Professor Launches First-ever Study of Copyright and User-Generated Content on Social Media Platforms

Leave it to law students to turn playing video games into a legal lesson on copyright infringement.  

At Rutgers Law–Camden, through a grant from the National Science Foundation, Professor Greg Lastowka has established the first-ever empirical study of copyright and user-generated content on social media platforms, surveying some 30 populations, from LittleBigPlanet to Reddit to YouTube, to understand how various forms of popular creativity intersect with copyright law.

Student research assistants work in Lastowka’s “game lab” analyzing the avatars, 3-D printing templates, fan fiction, Second Life artwork, and other forms of user-generated content. His Rutgers Law–Camden students have become key players in the study.

“What has surprised me most about this project is how closely I have been able to work with my team of research assistants, and how much I have learned from them,” says Lastowka, author of the book Virtual Justice (Yale University Press, 2010). “A lot of what we’ve worked on has been student-initiated. They have contributed ideas, added new dimensions to the research project, and made a significant impact on my scholarship.”

A major component of the project entails sifting through random samples of content, identifying the presence of intellectual property infringements and potential claim instances of fair use.

The Rutgers Law–Camden research team has discovered that many virtual communities enjoy mixing and matching intellectual properties from Game of Thrones with Civilization or writing fan fiction that mashes up Harry Potter with Star Wars or recreating Sonic the Hedgehog in Minecraft. This chaotic playing field is full of copyright puzzles.

How much does an avatar need to resemble a copyrighted character in order to infringe? Is a Minecraft Elvis a protected parody? If an avatar is recognized by its clothing, should that clothing be deemed “functional” and unprotected under copyright law? Should player-created avatars be treated as individual works or potentially infringing ensembles? Think one female avatar that sort of resembles Cinderella – versus that avatar combined with six others that also resemble the Disney princesses.

Without any doubt, video games have been rebooted for Rutgers Law–Camden students Amir Goodarzi-Panah and Christopher Ogino.

“This project has changed my perception on what it’s like to be a lawyer and be affected by the laws we make,” says Goodarzi-Panah, a third-year Rutgers Law–Camden student and UCLA graduate.

“When I was younger I used to play video games a lot more and would have never given a second thought to copying a thing to replay it somewhere else. But now I see that even video games work within a legal framework. It takes some of the abstractness from the law and makes it practical.”

For Ogino, a third-year student and an Arizona State University graduate, working as a research assistant on this project has solidified his career plans to practice intellectual property law.

“I took internet law with Prof. Lastowka and I really liked the class and asked if he had research available for me,” says Ogino. “Doing this kind of work now has been helpful. Copyright infringement is a big area, so it’s good to get familiarity with what the core concepts are.”

Not only are the law students gaining relevant work experience, they are also contributing to innovative research that could ultimately inform future copyright law.

According to Lastowka, good legal policy depends upon accurate data, and the Rutgers Law–Camden project will provide just that. Reformed copyright laws are needed to address this new media and the growing complexities of online authorship.

“We need to find out what’s actually happening with copyright online. The danger here is that copyright may no longer be serving its intended purpose. It was intended to promote social progress by rewarding creators of content. With regards to the sorts of content we’re looking at, it isn’t clear what role copyright law is performing, adds Lastowka, who is currently co-writing a book about copyright law.

Lastowka received his bachelor’s degree in English from Yale University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. He teaches intellectual property and internet law at Rutgers Law–Camden.