74 Am. U. L. Rev. 1403 (2025).

Abstract

Fanfiction is an increasingly prominent part of culture and significant form of art. Yet its authors, some of whom write hundreds of thousands of words and whose works amass millions of views, rarely profit from their creations, which are typically published online for free. This Comment argues that existing fair use doctrine provides an avenue for fanfiction authors to monetize their work without legal risk. Drawing on recent Supreme Court decisions, I identify five themes of transformative use that are applicable to any fair use defense. I then introduce a taxonomy categorizing fanfiction’s narrative, formative, and substantive elements. I integrate these frameworks to create a new methodology for courts to assess a fanfic’s transformativeness and apply this methodology to a specific fanfiction work. I conclude that fanfiction may be monetized in limited ways when it is transformative as defined by this methodology. Monetization may offer fanfiction authors—many of whom are from marginalized communities—greater agency in their futures, promote the legitimacy of fanfiction as crucial works of art, and protect these works from erasure.

* Jordan Stevenson, Junior Staffer, American University Law Review, Volume 74; J.D. Candidate, May 2026, American University Washington College of Law; B.A., summa cum laude, International Affairs, June 2020, Eastern Washington University. I want to thank my friends and family for their support, my advisor Professor Michael W. Carroll for his guidance, my editors for their patience, and the entire Volume 74 American University Law Review staff for their hard work. I also owe endless gratitude to my inimitable husband and best friend, Tynan Stevenson, without whom this Comment would not exist. Finally, I dedicate this Comment to the fanfiction readers and writers who have filled my life with magic.