The New Intellectual Property

Celebrity, Fans and the Properties of the Entertainment Franchise

Bibliographic Data

ID14971199
AuthorsKathy Bowrey (0000-0002-3738-0997, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume20
Issue1
Pages188-220
Publication date2011-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGriffith Law Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1038-3441 • E-ISSN: 1839-4205
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10383441.2011.10854695
OpenAlexW1992828847
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited13

This article explores the property claims of the global entertainment franchise. It is argued that the modern idea of intellectual property protection of nominated creative works of authors and relatively geographically distinct audiences is undergoing a transformation. The emerging global ideal of ownership and protection operates at a much higher level of abstraction or immateriality. The new intellectual property right contains a far more amorphous claim for protection of the creative force associated with an innovation, the capacity to mobilise the affective relations of fans across the globe, coupled with the promise of its materialisation in a bottomless array of consumer relationships – exchanges that hopefully will endure across the decades. Case studies of economic claims and legal disputes related to the Star Trek and the Harry Potter universes are considered. The article also reflects on the usefulness of humanities concepts such as audience, celebrity, fandom, appropriation and transmedia for understanding contemporary economic and cultural production, and the new ownership claims of the global entertainment industry

Appropriation · Creativity · Entertainment · Epistemology · Fandom · Globe · Intellectual property · Law and economics · Media studies · Political science · Publishing · Real estate · Sociology · Copyright and Intellectual Property · Digital Games and Media · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law