The Secret Life of Copyright
The Secret Life of Copyright
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In The Secret Life of Copyright, copyright law meets Black Lives Matter and #MeToo as the book examines how copyright law unexpectedly perpetuates inequalities along racial, gender, and socioeconomic lines while undermining progress in the arts. Drawing on numerous case studies, the book argues that, despite their purported neutrality, key doctrines governing copyrights-such as authorship, derivative rights, fair use, and immunity from First Amendment scrutiny-systematically disadvantage individuals from traditionally marginalized communities. The work advocates for a more robust copyright system that better addresses egalitarian concerns and serves the interests of creativity. Given that laws regulating the use of creative content increasingly mediate participation and privilege in the digital world, The Secret Life of Copyright provides a template for a more just and equitable copyright system.
- Utilizes insights from a variety of academic disciplines to better understand the operation of copyright law and its various doctrines in perpetuating and even exacerbating inequalities
- Draws on case studies ripped from the headlines and history
- Advocates for a more robust and egalitarian copyright system that also better promotes creativity
Product details
August 2025Hardback
9781009346993
262 pages
229 × 152 mm
Not yet published - available from July 2025
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Captured: How Copyright's Authorship Doctrine Empowers the White Male Gaze
- 2. Tick Tick . . . Boom!: How Copyright's Law of Collaboration and Crediting Privileges Might Over Right
- 3. Controlling the Narrative: How Copyright's Derivative Rights Doctrine Creates Sacred Texts
- 4. ©ensored: How Copyright's First Amendment Exemption Enables the Powerful to Silence the Powerless
- Conclusion.
