First off, I really enjoyed the chapter from Jenkins' book "Convergence Culture" on the Harry Potter wars and fanfiction.
I got to thinking, Warner Bros. had tried to shut down sites that "exploited" the property rights of Harry Potter back when the movies were underway. This led to fan writers accusing them of violating their freedom of speech, unfair prejudice on small sites, etc.
So can SOPA/PIPA still do the same? Take legal action to shut down these sites that Warner Bros. has already deemed safe and fair?
Rowling appears to have supported the existence of fanfiction, and Warner Bros. soon was forced to follow.
But SOPA/PIPA has not.
Not only can these new laws potentially shut down Harry Potter fanfiction sites (assuming someone else bypasses Rowling and Warner Bros., if at all possible), but then can shut down any fanfiction known to man!
Will Harry Potter be at risk again?
Very good point - a very large percentage of the content on the Internet would be in jeopardy if SOPA/PIPA were to be passed, including ALL fanfiction, fanart, videos using clips from established properties, audio from established properties, etc. These acts aren't "stopping online piracy," they're stopping online creativity and freedom of expression. And I'm sure that somehow, real "pirates" would still find a way to distribute copyrighted content even if the laws DID pass. Just because there are anti-gun laws doesn't mean that criminals can't get their hands on them; the same is true of SOPA/PIPA and pirates distributing copyrighted material.
ReplyDelete