ABSTRACT
This chapter explains that copyright protects 'original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression' including the literary, dramatic, graphic, and audiovisual works upon which so much fanfic is based. Elements that are protected are protected only for a limited time; many still-popular works can be used in fanfic without raising copyright concerns because the copyrights have expired. But determining whether the copyright on a particular work or character has expired is not always simple. The Copyright Amendment Act of 1992 retroactively granted an automatic copyright renewal for works published between 1964 and 1977 so long as those works were otherwise eligible for copyright renewal. The trial court's conclusion that there was substantial similarity between the two works was reviewed de novo by the appellate court; nonetheless, despite this more stringent standard of review standard, it agreed that the two works were substantially similar.
