Suchergebnisse

This Article puts forward a new theory that reconceptualizes fair use as a collective user right in copyright law. It first argues that the fair use doctrine has not yet unleashed its full potential in protecting the public interest. The failure is caused by a firmly ingrained notion in copyright law that treats fair use as an affirmative defense against allegations of copyright infringements. Such a fixed characterization of fair use has led legislators and judges to define it as merely an individual right enjoyed by each user of copyrighted works. This characterization has also lead to a wide range of harms to the public interest in the free flow of information and knowledge. Against this backdrop, this Article explores the ways in which fair use can be revitalized to protect the public interest. It argues for repudiating the narrow-minded characterization of fair use as an individual right. It then proposes that fair use should instead be redefined as a collective right held by the public, which facilitates and enhances participation in communicative actions in what I call intangible public space. From this perspective, section 107 of the Copyright Act should be read as conferring a collective right to fair use upon members of the public. Moreover, this Article shows the power of the collective right to fair use in generating a new legal approach that will enrich copyright adjudication and policy-making discourse for protecting the public interest in the digital age. ; postprint

Das „Center for User Rights“ der Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte soll die Rechte von Nutzer:innen im Netz schützen. – Alle Rechte vorbehalten IMAGO / SteinachZur Einführung des Digital Services Act gründet die Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte ein Zentrum für Nutzer:innenrechte. Es soll die Aktivitäten der Bürgerrechtsorganisation bei der Umsetzung und Durchsetzung des europaweiten Gesetzes bündeln.

"[This book offers] an in-depth investigation of the unsettled nature, scope and dynamics of copyright user rights in an increasingly dematerialized environment. Combining a detailed theoretical framework with practical applications, the book provides a comprehensive perspective on copyright user rights, exploring the nature of commercial copies of copyright works, of exceptions to copyright infringement, and how they are shaped to a large extent by traditional concepts of private law (e.g. property, goods, services, sales, and licences). Using property and contract law and theory, it addresses the competing interests of copyright holders and users in the same object, and points out the double standards in how the rights of copyright holders and copyright users are dealt with. It argues that the property component of user rights has been largely neglected and needs to be brought to the fore, to give the protection that users deserve, without neglecting the rights users should have as they increasingly experience copyright works through services. With the onset of an increasingly digital age, it emphasises how traditional concepts of private law need to adapt for adequately dealing with the dematerialization of copies of copyright works and user rights. It proposes a clearer view on the justification and nature of user rights, with possible gradations of powers for users, and suggests how courts and legislatures may address contract terms that weaken user rights." -- Publisher's website