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When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW Law Rebalancing Copyright Law by Christopher John Adduono LLB LLM Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2015 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND LAW Law Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy REBALANCING COPYRIGHT LAW Christopher John Adduono LLB LLM This research focuses on copyright law particularly its ability to provide for the competing needs of both the public and rights holders. The arrival of the internet has brought copyright to the forefront of legal, political and public discussion and has presented copyright law with a unique challenge. The internet although enabling creators to disseminate their works to a wider audience has also facilitated free illegal access to copyrighted materials. This has not only undermined copyright’s effectiveness and caused chaos but has questioned the very legitimacy of the entire concept of copyright. This research discusses copyright law specifically how the concept of balance between right holders and the public originated and if this fundamental concept is maintained in current law. Focus is given to the founding principles of modern copyright law in the Statute of Anne 1710 and Donaldson v Beckett where copyright was deemed to have a dual purpose. The first purpose of copyright is to protect the interests of rights holders so they are incentivised to create socially useful works and can exploit their work. The second opposing purpose of copyright is to protect the interests of the public so knowledge is disseminated, learning is encouraged and the public can adequately access copyrighted works. Although a suitable balance between these rival purposes was once achieved, this research will discuss the changing dynamic between rights holders and the public. This will involve discussion of the history of copyright law as well as the impact of areas such as human rights, copyright subsistence and fair dealing. My motivation for this research is that copyright law is currently facing a crisis with widespread infringement and disregard for the law through piracy. Governments are failing to enforce copyright law and public support for copyright is diminishing. This research is important because governments have repeatedly tried to solve the crisis however these attempts have been unsuccessful and piracy has become commonplace. The current governmental approach is to continue copyright expansion for rights holders and to introduce harsher legislation against users. My research aims to embark on a fundamental reassessment of the nature of copyright itself, what is the purpose of copyright and the competence of current legislation to meet these purposes. This will involve discussion of key internal and external components of the copyright regime to assess their ability to achieve these purposes and protect the interests of both right holders and the public. The thesis will conclude the abovementioned components, current legislation and case law favours the economic interests of right holders above the interests of the public and that a series of reforms are necessary to rebalance copyright law. The thesis makes a contribution to copyright academic discussion by providing a framework for a balanced copyright regime where the interests of the public are a fundamental guiding principle. The overall aim is for the public to be considered equally alongside rights. Wordcount- 482 Contents Title Page ABSTRACT Contents ........................................................................................................................ i DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP..................................................................... vii Acknowledgements..................................................................................................... ix Definitions and Abbreviations................................................................................. xi Chapter One- PhD Introduction: Copyright....................................................................................................................... 1 The Public Interest and the Public Domain.................................................................... 3 The Copyright Balance................................................................................................... 7 Chapter Two- Theoretical Framework: 2.1- Introduction.......................................................................................................... 11 2.2- Utilitarianism- happiness of the whole................................................................. 12 2.3- Instrumentalism- all law has a purpose................................................................. 17 2.4- Case Analysis.......................................................................................................... 26 2.5- Taking the theoretical framework forward............................................................. 31 Chapter Three- The Rise and Fall of Copyright Law i 3.1- Introduction.-History Repeating.......................................................................... 33 3.2- The Statute of Anne- A Confusing New Beginning............................................. 34 3.3- The Booksellers Comeuppance- an unintentional revolution.............................. 39 3.4- Copyright Expansion.......................... ................................................................ 50 3.5- Public Domain Revival....................................................................................... 54 3.6- Towards Modernity............................................................................................ 57 3.7- Copyright Duration............................................................................................ 60 3.8- The Digital Age- Copyright Collapse.................................................................. 63 3.9- Conclusion........................................................................................................... 77 Chapter Four- Copyright and Human Rights: An Unhappy Marriage: 4.1- Introduction.......................................................................................................... 79 4.2- Copyright and Human Rights - an ambiguous relationship.................................. 80 4.3- The European Convention on Human Rights....................................................... 94 4.4- Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union....................................... 102 4.5- The Public- No Rights.......................................................................................... 104 4.6- Balancing Human Rights..................................................................................... 112 4.7- Redefining Article 10.......................................................................................... 119 4.8- The Public Interest Defence- a lost opportunity................................................. 127 4.9- Ashdown- the Case to Fully Implement Ashby Donald...................................... 132 4.10- Conclusion......................................................................................................... 138 Chapter Five- Originality: the wrong standard: ii 5.1- Introduction....................................................................................................... 141 5.2- Originality- no place for novelty....................................................................... 141 5.3- Skill and Labour- unfit for purpose.................................................................... 144 5.4- Derivative Works- something borrowed............................................................. 152 5.5- Intellectual Creation- the same difficulties.......................................................... 154 5.6- Other Originality Standards................................................................................. 166 5.7- Reform- closer to patent law................................................................................. 171 5.8- Conclusion............................................................................................................ 179 Chapter Six- Ideas and Expression- the abandoned dichotomy: 6.1- Introduction......................................................................................................... 181 6.2- More than an evidential rule? ............................................................................... 181 6.3- The Lockean Proviso-A New Interpretation of Natural Rights?........................... 185 6.4- Unfulfilled potential.............................................................................................