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Checklist

Evaluate an article: Go back to your article evaluation and pull out the list of things you said you could improve on the existing article. Put that list here in the talk page and cross things off as you do them (you can also edit what I have said below and cross things off as you complete them).
Copyedits: Move those to this sandbox, and when you do so publish each with explicit notes on what you changed from the original Wikipedia article. That way when you migrate your work to live Wikipedia you will be able to publish and explain each change as you go. Doing so is a required part of the Week 13 Wikipedia assignment.
Bibliography: This is a good start, but now you should start summarizing and adding content to your sandbox that utilizes these sources. That way you can see if you need to do more research. There are several callouts for "citation needed" in the existing Wikipedia article, and you should see if you have sources you can cite for those.
~~Citing sources: What you added from Shifman is good, but the sentence on Pepe (from the existing article) could use a citation.~~
Adding media/hyperlinks: Good hyperlinks, and you should go through and see if there are things that should be hyperlinks in whatever you add and the existing article. The image you added was taken down, and as we discussed, that is a danger in posting meme images (unless it was just a photo of Pepe? Which is on the Pepe page so it would seem weird if you couldn't post it). Technically, image macros are/should be covered by fair use. You don't have to worry about this though, as posting media isn't required for the final assignment. You can keep working to see if you can find a way to post and example that will not get flagged, as that would be an interesting challenge. But, again, not required(that is, you had to do it for this assignment, but in your final Wikipedia contributions don't add it just to add it).
Overall: You seem to be doing things week by week, but now you really need to focus on the bigger picture of what you plan to add/edit here. Is there more in the existing article that needs copyediting? More citations you can use to expand on the sections you said needed to be developed more? The more planning you can do now the easier it will be for you to chip away at those edits between now and November 22 when you need to move your final edits to live Wikipedia.

Internet Meme Lead

An internet meme, is a type of meme (/miːm/ MEEM), that is spread via the Internet through two mechanisms: mimicry and remix. Mimicry is a recreation of a meme, using another individual's interpretation/specific text. ^[1]. This type of meme can spread from person to person via social networks, blogs, direct email, or news sources. The results in the study of Online Memes, Affinities, and Cultural Production, show that the internet directly adds some longevity in a meme's lifespan.^[2] Furthermore, Internet Memes may relate to various existing Internet cultures or subcultures, often created or spread on various websites. One hallmark of internet memes is the appropriation of a part of a broader culture, for instance by giving words and phrases intentional misspellings (such as lolcats) or using incorrect grammar (such as doge). In particular, many memes utilize popular culture within marketing and politics (especially in image macros of other media), although this can lead to issues with copyright. Instant communication on the internet facilitates word of mouth transmission, resulting in fads and sensations that tend to grow rapidly. An example of such a fad is that of planking, the act of posting a photo of people lying down in public places; putting the photo online brings attention to the fad and allows it to reach a high number of people in a short amount of time.

Background

The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene as an attempt to explain how ideas replicate, mutate, and evolve (memetics).

Pepe memes

Matt Furie's cartoon character Pepe the Frog became an Internet meme when its popularity steadily grew across Myspace, Gaia Online and 4chan in 2008. ^[3]

Within politics

As internet memes become a common means of online expression, they become quickly used by those seeking to express political opinions or to actively campaign for (or against) a political entity.^[4]

Election Memes

Another internet meme was created from the 2012 US presidential debate surrounding United States politician Mitt Romney's usage of the phrase "binders full of women". Internet meme creators quickly created "My Binders Full of Women Exploded", referencing the Korean pop song "Gangnam style" by overlaying the politician's quote onto a frame from Psy's music video where paper blows around him. This internet meme specifically indexes the central attribute of intertextuality by blending together pop culture with politics.^[1]

Indeed, a fifth of all political memes posted during the election referenced a political policy which was part of a political party's mandate, while messages promoting people to vote were shared more than 160,000 times, suggesting memes have a small role to play in increasing voter turnout.^[5]

Occupy Wall Street Movement

The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protest movement saw a rise in internet memes after gaining attention on social media. All internet memes that were created and shared during the movement were very important in mediated discussions surrounding the OWS. Typical phrases such as "We Are the 99%" and "This is what democracy looks like", were remixed into memes and subsequently posted in the discussion board of OWS on popular social media sites such as Reddit, Tumblr, and 4Chan. ^[6] Those who actively participated in the movement conversed through these visuals.

Copyright

This does not mean that all memes made from movie still or photographs are infringing copyright. There are defenses available for such use in various jurisdictions that could exempt the meme from attracting liability for the infringement.

United States

Copyright Act of 1976

Copyright protection in the United States for internet memes gives the copyright owner(s) of the internet meme (s) several exclusive rights - the rights to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, and to display the copyrighted work ^[7].

Under Copyright Act's Section 17 U.S.C § 102(a)^[8], the requirements of copyright still apply for internet memes just as for any copyrightable work would. Under United States copyright law, a creation receives copyright protection if it satisfies these four conditions:

Memes that are considered pictorial, graphical or motion picture, etc. are subject to copyright law^[9]Fair use in the United States

Fair use is a defense under 17 U.S.C. § 107^[10] of the US Copyright Law which protects work that has been made using other copyrighted works. The section provides that if a copyrighted work is reproduced "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching [...] , scholarship or research", it would not amount to infringement. Notably, for memes, the use of the term "such as" in the section denotes that the list is not exhaustive but merely illustrative.

The purpose or character of use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
The nature of the copyrighted work;
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

However, copying memes that are made for the sole purpose of being memes would not enjoy this protection as there is no transformation- the copying has the same purpose as the original meme which is to communicate humorous anecdotes.^[11]

Purpose and character of use weigh in against memes which have been used for commercial purposes because then the work has not been created for the communication of humor but for economic gain. ~~For example, Grumpy Cat won $710,001 in a copyright lawsuit against the beverage company Grenade which used the Grumpy Cat image on its roasted coffee line and t-shirts.^[12]~~

The amount and substantiality of the portion used tests not only the quantity of the work copied but the quality that is copied as well.^[13] Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises clarified this position. For cinematography, only a small portion of the entire film is copied whereas for rage comics and personal photographs, the entire portion has been used to create the meme. Despite this, all categories of memes would be considered to be falling under fair use because the text that is added to those images adds value, without which it would just be pictures.^[14] Moreover, the heart of the work is not affected because the still/picture is taken out of context and portrays something entirely different from what the image originally wanted to depict.^[15]

The target audience for the original work and meme is entirely different as memes can be taken out of context of the original and created for use and dissemination on social media.^[16]

References

^ ^a ^b Shifman, Limor (2014). Memes in Digital Culture. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-52543-5.
^ Knobel, Michele; Lankshear, Colin (2018). "Online memes, affinities and cultural production (2018 update to our 2007 chapter) To appear as: Knobel, M. and Lankshear, C. (forthcoming). Memes online, afinidades e produção cultural (2007 – 2018). In Chagas, Viktor (ed.). Estudos sobre Memes: história, política e novas experiências de letramento. 2019". doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.34717.77280. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ "The story behind 4chan's Pepe the Frog meme". The Daily Dot. 2015-04-12. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
^ Seiffert-Brockmann, Jens; Diehl, Trevor; Dobusch, Leonhard (August 2018). "Memes as games: The evolution of a digital discourse online". New Media & Society. 20 (8): 2862–2879. doi:10.1177/1461444817735334. ISSN 1461-4448. S2CID 206729243.
^ McLoughlin, Liam; Southern, Rosalynd (2020-07-14). "By any memes necessary? Small political acts, incidental exposure and memes during the 2017 UK general election". The British Journal of Politics and International Relations: 136914812093059. doi:10.1177/1369148120930594. ISSN 1369-1481.
^ Milner, Ryan M. (2013-10-30). "Pop Polyvocality: Internet Memes, Public Participation, and the Occupy Wall Street Movement". International Journal of Communication. 7 (0): 34. ISSN 1932-8036.
^ "17 U.S. Code § 106 - Exclusive rights in copyrighted works". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
^ "17 U.S. Code § 102 - Subject matter of copyright: In general". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
^ "17 U.S. Code § 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general". Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
^ "17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use". Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
^ Mishra, Meghna; Nigam, Anusuya. "The Viewpoint- Game of Thrones Memes: Potential Copyright Infringement or Fair Use?". Bar and Bench. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
^ Nakamura, Reid. "Grumpy Cat Wins $710,001 in Copyright Lawsuit: 'Memes Have Rights Too'". The Wrap. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
^ Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985). This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.
^ Patel, Ronak. "First World Problems:' A Fair Use Analysis of Internet Memes" (PDF). UCLA Entertainment Law Review. 20 (2).
^ M. Lantagne, Stacey. "Famous on The Internet: The Spectrum of Internet Memes and The Legal Challenge of Evolving Methods of Communication" (PDF). University of Richmond Law Review. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
^ Offsay, Max. ""What Do You Meme?": A Fair Use Analysis". Columbia Journal of Law and Arts. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

[:0-1] Shifman, Limor (2014). Memes in Digital Culture. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-52543-5.

