Professor Lawrence Lessig is quoted in Slate on the tolerance of lawbreaking in America:

... Larry Lessig, a Thomas Jefferson figure in the information revolution, asked: "So here's what I want to know,"... . "Why should we tolerate tolerated use?" His point: If you care about free expression and the core reasons for our copyright law—i.e., protecting the artists—why would you put up with a system that makes something like fan art illegal and then tries to ignore the problem? Surely the right answer is to fight for reform of the copyright law: Have the law declare clearly that most noncommercial activities, like fan sites and remixes, are simply beyond the reach of the law.