Private Copying and Harm to Authors: Compensation versus Remuneration

Abstract

This Article examines recently quashed UK approach towards private copying in the light of requirements imposed by art.5(2)(b) of the Information Society Directive. It shows that the proposition, upon which EU law is based and which assumes that private non-commercial copying causes or is likely to cause harm to authors, is based upon anecdotal evidence and has not been proven by any solid empirical study. The Article thus challenges the use of the concept of “compensation” with regard to private non-commercial copying. It also demonstrates that the lavish approach towards the interpretation of copyright holders’ exclusive rights, combined with a very restrictive and inflexible construction of copyright exceptions and limitations, can only worsen the current mass disregard of copyright law by the public. Copyright law that disregards those phenomena and stigmatizes activities considered as normal and innocuous by the majority of society tends to be largely ignored by those targeted by the law.

Keywords: copyright, EU law, fair compensation, harm, private copying