[2] Knobel, Michele; Lankshear, Colin (2018). "Online memes, affinities and cultural production (2018 update to our 2007 chapter) To appear as: Knobel, M. and Lankshear, C. (forthcoming). Memes online, afinidades e produção cultural (2007 – 2018). In Chagas, Viktor (ed.). Estudos sobre Memes: história, política e novas experiências de letramento. 2019". doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.34717.77280. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[3] "The story behind 4chan's Pepe the Frog meme". The Daily Dot. 2015-04-12. Retrieved 2020-11-01.

[4] Seiffert-Brockmann, Jens; Diehl, Trevor; Dobusch, Leonhard (August 2018). "Memes as games: The evolution of a digital discourse online". New Media & Society. 20 (8): 2862–2879. doi:10.1177/1461444817735334. ISSN 1461-4448. S2CID 206729243.

[5] McLoughlin, Liam; Southern, Rosalynd (2020-07-14). "By any memes necessary? Small political acts, incidental exposure and memes during the 2017 UK general election". The British Journal of Politics and International Relations: 136914812093059. doi:10.1177/1369148120930594. ISSN 1369-1481.

[6] Milner, Ryan M. (2013-10-30). "Pop Polyvocality: Internet Memes, Public Participation, and the Occupy Wall Street Movement". International Journal of Communication. 7 (0): 34. ISSN 1932-8036.

[7] "17 U.S. Code § 106 - Exclusive rights in copyrighted works". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2020-12-05.

[8] "17 U.S. Code § 102 - Subject matter of copyright: In general". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2020-12-05.

[17USCode§102-9] "17 U.S. Code § 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general". Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

[10] "17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use". Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

[barandbench.com-11] Mishra, Meghna; Nigam, Anusuya. "The Viewpoint- Game of Thrones Memes: Potential Copyright Infringement or Fair Use?". Bar and Bench. Retrieved April 20, 2019.

[12] Nakamura, Reid. "Grumpy Cat Wins $710,001 in Copyright Lawsuit: 'Memes Have Rights Too'". The Wrap. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

[SCOTUS-13] Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985). This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.

[:2-14] Patel, Ronak. "First World Problems:' A Fair Use Analysis of Internet Memes" (PDF). UCLA Entertainment Law Review. 20 (2).

[15] M. Lantagne, Stacey. "Famous on The Internet: The Spectrum of Internet Memes and The Legal Challenge of Evolving Methods of Communication" (PDF). University of Richmond Law Review. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

[lawandarts.org-16] Offsay, Max. ""What Do You Meme?": A Fair Use Analysis". Columbia Journal of Law and Arts. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

