Copyright
What is copyright?
Copyright is an area of intellectual property law. The human mind is capable of great creativity in many areas, ranging from art to technology. Legislators around the world have strived to protect and promote creativity, resulting in the creation of a system of protection of intellectual performance: the intellectual property rights. These include the following areas: copyright, database right, patents, designs, trademarks, trade name rights, protected plant varieties, chip or topography rights and related rights.
Copyright functions as a guarantee for the maker of a creative work. It ensures that he or she has control over the exploitation (reproduction and distribution) of the work. Examples of copyrighted works are music, books and movies. Copyright is a so-called 'exclusive' right. The initial holder of the copyright is often the creator or author of the work, but this person may choose to transfer or sell the rights to others. Copyright is oftentimes characterized as prohibitive. Apart from a few exceptions stated in the law, every use of the work the owner has not explicitly allowed, is prohibited.
Why is copyright important?
Copyright is based on both economic and moral grounds. The economic rationale behind copyright is that the person that put time and effort into making a work should be rewarded for this investment. Copyright protection gives an author the opportunity to exploit the work and make a living out of it. Without this protection, anyone could freely copy the work and claim it as their own. As a consequence, it would not be viable to engage in a creative profession. The same consideration applies to parties that bear significant investment risks of producing and distributing creative products, like film studios and games developers. If the large investers are no longer able to recoup their investment, they will simply no longer produce and distribute their works. The economic basis of copyright is therefore aimed at preserving and stimulating creativity and innovation.
The moral basis of copyright refers to the basic idea that the author or artist is not only entitled to financial compensation but also deserves recognition for the intellectual and creative achievement. Examples of moral rights are: the absolute right to be credited as the author or maker of the work of art and the prohibition to alter the work without consent of the artist.
The future of copyright
The advent of the digital age and the unprecedented influence of the Internet mark the most significant era for the development of intellectual property rights since the inception of these legal principles. Concepts and ideas regarding the invention, distribution and publication of creative works have been completely overturned by the technical developments of the past ten years. The use and enforcement of copyright in these rapidly changing circumstances raises many questions and dilemmas. This blog aims to contribute to the development of ideas on the value of copyrights and the improvements needed to make copyright ready for the digital future.