History of copyright, growth and conceptual analysis: copyright protection and the emergence of open access

Nikos Koutras

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Creative endeavours constitute the subject of copyright protection, which is a species of property right. Therefore, in modern times when information and communication technologies are undergoing a "revolution", it is imperative to go back to Plato's concept of property and argue that the interests of the individual creator can be balanced with those of the community. In this regard, open access is an instrument that supports wide dissemination of information resources while protecting the rights of the individual creator. The article is divided into two parts. In first part, there is an introduction to the concept of open access in terms of an appropriate reform of current copyright protection in this digital age, which leads to dissemination of information and information accessibility. In second part, there is a discussion about the historical growth of copyright as a property right in order to determine the links between intellectual endeavours and commercial interests as an aspect of the deployment of a market economy. To sum up, the evolution of copyright helps me to argue that it led towards the necessity to move from property of goods to property of intellectual efforts under legal protection.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)135-150
Number of pages16
JournalIntellectual property quarterly
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • access
  • copyright
  • digital technology
  • legal history
  • TRIPs

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