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 == Checklist ==
-* Evaluate an article: Go back to your article evaluation and pull out the list of things you said you could improve on the existing article. Put that list here in the talk page and cross things off as you do them (you can also edit what I have said below and cross things off as you complete them).
+* <s>Evaluate an article: Go back to your article evaluation and pull out the list of things you said you could improve on the existing article. Put that list here in the talk page and cross things off as you do them (you can also edit what I have said below and cross things off as you complete them).</s>
 * <s>Copyedits: Move those to this sandbox, and when you do so publish each with explicit notes on what you changed from the original Wikipedia article. That way when you migrate your work to live Wikipedia you will be able to publish and explain each change as you go. Doing so is a required part of the Week 13 Wikipedia assignment.</s>
-* Bibliography: This is a good start, but now you should start summarizing and adding content to your sandbox that utilizes these sources. That way you can see if you need to do more research. There are several callouts for "citation needed" in the existing Wikipedia article, and you should see if you have sources you can cite for those.
+* <s>Bibliography: This is a good start, but now you should start summarizing and adding content to your sandbox that utilizes these sources. That way you can see if you need to do more research. There are several callouts for "citation needed" in the existing Wikipedia article, and you should see if you have sources you can cite for those.</s>
 * <s>Citing sources: What you added from Shifman is good, but the sentence on Pepe (from the existing article) could use a citation.</s>
 * <s>Adding media/hyperlinks: Good hyperlinks, and you should go through and see if there are things that should be hyperlinks in whatever you add and the existing article. The image you added was taken down, and as we discussed, that is a danger in posting meme images (unless it was just a photo of Pepe? Which is on the Pepe page so it would seem weird if you couldn't post it). Technically, image macros are/should be covered by fair use. You don't have to worry about this though, as posting media isn't required for the final assignment. You can keep working to see if you can find a way to post and example that will not get flagged, as that would be an interesting challenge. But, again, not required(that is, you had to do it for this assignment, but in your final Wikipedia contributions don't add it just to add it).</s>
-* Overall: You seem to be doing things week by week, but now you really need to focus on the bigger picture of what you plan to add/edit here. Is there more in the existing article that needs copyediting? More citations you can use to expand on the sections you said needed to be developed more? The more planning you can do now the easier it will be for you to chip away at those edits between now and November 22 when you need to move your final edits to live Wikipedia.
+* <s>Overall: You seem to be doing things week by week, but now you really need to focus on the bigger picture of what you plan to add/edit here. Is there more in the existing article that needs copyediting? More citations you can use to expand on the sections you said needed to be developed more? The more planning you can do now the easier it will be for you to chip away at those edits between now and November 22 when you need to move your final edits to live Wikipedia.</s>
-== Internet meme ==
+== Internet Meme Lead ==
 An internet meme, is a type of [[meme]] ([[Help:IPA/English|/miːm/]] [[Help:Pronunciation respelling key|MEEM]]), that is spread '''via the [[Internet]] through two mechanisms: [[mimicry]] and [[remix]]. ''Mimicry'' is a recreation of a [[meme]], using another individual's interpretation/specific text.
-<ref>{{Cite book|last=Shifman|first=Limor|url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cZI9AQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP6&dq=memes&ots=I7f5vEBCBe&sig=6YMNB9aYPWrfzDpAjbSbwEa_Nkw#v=onepage&q=memes&f=false|title=Memes in Digital Culture|date=2014|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-52543-5|language=en}}</ref>.Memes can spread from person to person via [[Social network|social networks]], [[Blog|blogs]], direct [[email]], or news sources. They may relate to various existing [[Internet culture|Internet cultures]] or [[Subculture|subcultures]], often created or spread on various websites. One hallmark of internet memes is the appropriation of a part of '''a broader''' culture, for instance by giving words and phrases intentional misspellings (such as [[Lolcat|lolcats]]) or using incorrect grammar (such as doge). '''In particular,''' many memes utilize popular culture (especially in image macros of other media), although this can lead to issues with [[copyright]]. Instant communication on the internet facilitates [[word of mouth]] transmission, resulting in [[Fad|fads]] and sensations that tend to grow rapidly. <s>An example of such a fad is that of [[Planking (fad)|planking]], the act of posting a photo of people lying down in public places; putting the photo online brings attention to the fad and allows it to reach a high number of people in a short amount of time.</s>
