Papers by Sean Leonard

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Progress Against the Law: Fan Distribution, Copyright, and the Explosive Growth of Japanese Animation
(1.11 9/12/2004) (Japanese Translation of 1.11 9/21/2004) (1.10 4/29/2004)

Abstract: The medium of Japanese animation is a powerhouse in the world of alternative entertainment. Proselytization by fans ignited the anime movement in America, despite Japanese copyright holders’ abandonment of the American market. We present an historical and legal analysis to demonstrate that, at least in one case spanning two decades, fans’ continual infringement of copyright spurred the progress of commerce and the arts.

Version 1.11 of the paper is the latest; it has very minor changes to a few sentences to fix errors in typography and citation:

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The paper is translated into the Japanese by Hiroo Yamagata:

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Previous version:

Get the PDF version 1.10 with columns (39 pages)
Get the PDF version 1.10 without columns, double-spaced (101 pages)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

System for Rapid Subtitling: Master of Engineering Thesis Proposal (5/10/2004)

Full working title: Subtitling system for streamlined overlay of temporal elements on audiovisual sequences, with automatic phonetic alignment of textual elements, and social and legal consequences of subtitling activities in Japanese animation fandom.
Thesis Supervisor: Harold Abelson

PDF version (8 pages)

Swank: The Fault-Tolerant, Multithreaded, High-Performance Surveillance Server for Growing Businesses (3/17/2004)

Abstract: Corporate properties require surveillance, but traditional surveillance systems are expensive. Swank provides a robust, scalable, fault-tolerant, and low-cost alternative for wide-area surveillance. Swank's three modules continue to process under widely varying camera loads, unstable algorithms, and inconsistent spotters.
Course: 6.033 Computer System Engineering, Spring 2004, Design Project 1.

PDF version (24 pages)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Library Responses to the USA Patriot Act (12/6/2003)

This document is still being prepared.

Behind the Howling Winds (10/22/2003)

This document is still being prepared.

Other Papers

Additional papers will be forthcoming.

Last updated 9/23/2004 by Sean Leonard
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