Brice Kimble
92 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. Arguendo 65
Modern cases of copyright infringement largely deal with an analysis of ‘transformative use,’ a judicial creation that is seen as an outgrowth of fair use as codified in the Copyright Act of 1976. Since 1976, the application of ‘transformative use’ has been different across courts and jurisdictions, where some courts emphasize purpose of use, and others look to method of delivery. These differences can be outcome determinative, depending on the facts of each individual case. As the world grows to favor sequels, retellings, and reimaginations of familiar favorites in consuming entertainment, a new method of transformative use analysis is necessary to clear ambiguities when applying transformative use analyses, especially when a derivative work is of a different media categorization than the original.
