Copyright
What is copyright?
Copyright in an area of intellectual property law. The human mind is capable of great creativity in many areas, ranging from art to technology. The legislature wants to protect and promote creativity and therefore a system of protection of intellectual performance was created: the intellectual property rights. These includes the following areas: copyright, database right, patents, designs, trademarks, trade name rights, protected plant varieties, chip or topography rights and related rights.
Copyright is a guarantee for the maker of a creative work. It ensures that he or she has control over his work. Examples of copyrighted works are music, books or movies. Copyright is a so-called 'exclusive' right. The holder of the copyright is often the creator of the work, but the author may also transfer or sell rights to others. The copyright owner decides what happens with his work and also has the exclusive right to exploit the work. Copyright is sometimes characterized as prohibitive. Within the limits of the law, everything 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 work and claim it as their own. Therefore, it would not be viable to engage in a creative profession. The same applies to parties that bear significant investment risks of producing and distributing creative products, like film studios and games developers. If the large investers no longer see a return of their investment, they will simple no longer produce or distribute movies and video games. The economic basis of copyright is therefore aimed at preserving and stimulating innovation and creativity.
The moral basis of copyright refers to basic ideat that the author or an artist is not only entitled to financial compensation but also deserves appreciation 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 or delete 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.