+<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Shifman|first=Limor|url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cZI9AQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP6&dq=memes&ots=I7f5vEBCBe&sig=6YMNB9aYPWrfzDpAjbSbwEa_Nkw#v=onepage&q=memes&f=false|title=Memes in Digital Culture|date=2014|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-52543-5|language=en}}</ref>. '''This type of meme''' can spread from person to person via [[Social network|social networks]], [[Blog|blogs]], direct [[email]], or news sources. '''The results in the study of ''Online Memes, Affinities, and Cultural Production,'' show that the internet''' '''directly adds some longevity in a meme's lifespan.'''<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Knobel|first=Michele|last2=Lankshear|first2=Colin|date=2018|title=Online memes, affinities and cultural production (2018 update to our 2007 chapter) To appear as: Knobel, M. and Lankshear, C. (forthcoming). Memes online, afinidades e produção cultural (2007 – 2018). In Chagas, Viktor (ed.). Estudos sobre Memes: história, política e novas experiências de letramento. 2019.|url=http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/RG.2.2.34717.77280|language=en|doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.34717.77280}}</ref> '''Furthermore, Internet Memes''' may relate to various existing [[Internet culture|Internet cultures]] or [[Subculture|subcultures]], often created or spread on various websites. One hallmark of internet memes is the appropriation of a part of '''a broader''' culture, for instance by giving words and phrases intentional misspellings (such as [[Lolcat|lolcats]]) or using incorrect grammar (such as doge). '''In particular,''' many memes utilize popular culture '''within marketing and politics''' (especially in image macros of other media), although this can lead to issues with [[copyright]]. Instant communication on the internet facilitates [[word of mouth]] transmission, resulting in [[Fad|fads]] and sensations that tend to grow rapidly. <s>An example of such a fad is that of [[Planking (fad)|planking]], the act of posting a photo of people lying down in public places; putting the photo online brings attention to the fad and allows it to reach a high number of people in a short amount of time.</s>
+== Background ==
+The word ''[[meme]]'' was coined by [[Richard Dawkins]] in his 1976 book ''[[The Selfish Gene]]'' as an attempt to explain how ideas replicate, '''mutate,''' and evolve ([[memetics]]).
+====Pepe memes====
-Colloquially, the terms meme and internet meme may refer to pieces of media that are designed in the format of true internet memes, but which are not themselves intended to spread or evolve, and which have recently become umbrella terms referring to any piece of quickly-consumed comedic or relatable content. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the internet and is subject to change over time: traditionally, memes consisted of a combination of [[image macros]] and a concept or catchphrase, but the concept has since become broader and more multi-faceted, evolving to include more elaborate structures such as challenges, [[GIF|GIFs]], videos, and [[Viral phenomenon|viral sensations]].
+{{Main|Pepe the Frog}}
+Matt Furie's cartoon character [[Pepe the Frog]] became an Internet meme when its popularity steadily grew across [[Myspace]], [[Gaia Online]] and [[4chan]] in 2008. <ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-04-12|title=The story behind 4chan's Pepe the Frog meme|url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/4chan-pepe-the-frog-renaissance/|access-date=2020-11-01|website=The Daily Dot|language=en-US}}</ref>
-== Background ==
+== Within politics ==
+'''As internet memes become a common means of online expression, they become quickly used by those seeking to express political opinions or to actively campaign for (or against) a political entity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Seiffert-Brockmann|first1=Jens|last2=Diehl|first2=Trevor|last3=Dobusch|first3=Leonhard|date=August 2018|title=Memes as games: The evolution of a digital discourse online|journal=New Media & Society|language=en|volume=20|issue=8|pages=2862–2879|doi=10.1177/1461444817735334|issn=1461-4448|s2cid=206729243}}</ref>'''
-The word ''[[meme]]'' was coined by [[Richard Dawkins]] in his 1976 book ''[[The Selfish Gene]]'' as an attempt to explain how ideas replicate, '''mutate,''' mutate and evolve ([[memetics]]). In 2013, Dawkins characterized an Internet meme as being a meme deliberately altered by human creativity—distinguished from biological genes and his own pre-Internet concept of a meme, which involved mutation by random change and spreading through accurate replication as in Darwinian selection. Dawkins explained that Internet memes are thus a "hijacking of the original idea", the very idea of a meme having mutated and evolved in this new direction. The concept of the Internet meme was first proposed by [[Mike Godwin]] in the June 1993 issue of ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]].'' Internet memes carry an additional property that ordinary memes do not: Internet memes leave a footprint in the media through which they propagate (for example, social networks) that renders them traceable and analyzable.
+'''Election Memes'''
-=== Common attributes[edit] ===
-There are two central attributes of internet memes: creative reproduction of materials and [[intertextuality]]. Creative reproduction refers to "parodies, remixes, or mashups," and include notable examples such as "''Hitler’s Downfall'' Parodies," and "''[[Nyan Cat]]''," among others. Intertextuality may be demonstrated through memes that combine disparate cultures; for example, a meme may combine United States politician [[Mitt Romney]]'s assertion of the phrase "[[binders full of women]]" from a 2012 US presidential debate with the Korean pop song "[[Gangnam Style in popular culture|Gangnam style]]" by overlaying the politician's quote onto a frame from [[Psy]]'s music video where paper blows around him. The intertextuality in the example gives new meaning to the paper blowing around Psy, the meme indexes intertextual practices in political and cultural discourses of two nations.
