copyright maximalists Individuals or organisations who seek to enforce copyright to the maximum possible extent, beyond any level which could be deemed as being reasonable or proportionate. For example, maximalists seek to have users disconnected from the internet after three accusations of copyright infringement or may try to sue university students for hundreds of thousands of dollars after they are discovered to have downloaded a few mp3 files. Maximalists always vigorously reject any notion of the "fair use" of copyrighted materials and prefer prosecution rather than negotiation.