Characters before copyright : the rise and regulation of fan fiction in eighteenth-century Germany / Matthew H. Birkhold.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Birkhold, Matthew H., author.

Contributor:

Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

Series:

Law and literature (Oxford)

Law and Literature

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Law and literature.

History.

Fan fiction--Law and legislation.

Copyright--Fictitious characters.

Germany.

Copyright--Fictitious characters--Germany--History--18th century.

Copyright.

Fan fiction--Law and legislation--Germany--History--18th century.

Fan fiction.

Law and literature--Germany--History--18th century.

German fiction--18th century--History and criticism.

German fiction.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 294 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2019.

Summary:

How did authors control the literary fates of fictional characters before the existence of copyright? Could a second author do anything with another author's character? Situated between the decline of the privilege system and the rise of copyright, literary borrowing in eighteenth-century Germany has long been considered unregulated. This book tells a different story. 'Characters before Copyright' documents the surprisingly widespread eighteenth-century practice of writing fan fiction literary works written by readers who appropriate preexisting characters invented by other authors and reconstructs the contemporaneous debate about the literary phenomenon. Like fan fiction today, these texts took the form of sequels, prequels, and spinoffs. Analyzing the evolving reading, writing, and consumer habits of late-eighteenth-century Germany, 'Characters before Copyright' identifies the social, economic, and aesthetic changes that fostered the rapid rise of fan fiction after 1750. Based on archival work and an ethnographic approach borrowed from legal anthropology, this book then uncovers the unwritten customary norms that governed the production of these works. 'Characters before Copyright' thus reinterprets the eighteenth-century literary commons, arguing that what may appear to have been the free circulation of characters was actually circumscribed by an exacting set of rules and conditions. These norms translated into a unique type of literature that gave rise to remarkable forms of collaborative authorship and originality. 'Characters before Copyright' provides a new perspective on the eighteenth-century book trade and the rise of intellectual property, reevaluating the concept of literary property, the history of moral rights, and the tradition of free culture.

Contents:

Part I

1 The Book Market, the Good Reader, and the Rise of Fan Fiction p. 29

A Reading Revolution p. 30

A Writing Revolution p. 36

Commercial Incentives: A Market Preference for Fan Fiction p. 40

Educating Fan Fiction Authors p. 53

Aesthetic Encouragement p. 56

2 The Stakes of Fan Fiction p. 68

Popular Source Texts and Their Derivative Works p. 68

Literary Property and the Legal Landscape p. 72

Author-Publisher Relations p. 76

Attitudes toward Fan Fiction p. 81

Competing Interests in Fan Fiction p. 84

Commercial Interests p. 85

Reputational Interests p. 97

Personal and Artistic Interests p. 101

Public Interests p. 104

3 Customary Norms p. 109

Customary Norms p. 111

Rule 1 Dead, Alive, or Foreign? p. 116

Rule 2 Wissen & Willen p. 118

Rule 3 Consistency of Character p. 121

Rule 4 Ideological Faithfulness p. 127

Rule 5 Attribution and Presentation p. 131

An Exception for Verlagsrecht-holding Publishers? p. 132

Norms in Action p. 135

4 Sanctions and Strategies of Control p. 143

Sanctions p. 145

Effectiveness of Sanctions p. 156

Other Strategies of Control p. 160

Part II

5 Fan Fiction in the Eighteenth-Century Literary Landscape p. 171

Conversing across the Printed Page p. 173

Grafting, Spinning, and Weaving Works of Fan Fiction p. 176

The Influence of Fan Fiction on Source Texts p. 178

Writing New Sequels p. 180

Sebaldus Nothanker and His Growing Family p. 182

Reading and Writing Fan Fiction in the Late Eighteenth Century p. 187

Rethinking Readers and Authors in the Late Eighteenth Century p. 190

6 Fictional Characters in the Eighteenth-Century Literary Commons p. 201

The Piracy Debate p. 202

Ideas, Expressions, and the Foundation of Moral Rights p. 204

A Matter of Billigkeit p. 207

Characters as Communal Property p. 211

Conditions on the Commons p. 214

Balancing Interests p. 218

Rethinking the Rise of Intellectual Property p. 220

The Story Continues: An Interlude in lieu of a Conclusion p. 225

The Law of Good Reading p. 225

Literary and Legal Continuations p. 227

Future Spinoffs p. 231.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

ISBN:

0198831978

9780198831976

OCLC:

1076458933