Description

Abstract: Copyright constructs interaction with digital literature by defining responses to texts. These responses are those desired by textual authorities (publishers, authors, archivists, distributors). Often contrary to copyright, a form of text interaction termed remix is made possible by the digital materials of the text. To what overall degree the authority to remix a digital text is assigned to its respondents is actual interactivity. The material interactivity of a text (remix) and the legal definitions for response (copyright) must both be accounted for if digital text interaction is to be understood. In this paper I explore copyright prefacing and remix in six online works of digital literature. The reading of remix possibilities against laws of copyright affords an image of digital text reception that is often quite contrary to definitions provided by copyright law and associated authorized cultural production.