David Fagundes
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781479841936
- eISBN:
- 9781479822980
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479841936.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Intellectual Property, IT, and Media Law
Dave Fagundes explains how roller derby skaters once guaranteed exclusive use of the pseudonyms under which they compete. Roller derby names were initially a central part of this countercultural, ...
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Dave Fagundes explains how roller derby skaters once guaranteed exclusive use of the pseudonyms under which they compete. Roller derby names were initially a central part of this countercultural, all-girl sport. Despite the availability of trademark protection, skaters developed an elaborate rule structure, registration system, and governance regime to protect the uniqueness of their pseudonyms. When the norms around name exclusivity changed over time, so did the governance regime. This suggests that regardless of law, communities can develop and evolve norms systems if they are close-knit and the norms are welfare-maximizing. Communities are especially likely to rely on self-regulatory approaches, even formal ones that require substantial investment, when membership is closely linked to individual identity.Less
Dave Fagundes explains how roller derby skaters once guaranteed exclusive use of the pseudonyms under which they compete. Roller derby names were initially a central part of this countercultural, all-girl sport. Despite the availability of trademark protection, skaters developed an elaborate rule structure, registration system, and governance regime to protect the uniqueness of their pseudonyms. When the norms around name exclusivity changed over time, so did the governance regime. This suggests that regardless of law, communities can develop and evolve norms systems if they are close-knit and the norms are welfare-maximizing. Communities are especially likely to rely on self-regulatory approaches, even formal ones that require substantial investment, when membership is closely linked to individual identity.
David Fagundes
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199972036
- eISBN:
- 9780199361908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199972036.003.0014
- Subject:
- Law, Intellectual Property, IT, and Media Law, Environmental and Energy Law
This chapter examines the knowledge commons that make up and sustain contemporary women’s roller derby. Roller derby and its related subculture arose and continue to grow thanks to the voluntary ...
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This chapter examines the knowledge commons that make up and sustain contemporary women’s roller derby. Roller derby and its related subculture arose and continue to grow thanks to the voluntary effort and inspiration of the thousands of enthusiasts who devote their free time to it. The chapter reflects briefly on the term “commons,” both in terms of its formal meaning in property theory and the more functional approach taken by the Madison, Frischmann, and Strandburg knowledge commons framework. It then explores three descriptive questions: what (if any) aspects of roller derby are governed as commons, how are those commons governed, and who has access to the resources governed as commons? The chapter considers why commons arise and why they are sustainable in the absence of pecuniary motivation, suggesting that labors of love, like roller derby, are more likely to be successfully governed as commons than as traditional private goods.Less
This chapter examines the knowledge commons that make up and sustain contemporary women’s roller derby. Roller derby and its related subculture arose and continue to grow thanks to the voluntary effort and inspiration of the thousands of enthusiasts who devote their free time to it. The chapter reflects briefly on the term “commons,” both in terms of its formal meaning in property theory and the more functional approach taken by the Madison, Frischmann, and Strandburg knowledge commons framework. It then explores three descriptive questions: what (if any) aspects of roller derby are governed as commons, how are those commons governed, and who has access to the resources governed as commons? The chapter considers why commons arise and why they are sustainable in the absence of pecuniary motivation, suggesting that labors of love, like roller derby, are more likely to be successfully governed as commons than as traditional private goods.
