneid, and Homer’s Iliad. This paper will also briefly cover the social, cultural, and economic benefits of the policy proposal.
Footnote:
That’s my budding thesis. Ideally, I would like to be able to show this to a law professor who knows her fair use policy and a legally-minded fan and they would both enjoy it.
I’m working on it.
Inspirational Quote:
“Practical prayer is harder on the soles of your shoes than on the knees of your trousers.”–Austin O’Malley