+'''Another internet meme was created from the 2012 US presidential debate surrounding United States politician [[Mitt Romney]]'s usage of the phrase "[[binders full of women]]". Internet meme creators quickly created "My Binders Full of Women Exploded", referencing the Korean pop song "[[Gangnam Style in popular culture|Gangnam style]]" by overlaying the politician's quote onto a frame from [[Psy]]'s music video where paper blows around him. This internet meme specifically indexes the central attribute of intertextuality by blending together pop culture with politics.'''<ref name=":0" />
-== History ==
-The earlier forms of image'''-'''based memes include the demotivator, image macro, [[Photo manipulation|photoshopped]] image, [[Lolcat|LOLCats]], advice animal, and comic.
+Indeed, a fifth of all political memes posted during '''the election''' referenced a political policy which was part of a political party's mandate, while messages promoting people to vote were shared more than 160,000 times, suggesting memes have a small role to play in increasing [[voter turnout]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=McLoughlin|first1=Liam|last2=Southern|first2=Rosalynd|date=2020-07-14|title=By any memes necessary? Small political acts, incidental exposure and memes during the 2017 UK general election|journal=The British Journal of Politics and International Relations|language=en-US|pages=136914812093059|doi=10.1177/1369148120930594|issn=1369-1481}}</ref>
-==== Modern memes ====
-This term originally meant a meme that was significantly different from the norm but is now used mainly to differentiate these modern types of memes from other, older types such as image macros
+'''Occupy Wall Street Movement'''
-This image of a moth became popular and began to be used in memes. According to Chris Grinter, a [[lepidopterist]] from the [[California Academy of Sciences]], moth memes gained recognition because of the inexplicably surrounding moth's attraction to lamps.
+'''The [[Occupy Wall Street|Occupy Wall Street (OWS)]] protest movement''' '''saw a rise in internet memes after gaining attention on social media. All internet memes that were created and shared during the movement were very important in mediated discussions surrounding the OWS. Typical phrases such as "[[We are the 99%|We Are the 99]]%" and "This is what democracy looks like", were remixed into memes and subsequently posted in the discussion board of OWS on popular social media sites such as [[Reddit]], Tumblr, and [[4chan|4Chan]].''' <ref>{{Cite journal|last=Milner|first=Ryan M.|date=2013-10-30|title=Pop Polyvocality: Internet Memes, Public Participation, and the Occupy Wall Street Movement|url=https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/1949|journal=International Journal of Communication|language=en|volume=7|issue=0|pages=34|issn=1932-8036}}</ref> '''Those who actively participated in the movement conversed through these visuals.'''
-==== Irony and Absurdism ====
-The increasing trend towards irony in meme culture has resulted in absurdist memes, not unlike [[postmodern art]]
-====Pepe memes====
+== Copyright ==
+This does not mean that all memes made from movie still or photographs are infringing copyright. There are defenses available for such use in various jurisdictions '''that''' could exempt the meme from attracting liability for the infringement.
-{{Main|Pepe the Frog}}
-Matt Furie's cartoon character [[Pepe the Frog]] became an Internet meme when its popularity steadily grew across [[Myspace]], [[Gaia Online]] and [[4chan]] in 2008. <ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-04-12|title=The story behind 4chan's Pepe the Frog meme|url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/4chan-pepe-the-frog-renaissance/|access-date=2020-11-01|website=The Daily Dot|language=en-US}}</ref>
-== Copyright Protection ==
+=== United States ===
+==== '''Copyright Act of 1976''' ====
+{{Main|Copyright Act of 1976}}
+'''Copyright protection in the United States for internet memes gives the copyright owner(s) of the internet meme (s) several exclusive rights - the rights to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, and to display the copyrighted work''' <ref>{{Cite web|title=17 U.S. Code § 106 - Exclusive rights in copyrighted works|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/106|access-date=2020-12-05|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|language=en}}</ref>.
+'''Under Copyright Act's Section 17 U.S.C § 102(a)'''<ref>{{Cite web|title=17 U.S. Code § 102 - Subject matter of copyright: In general|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/102|access-date=2020-12-05|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|language=en}}</ref>''', the requirements of copyright still apply for internet memes just as for any copyrightable work would. Under United States copyright law, a creation receives copyright protection if it satisfies these four conditions:'''
-==== Fair use in the United States ====
+'''Memes''' '''that are''' considered pictorial, graphical or motion picture, '''etc. are''' subject to copyright law<ref name="17USCode§102">{{Cite web|title=17 U.S. Code § 102. Subject matter of copyright: In general|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/102|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517020438/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/102|archive-date=May 17, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2019}}</ref>Fair use in the United States
 {{Main|Fair use}}
