How GenAI is taking true fans activity – and creativity – to the next level
Walled Culture has written a number of times about the true fans approach – the idea that creators can be supported directly and effectively by the people who love…
Good news: laws to tackle AI deepfakes are coming. Bad news: they are based on copyright
A key theme of Walled Culture the book (free digital versions available) is that copyright, born in an analogue age of scarcity, works poorly in today’s digital world…
Penguin Random House hopes copyright bluster will scare off generative AI
As Walled Culture has reported, a number of major publishers have brought legal actions against generative AI companies, alleging copyright infringement. These cases are still grinding through the…
Top EU court’s advisor says manipulating transient data is not copyright infringement
One of the reasons that today’s copyright is such a bad fit for the modern digital world is that its roots lie deep in 18th-century law and analogue…
Yet more examples of how copyright destroys culture rather than driving it [Updated]
One of the supposed justifications for the intellectual monopoly called copyright is that it drives creativity and culture. In the last few weeks alone we have had multiple…
Why generative AI companies should pay artists to create new works, and give away the results
The latest obsession in the world of copyright is trying to get generative AI companies to pay for using creative material for training purposes. As various posts have…
Famous writers sue OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement, missing the point again
Last week, a group of prominent writers sued OpenAI, in what is just the latest in a growing number of lawsuits claiming that AI systems are infringing on…
After publishers, now recording companies want to stop the Internet Archive from sharing culture
Back in March, Walled Culture wrote about the terrible ruling by US Judge John G. Koeltl that the Internet Archive’s Controlled Digital Lending programme was not a fair…
Top EU court advisor says technical standards, like laws, should not be locked down by copyright
One of the most pernicious ideas that copyright maximalism has spread is that preventing people from freely accessing creative material is not just a good thing to do,…
Yet again, the copyright industry demands to be shielded from technological progress – and the future
Back in October last year, Walled Culture was one of the first blogs to point out the huge impact that generative AI would have not only on copyright…
Ed Sheeran must face yet another music copyright trial, even more outrageous than the others
Back in April, Walled Culture wrote about Ed Sheeran’s victory in a case alleging copyright infringement. Unfortunately, the copyright world’s obsession with ownership means that Sheeran can’t simply…
Imagine a world where amazing fanfic was the norm, not the exception: only copyright stands in the way
On the Pocket site, there’s a fascinating story about fanfic – fan fiction – which Wikipedia defines as “fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized…
How copyright deprived us of a literary and pictorial mash-up of Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss (real name Theodor Geisel) is one of the best-known writers for children. He died in 1991, but his books remain extremely popular. Publishers Weekly has a…
The digital creator economy: how big is it, and who’s making how much?
One of the most dramatic differences between the traditional, analogue world of creation, and the modern, digital one, is the democratisation that has taken place in this sphere.…
Warhol should have said: In the future, every artist will be sued for alleged copyright infringement
A few weeks ago, a Walled Culture blog post looked at the spate of lawsuits over alleged plagiarism in the world of music. Since the root of the…
Copyright is indispensable for artists, they say; but for all artists, or just certain kinds?
One of the central “justifications” for copyright is that it is indispensable if creativity is to be viable. Without it, we are assured, artists would starve. This ignores…