Legal Advocacy is a team of legal professionals who are committed to protecting and defending fanworks from commercial exploitation and legal challenge. They also strive to educate fans about developments in law that could affect fandom.
Some of their notable past work includes:
- Obtaining an exemption to the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that permits makers of noncommercial remixes to circumvent copy protections on Blu-Rays, DVDs, and material distributed online. Read more on Obtaining Exemptions to the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
- Submitting policy comments and letters to the U.S. government and governments around the world. Read more on Policy Comments and Letters.
- Filing Amicus Curiae briefs in cases regarding U.S. copyright law, fair use, and online freedom of expression. Read more on OTW Amicus Curiae Briefs.
- Opposing trademark registrations that would claim private ownership of fandom. Read more on Opposing Trademark Registrations.
Our Mission
The OTW believes that fanworks are creative and transformative—prime examples of fair use. As such, we will be proactive in protecting and defending fanworks from commercial exploitation and legal challenge. This help will not be limited to those fans or projects directly connected with OTW.
- Legal Advocacy publishes educational materials about developments in fandom-related law on the OTW website as well as on the Archive of Our Own (AO3).
- They answer fans’ questions about law relevant to fanworks and help fans find legal representation.
- They partner with other advocacy organizations and coalitions in the U.S. and around the world.
- They advocate for laws and policies that promote balance and protect fanworks and fandom.
Our Team
The OTW supports all of its projects, and many committees contribute to the Legal Advocacy project in some capacity. However, if you’d like to help exclusively with Legal Advocacy work, check out the Legal committee. The Legal committee is responsible for carrying out the OTW’s Legal Advocacy mission and providing internal legal support and guidance to the OTW as an organization. They advise committees about potential legal issues, provide general legal information to fans, and create educational materials.
Outside of the Legal committee itself, Communications helps Legal Advocacy publish news posts about specific pieces of legislation, including what fans can do to respond to them.
The OTW Board of Directors also collaborates with the project to offer their perspective and to formally approve actions such as joining coalitions, signing letters, or otherwise supporting or opposing specific pieces of legislation.
Get Involved
Opportunities to volunteer for Legal Advocacy are posted on the OTW Volunteering page on an as-needed basis. For answers to common questions about volunteering and recruitment, take a look at our Volunteering FAQ.
Volunteer recruitment is announced on the OTW website and in AO3 news posts. It is also shared on all social media sites where we actively post. If you want to make sure you hear about the latest recruitment opportunities, check out our OTW News by Email service. This allows you to sign up to receive an email notification whenever we publish a news post (including recruitment calls).
If you have any other volunteering questions, reach out to our Volunteers & Recruiting committee. They handle recruitment and induction for all OTW committees.
Learn More
You can learn more about Legal Advocacy in the OTW FAQs. If you have any other questions about Legal Advocacy, contact the Legal committee.
Please note that communicating with Legal cannot provide you with legal advice and will not create an attorney-client relationship unless Legal explicitly says otherwise in writing, but they are happy to provide general information.