The OTW was created in response to a variety of challenges that were occurring in fandom around 2007. You can read about the details on Our History.

In general, the OTW was created to work toward a future in which all fannish works are recognized as legal and transformative, and are accepted as legitimate creative works. We wanted to be proactive and innovative in protecting and defending fannish work from commercial exploitation and legal challenges. Our other main goal was to preserve our fannish economy, values, and way of life by protecting and nurturing our fellow fans, our work, our commentary, our history, and our identity while providing the broadest possible access to fannish activity for all fans.

Read more about our values and goals on What We Believe.