The right to parody : comparative analysis of copyright and free speech /

This reviewer found much to like about this treatise on how parody should be approached from a legal perspective. For one thing, in the introduction Lai (Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver) establishes the influence on the book of Robert Merges's Justifying Intellectual Property (2011) and does an excellent job of delineating how she approaches a defense of parody through natural law theories. Lai divides the book into two sections. The first looks at the philosophical underpinnings of the argument. Here the author discusses why a broad parody exception should be explicit in the law. The second section looks at parody as a universal right that can be applied in jurisdictions around the world. Individual chapters in this section cover the US, Canada, Britain, France, and Hong Kong. Coverage of France looks closely at how moral rights fit with parody, and the chapter on Hong Kong demonstrates how parody can be used to provide a free-speech haven. Well sourced and including a detailed index, the book is geared toward a legal audience with the intent to broaden and support a right to parody. The prose is readable but dense. Despite its perfunctory and rather brief conclusion, the book offers a strongly argued position on parody. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. --Allen Reichert, Otterbein University