OTW Legal wants your stories!
Over the years, OTW Legal has spoken for fans and fanwork creators in comments to governments around the world including the U.S., the E.U., Australia, and South Africa. And we want your help to keep doing that! One topic that many governments around the world want to know about is the impact of copyright “notice and takedown” regimes. Notice and takedown regimes are part of the TPP and the laws of many countries, including the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Most recently, the European Commission has asked for comments on how intellectual property (IP) enforcement is working worldwide, with a particular interest in notice and takedown systems and “graduated response” (also sometimes known as “three-strikes”) systems that restrict people’s ability to post content after they receive multiple takedown notices.
So we want to collect stories from fans worldwide on how notice and takedown is impacting fandom. Have you, or anyone you know, been the subject of a takedown notice? What did you do about it? How did it feel? Have you had a fanwork of your own removed, or has a work you loved been removed? Tell us about it! Have you ever been concerned about notice and takedown, “graduated response,” or other potential consequences of posting fanworks? Let us know!
Please submit your stories about fanwork takedowns by February 28. We’ll use your stories to support our legal advocacy work.
Next month’s International Fanworks Day event will include a call for fan activism. Let us know that you took part in letting world governments know that fanworks are important to you.