The Confuzzling Rhetoric Against New Copyright Exceptions
KRITIKA: ESSAYS ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Peter Drahos, Gustavo Ghidini and Hanns Ullrich, eds., Edward Elgar Publishing, Vol. 1, pp. 278-307, 2015
Texas A&M University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 16-65
23 Pages Posted: 16 Jul 2014 Last revised: 22 Oct 2016
Date Written: July 15, 2014
Abstract
In recent years, Australia, Canada, the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom and other members of the European Union have been busy exploring ways to modernize their copyright laws. In many of these jurisdictions, new copyright exceptions have been introduced or proposed to promote internet users’ access to digital content. Meanwhile, the copyright industries remain adamantly opposed to introducing these exceptions.
Published in the inaugural issue of Kritika, this article scrutinizes seven of the industries’ most widely used arguments. Drawing on examples from digital copyright reform in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions, the article explains why the industries’ arguments have thus far been unconvincing. It also calls on policymakers and legislators to critically evaluate these arguments, lest they lead to wrong policy choices that harm internet users and the public at large.
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