The rise of ‘user creativity’ – Web 2.0 and a new challenge for copyright law and cultural policy

Abstract

This paper argues that cultural policy and copyright law have paid insufficient attention to the rise of mini‐creators, people who get inspiration from existing copyrighted works and add to them to create new expressions. With the various creative and distributive technologies available today, they attempt to recontextualize cultural products they consume and express themselves, but their activities tend to be on the borderline of copyright infringement. Examination of lawsuits related to video game modification in the USA and in Japan will show different judicial approaches to the spread of modification devices for users, but commonly reveal the failure of copyright law to come to terms with their activities. It is suggested that copyright law should recognize their creativity and contribution to the enrichment of culture.

Keywords:

• copyright law
• user creativity
• video games
• Japan
• cultural policy
• fandom

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to the two anonymous reviewers whose detailed comments were encouraging and helpful.

Notes

1. For a helpful introduction to copyright for non‐lawyers, see Frith and Marshall (2004, chap. 1).