-[[Fair use]] is a defense under 17 U.S.C. § 107<ref>{{Cite web|title=17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507195714/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107|archive-date=May 7, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2019}}</ref> of the US Copyright Law which protects work that '''has''' '''been''' made using other copyrighted works. The section provides that if a copyrighted work is reproduced "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching [...] , scholarship or research", it would not amount to infringement. '''Notably,''' for memes, the use of the term ''"such as"'' in the section denotes that the list is not exhaustive but merely illustrative. Furthermore, the factors mentioned in the section are subjective in nature and the weight of each factor varies on a case to case basis.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Patel|first1=Ronak|title=First World Problems:' A Fair Use Analysis of Internet Memes|url=https://cloudfront.escholarship.org/dist/prd/content/qt96h003jt/qt96h003jt.pdf?t=nndf5x&v=lg|journal=UCLA Entertainment Law Review|volume=20|issue=2}}</ref> All the factors have to be weighed together and an overall assessment is made whether the infringing work would qualify as fair use.
+[[Fair use]] is a defense under 17 U.S.C. § 107<ref>{{Cite web|title=17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507195714/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107|archive-date=May 7, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2019}}</ref> of the US Copyright Law which protects work that '''has''' '''been''' made using other copyrighted works. The section provides that if a copyrighted work is reproduced "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching [...] , scholarship or research", it would not amount to infringement. '''Notably,''' for memes, the use of the term ''"such as"'' in the section denotes that the list is not exhaustive but merely illustrative.
-The four factors are:
-# The purpose or character of use,
-# The nature of the copyrighted work,
-# The amount and substantiality of the portion used, and
-# Effect on the market.
+# The purpose or character of use, '''including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;'''
-The purpose and character of the use involve how the original copyrighted work's purpose differs from the meme's purpose, as well as commercial uses of products that use copyrighted material. In [[Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.]] the court introduced the concept of [[Transformation (law)|transformation]] which goes into the inquiry whether the infringing work altered the original with a new expression, meaning or expression or merely superseded or supplanted the original work. Memes are ''transformative'' in nature as they have no relation to the original work and the motive behind the communication of the meme is personal, in terms of disseminating humor to the public. Such memes being transformative would be covered by fair use.<ref name=":2" /> However, copying memes that are made for the sole purpose of being memes would not enjoy this protection as there is no transformation- the copying has the same purpose as '''the original''' meme which is '''to communicate''' humorous anecdotes.<ref name="barandbench.com">{{Cite web|last1=Mishra|first1=Meghna|last2=Nigam|first2=Anusuya|title=The Viewpoint- Game of Thrones Memes: Potential Copyright Infringement or Fair Use?|url=https://barandbench.com/viewpoint-memes-copyright-got|access-date=April 20, 2019|website=Bar and Bench}}</ref>
+# The nature of the copyrighted work''';'''
+# The amount and substantiality of the portion used '''in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and'''
+# Effect '''of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.'''
+However, copying memes that are made for the sole purpose of being memes would not enjoy this protection as there is no transformation- the copying has the same purpose as '''the original''' meme which is '''to communicate''' humorous anecdotes.<ref name="barandbench.com">{{Cite web|last1=Mishra|first1=Meghna|last2=Nigam|first2=Anusuya|title=The Viewpoint- Game of Thrones Memes: Potential Copyright Infringement or Fair Use?|url=https://barandbench.com/viewpoint-memes-copyright-got|access-date=April 20, 2019|website=Bar and Bench}}</ref>
-Purpose and character of use '''weigh''' in against memes which have been used for commercial purposes because then the work has not been created for the communication of humor but for economic gain. For example, [[Grumpy Cat]] won $710,001 in a copyright lawsuit against the beverage company Grenade which used the Grumpy Cat image on its roasted coffee line and t-shirts.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Nakamura|first1=Reid|title=Grumpy Cat Wins $710,001 in Copyright Lawsuit: 'Memes Have Rights Too'|publisher=The Wrap|url=https://www.thewrap.com/grumpy-cat-wins-710001-in-copyright-lawsuit-memes-have-rights-too/|url-status=live|access-date=May 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422040921/https://www.thewrap.com/grumpy-cat-wins-710001-in-copyright-lawsuit-memes-have-rights-too/|archive-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref>
-The nature of the copyrighted work weighs asks what the differences between the meme and the other material are. This factor applies to many types of memes because the original work is an artistic creation that has been published and thus the latter enjoys protection under copyright which the memes are violating. However, as memes are transformative, this factor does not have a lot of weight.<ref name="lawandarts.org">{{Cite journal|last1=Offsay|first1=Max|title="What Do You Meme?": A Fair Use Analysis|url=https://lawandarts.org/2018/04/02/critical-corner-what-do-you-meme-a-fair-use-analysis/|url-status=live|journal=Columbia Journal of Law and Arts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422040922/https://lawandarts.org/2018/04/02/critical-corner-what-do-you-meme-a-fair-use-analysis/|archive-date=April 22, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2019}}</ref>
