The focus of my exploration will be changing from trying to define transmedial narrative , to understanding copyright/ ownership within a transmedial setting.
I am now preparing for my dissertation which I will hope to have in draft form by Christmas 2012! I have decided to look at transmedial narrative and copyright as the subject of my dissertation. I have not formulated the question yet , but I want to explore the tension that exists between transmedial narrative and copyright as it is currently stated in the UK and the USA.
One of the key elements of transmedial narrative is audience participation , the consumer becomes part of the creative process. The consumer extends and creates new material by his /her interaction with the author of the transmedial narrative and so the owner of the intellectual property generated by it.
A recent article that highlights the challenges of Copyright in a transmedial space:
http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=1690
| Transmedia’ a copyright grey area | |
Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotic novel written by author E.L. James, is a runaway bestseller and a popular phenomenon, but as Barbara Amiel recently pointed out: “There are some greyish (no pun intended) areas of copyright hovering about the trilogy.” Indeed, it’s a promising legal subject — Shades raises a host of complex transmedia legal issues.
The novel originated as a piece of online fan fiction titled Masters of the Universe, which, in turn, was based upon characters from the Twilight series of vampire novels written by Stephenie Meyer. Therefore, the author and publisher of the Shadestrilogy must have satisfied themselves that nothing in the trilogy’s “chain of title” infringed the copyright in these other works.
While some may dismiss Shades as lowbrow (Amiel describes it as “bog standard”), they may be missing the point. When fans upload, tweet, post or pin online their sub-stories, mash-ups, artwork and videos (with or without authorization), they become content co-creators, simultaneously pushing their “play and pleasure buttons” by participating in a method of storytelling that engages audiences across various multimedia platforms.
According to transmedia expert Henry Jenkins, this multiplatform story-telling method, where each story element makes its own unique contribution to the whole, is what is known in the entertainment industry as “transmedia.”
In shared story worlds or transmedia projects, fans are often encouraged to create title, character or story-based fan boards, games, videos or other content based on their favourite video game, movie or television series. Is this considered copyright infringement? Although some may consider this a legally grey or shadowy area, it is clear that under Canadian copyright law, authors have the exclusive right to control the reproduction and adaptation of their works into new formats and media.
By Tara Parker June 29th 2012
This is the same in both the USA and the UK is it right , or should we expect more from copyright protect, should the author be forced to share his / her IP ( intellectual property ) rights with those they have encouraged to become involved , infact those who have joined them in the creation of the new work?
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