About

Bootleg Memes, also known as Article 13 Compliant Memes, refer to a practice of redrawing popular meme formats or recreating them in other ways while keeping them recognizable. The practice has often been utilized in order to create memes which are compliant with copyright infringement laws and with Article 13 in particular.

Origin

In June 2018, in anticipation of the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs voting on Articles 11 and 13 of a package of proposals to reform European copyright legislation, feared to affect freedom of sharing memes in the European Union, memes criticizing the proposal gained spread on Reddit and other online platforms.^[1]

Starting in June, users posted multiple memes which were redrawn or recreated using other means in order to protect them from being potentially affected by the new legislation. On June 13th, 2018, Redditor Yamezj posted the earliest known instance of a meme redrawn with a purpose to be compliant with the legislation to /r/dankmemes subreddit.^[2] The post gained over 30,800 upvotes in six months.

Spread

In the following days, memes re-edited in various ways, including being redrawn, blurred down and entirely stripped of imagery were posted on Reddit and other platforms.^[3][4]

On June 24th, YouTuber Grandayy posted an "Article 13-compliant" We Are Number One edit in which all characters and objects were replaced by animated labeled cards.^[5]

The trend received further spread in September 2018, when on September 12th the Copyright Directive was approved along with updated versions of Articles 11 and 13. On September 13th, 2018, subreddit /r/bootleg_memes was created, collecting redrawn and recreated memes and templates.^[6]

On September 19th, 2018, Meme Insider reported on the trend.^[7]

On March 26th, 2019, the directive received the final approval. The updated version of the directive explicitly stated protection of uploading works for "quotation, criticism, review, caricature, parody or pastiche", such as memes, GIFs and similar derivative content.^[8] The approval of the legislation prompted another influx of Article 13-compliant memes on Reddit.

Starting in November 2018, multiple notable examples of Bootleg Memes were created by Reddit user and YouTuber pyvozaur.^[9]

Abstract Memes

The practice of creating abstract, or minimalistic, memes can be traced back to the popularity of Loss meme, with one of its most notorious examples, the so-called Loss Rune, posted at least as early as April 2014.^[10]

The trend gained significant spread on Reddit in March 2019, with some of the posts referencing Article 13 and referring to it as an "anti-normie" tactic. On March 23rd, Redditor DmitryZaytcev posted a minimalistic version of the Drakeposting template to /r/memes subreddit,^[11] where it gained over 28,500 upvotes in six days.

In the following days, multiple abstract versions of popular meme formats were posted on Reddit, primarily in /r/memes and /r/dankmemes subreddits.

Starting March 25th, 2019, Reddit user Cruump created a series of popular image macros in a minimalistic manner using Minecraft blocks.^[12][13]

Meme Paintings

Meme Paintings are real-life oil-painted renditions of memes. Starting in March 2019, the practice of painting memes gained significant popularity as a TikTok challenge with the hashtag #memepainting.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References