Private Copying: New Views on the Traditional Problem

Branislav Hazucha

In: ADAMOVÁ, Z. (ed.) Nové technológie, internet a duševné vlastníctvo 4. Trnava: Typi Universitatis Tyrnaviensis, spoločné pracovisko Trnavskej univerzity v Trnave a VEDY, vydavateľstva Slovenskej akadémie vied, 2020, pp. 11-56. ISBN 978-80-568-0329-5.

Summary: Although private copying existed even at the time when the first modern copyright laws were adopted, its relationship with copyright law has significantly changed over time. The causes of these considerable changes were the broadening of the scope of copyright protection and the introduction of reproduction technologies which allowed the general public to make copies of copyrighted works instantly, cheaply and in high quality. The outcome of all the changes is a quite negative approach of copyright law and policy towards private copying. This Paper questions several established premises upon which the current caselaw of the Court of Justice of the European Union on private copying is based. It shows that its foundations are difficult to substantiate by sound and reliable evidence provided by empirical studies. Contrary to those premises, empirical studies suggest mutually beneficial relationship between private copying and the commercial exploitation of copyrighted works by the right holders. In addition to analyzing recent empirical studies, the results of online surveys conducted in four countries with major economies (i.e. the U.S., China, Japan and Germany) are presented. They allow to better understand the copyright users’ habits, reasons and attitudes with regard to private copying.

URL: http://ntidv.iuridica.truni.sk/archive/ntidv-4/NTIDV-4-Hazucha-Branislav.pdf

Bibliographic Citation

HAZUCHA, B. Vyhotovovanie rozmnoženín diel pre súkromnú potrebu: Nový náhľad na tradičnú problematiku. In: ADAMOVÁ, Z. (ed.) Nové technológie, internet a duševné vlastníctvo 4. Trnava: Typi Universitatis Tyrnaviensis, spoločné pracovisko Trnavskej univerzity v Trnave a VEDY, vydavateľstva Slovenskej akadémie vied, 2020, pp. 11-56. ISBN 978-80-568-0329-5.