The Right To Parody

Examines the right to parody as a natural right in both the free speech and the copyright contexts.

Parodies have been created throughout times and cultures. A glimpse at the general judicial latitude generally afforded to parodies, satires, caricatures, and pastiches demonstrates the social and cultural value of this particular form of artistic expression. With the advent of technologies and the evolution of copyright legislation, creative endeavours in the form of parody gathered a new youth but became unlawful. While copyright law grants exclusive rights to right-holders, this right is not absolute. Legislation includes specific exceptions, which preclude right-holders from exercising their prerogatives in particular cases which foster creativity and cultural diversity within that society. The parody exception pertains to this ultimate objective by permitting users to reproduce copyright-protected materials for the purpose of parody. To understand the meaning and scope of the parody exception, this book examines and compares five jurisdictions which differ in their protection of parodies: France, Australia, Canada, the US and the United Kingdom. This book is concerned with finding an appropriate balance between the protection awarded to right-holders and the public interest. This is achieved by analysing the parody exception to the economic rights of right-holders, the preservation of moral rights and the interaction of the parody exception with contract law. As parodies constitute an artistic expression protected under the right to freedom of expression, this book also considers the influence of freedom of expression on the interpretation of this specific copyright exception. Furthermore, this book aims at providing guidance on how to resolve conflicts where fundamental rights are in conflict. This is the first book in English to offer an in-depth investigation into the parody exception in copyright law, and comments on industry practices linked to this form of creative endeavours.

Parodies have been created throughout times and cultures. A glimpse at the general judicial latitude generally afforded to parodies, satires, caricatures, and pastiches demonstrates the social and cultural value of this particular form of artistic expression. With the advent of technologies and the evolution of copyright legislation, creative endeavours in the form of parody gathered a new youth but became unlawful. While copyright law grants exclusive rights to right-holders, this right is not absolute. Legislation includes specific exceptions, which preclude right-holders from exercising their prerogatives in particular cases which foster creativity and cultural diversity within that society. The parody exception pertains to this ultimate objective by permitting users to reproduce copyright-protected materials for the purpose of parody. To understand the meaning and scope of the parody exception, this book examines and compares five jurisdictions which differ in their protection of parodies: France, Australia, Canada, the US and the United Kingdom. This book is concerned with finding an appropriate balance between the protection awarded to right-holders and the public interest. This is achieved by analysing the parody exception to the economic rights of right-holders, the preservation of moral rights and the interaction of the parody exception with contract law. As parodies constitute an artistic expression protected under the right to freedom of expression, this book also considers the influence of freedom of expression on the interpretation of this specific copyright exception. Furthermore, this book aims at providing guidance on how to resolve conflicts where fundamental rights are in conflict. This is the first book in English to offer an in-depth investigation into the parody exception in copyright law, and comments on industry practices linked to this form of creative endeavours.

The art of mashup music, its roots in parody, and its social and legal implications. Parody needn’t recognize copyright—but does an algorithm recognize parody? The ever-increasing popularity of remix culture and mashup music, where parody is invariably at play, presents a conundrum for internet platforms, with their extensive automatic, algorithmic policing of content. Taking a wide-ranging look at mashup music—the creative and technical considerations that go into making it; the experience of play, humor, enlightenment, and beauty it affords; and the social and legal issues it presents—Parody in the Age of Remix offers a pointed critique of how society balances the act of regulating art with the act of preserving it. In several jurisdictions, national and international, parody is exempted from copyright laws. Ragnhild Brøvig contends that mashups should be understood as a form of parody, and thus be protected from removal from hosting platforms. Nonetheless, current copyright-related content-moderation regimes, relying on algorithmic detection and automated decision making, frequently eliminate what might otherwise be deemed gray-area content—to the detriment of human listeners and, especially, artists. Given the inaccuracy of takedowns, Parody in the Age of Remix makes a persuasive argument in favor of greater protection for remix creativity in the future—but it also suggests that the content-moderation challenges facing mashup producers and other remixers are symptomatic of larger societal issues.

Includes parodies of Tennyson, Longfellow, Bret Harte, Thomas Hood, Swinburne, Browning, Shakespeare, Milton, Poe, Shelley, Cowper, Coleridge, Herrick, Carroll, Lever, Lover, Burns, Scott, Goldsmith, Kingsley, Byron and many others.

Fully revised and updated, this title examines topical issues such as free speech and freedom of the press, as well as considering other important developments and legislation.