An article on Tofugu (Japanese pop culture blog) about Doujinshi Culture has a fascinating description of a copyright system that truly balances the needs of both creator and user:  Japan’s Doujinshi Culture Of Creativity Through Theft And The Monster Trying To Destroy It by Rich and Michael Richey • Art by Aya Francisco.

For those of you who are not otaku, doujinshi are fan created comics often based on characters and storylines created by someone else.  Doujinshi Culture is big in Japan.  There’s even an anime about becoming a doujinshi comiker:  Comic Party.   In some ways it is very similar to fanfiction.  However, as the article outlines, the balance of fan culture and artist copyright is very different than many in the US might be used to.  Doujinshi creators are given the space to create, exhibit, and sell their fan works, using their love of someone else’s art to build a foundation for a career as a successful comic artist…for now.

The US fan artist community isn’t devoid of success stories, but there is a definite undertone of danger for fans expressing their enjoyment of a comic through art, as expounded in this excellent talk on Fan Art Law at San Diego ComicCon and how it functions in the US: