Copyright and viral advertising in participatory culture

This chapter offers an introduction to theory on viral advertising from literature in sociology and communication, exploring the contradictory status of the viral advertisement as a media form. The three principal differentiating characteristics of the viral video compared with other forms of advertising are its aesthetic, its ambiguous authorship, and its distribution logic. The chapter examines each of these characteristics in relation to copyright law, identifying aspects of viral media which are in tension with existing intellectual property law. It closes by suggesting that legal scholars should pay greater attention to the status of viral advertisement in debates about the ‘future of copyright’ in the digital age. Viral advertisements represent a problematic configuration of commercial interests and the interests of online communities. The development of this relationship has depended on the willingness of copyright owners to tolerate uses of the work beyond their control