+Purpose and character of use '''weigh''' in against memes which have been used for commercial purposes because then the work has not been created for the communication of humor but for economic gain. <s>For example, [[Grumpy Cat]] won $710,001 in a copyright lawsuit against the beverage company Grenade which used the Grumpy Cat image on its roasted coffee line and t-shirts.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Nakamura|first1=Reid|title=Grumpy Cat Wins $710,001 in Copyright Lawsuit: 'Memes Have Rights Too'|publisher=The Wrap|url=https://www.thewrap.com/grumpy-cat-wins-710001-in-copyright-lawsuit-memes-have-rights-too/|url-status=live|access-date=May 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422040921/https://www.thewrap.com/grumpy-cat-wins-710001-in-copyright-lawsuit-memes-have-rights-too/|archive-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref></s>
-The amount and substantiality of the portion used tests not only the quantity of the work copied but the quality that is copied as well.<ref name="SCOTUS">{{Ussc|471|539|1985|name=Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises}}. {{Usgovpd}}</ref> [[Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises]] clarified this position. For '''cinematography''', only a small portion of the entire film is copied whereas for rage comics and personal photographs, the entire portion has been used to create the meme. Despite this, all categories of memes would be considered to be falling under fair use because the text that is added to those images adds value, without which it would just be '''pictures'''.<ref name=":2" /> Moreover, the heart of the work is not affected because the still/picture is taken out of context and portrays something entirely different from what the image originally wanted to depict.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=M. Lantagne|first1=Stacey|title=Famous on The Internet: The Spectrum of Internet Memes and The Legal Challenge of Evolving Methods of Communication|url=https://lawreview.richmond.edu/files/2018/01/Lantagne-522.pdf|url-status=live|journal=University of Richmond Law Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127185203/https://lawreview.richmond.edu/files/2018/01/Lantagne-522.pdf|archive-date=November 27, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2019}}</ref>
+The amount and substantiality of the portion used tests not only the quantity of the work copied but the quality that is copied as well.<ref name="SCOTUS">{{Ussc|471|539|1985|name=Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises}}. {{Usgovpd}}</ref> [[Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises]] clarified this position. For '''cinematography''', only a small portion of the entire film is copied whereas for rage comics and personal photographs, the entire portion has been used to create the meme. Despite this, all categories of memes would be considered to be falling under fair use because the text that is added to those images adds value, without which it would just be '''pictures'''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Patel|first1=Ronak|title=First World Problems:' A Fair Use Analysis of Internet Memes|url=https://cloudfront.escholarship.org/dist/prd/content/qt96h003jt/qt96h003jt.pdf?t=nndf5x&v=lg|journal=UCLA Entertainment Law Review|volume=20|issue=2}}</ref> Moreover, the heart of the work is not affected because the still/picture is taken out of context and portrays something entirely different from what the image originally wanted to depict.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=M. Lantagne|first1=Stacey|title=Famous on The Internet: The Spectrum of Internet Memes and The Legal Challenge of Evolving Methods of Communication|url=https://lawreview.richmond.edu/files/2018/01/Lantagne-522.pdf|url-status=live|journal=University of Richmond Law Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127185203/https://lawreview.richmond.edu/files/2018/01/Lantagne-522.pdf|archive-date=November 27, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2019}}</ref>
+The target audience for the original work and meme is entirely different as  '''memes can''' '''be''' taken '''out of context''' of the original and created '''for use''' and dissemination on social media.<ref name="lawandarts.org">{{Cite journal|last1=Offsay|first1=Max|title="What Do You Meme?": A Fair Use Analysis|url=https://lawandarts.org/2018/04/02/critical-corner-what-do-you-meme-a-fair-use-analysis/|url-status=live|journal=Columbia Journal of Law and Arts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422040922/https://lawandarts.org/2018/04/02/critical-corner-what-do-you-meme-a-fair-use-analysis/|archive-date=April 22, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2019}}</ref>
-Lastly, the effect on the market offers court analysis on whether the meme would cause harm to the actual market of the original copyright work and also the harm it could cause to the potential market.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fox News Network, LLC v. TVEyes, Inc, Nos. 15-3885, 15-3886 (2d Cir. Feb. 27, 2018)|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca2/15-3885/15-3885-2018-02-27.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422040921/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca2/15-3885/15-3885-2018-02-27.html|archive-date=April 22, 2019|access-date=May 7, 2019}}</ref> The target audience for the original work and meme is entirely different as the latter is taken out of the context of the original and created '''for use''' and dissemination on social media.<ref name="lawandarts.org" /> Rage comics and memes created for the purpose of being memes are an exception to this because the target audience for both is the same and copied work could infringe on the potential market of the original.
 == References ==