TimS comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 14, chapter 82 - Less Wrong

7 Post author: FAWS 04 April 2012 02:53AM

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Comment author: gwern 13 April 2012 05:43:00PM *  2 points [-]

How reasonable? I think pretty reasonable; MoR directly criticizes canon on numerous occasions, from the exchange rate to Hermione being Sorted into Gryffindor to Harry using random curses on Slytherins and on and on. Reading through one link on that, I see nothing about the Seuss parody parodizing Seuss, and plenty that fits MoR, eg.:

Parody achieves its status as social commentary by disparaging the original work, however slightly, by "pointing out faults, revealing hidden affectations, emphasizing weaknesses, and diminishing strengths.^1^

or

The court concluded that the infringing work broadly mimicked Dr. Seuss' characteristic style, but it did not ridicule that style. 170 The court noted that Penguin's use of the Cat's stove-pipe hat, Dr. Juice as a narrator, and a title similar to the original's title were all means of drawing attention to the new work, perhaps "to avoid the drudgery in working up something fresh."171

Finally, with regard to the purpose and character of use, the Ninth Circuit considered whether The Cat NOT in the Hat! merely superseded the Dr. Seuss originals or whether it "transformed" those works. 172 The court did not recognize any effort to create a transformative work. 173 As a result, under the first factor, the court concluded the scale tipped against fair use because the infringing work was neither a parody nor transformative. I74

...When considering a parodist's claim to fair use, a court must first determine if an infringer's work meets the threshold requirement for the defense: "whether a parodic character may reasonably be perceived. >7232 Courts have recognized parody as a work containing a discernible direct comment on the original. 233 Although the Ninth Circuit conceded Penguin's work did broadly mimic Dr. Seuss' style, it concluded that the work was not a parody because The Cat NOT in the Hat! did not target the "substance" of the original work.234

Comment author: TimS 13 April 2012 06:07:29PM *  4 points [-]

There's surely some kind of sliding scale. My HP fanfic:

Harry took the machine gun, and gunned down the Dursleys for being abusive parents. The End

is critical of something - but if it isn't the Potterverse, then it isn't parody. That doesn't mean that the work is not fair use (I think the third and fourth factors weigh heavily in my favor).

In short, I don't think that an interpretation of fair use (of which parody is the relevant type) that protects all fanfic is likely to be adopted, even if MoR was fair use of the Potterverse.

Comment author: gwern 13 April 2012 06:11:03PM 2 points [-]

In short, I don't think that an interpretation of fair use (of which parody is the relevant type) that protects all fanfic is unlikely to be adopted, even if MoR was fair use of the Potterverse.

Naturally, but we're discussing MoR here.

Comment author: TimS 13 April 2012 06:24:37PM 2 points [-]

As I was trying to say, it is hard to articulate a test that is both (1) sufficiently clear ex ante and (2) correctly divides works like MoR from the mass of fanfic. Specifically, I doubt that there is sufficient consensus on where the dividing line should be.

And in general, the major critique of fair use is how unpredictable it is in practice.