ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the stories fans tell about copyright and the stakes at play in a central figure of that imagining: the pirate. Overall, this chapter underscores the vital role played by storytelling in the functioning of copyright law and by dialogue between fans about how those stories ought to be told. Historically, the pirate figure splits the economy between legitimate and illegitimate sectors for both normative and protest purposes. Similarly, fans employ the pirate figure to legitimate their own activities, delegitimate other fan communities, and protest against the terms of economic exchange in the creative sector.
