Rethinking copyright flexibilities
A
conference organized by the Department of Law of the University of Cyprus,
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa) and the H2020 project reCreating Europe
Nicosia,
31 October – 1 November 2022
The
relationship of copyright law with the public interest is nowadays often seen
as unbalanced, biased, or dysfunctional. The evolution and structure of EU
copyright law is characterized by an approach which emphasizes a rigid
protection of private interests of right holders whilst lacking a systematic
reflection on copyright flexibilities. However, flexibility is not foreign to
copyright law principles; on the contrary, it is an organic component of
copyright discourse and practice over the three centuries of its existence.
Copyright
law addresses issues related to access to culture, participation to cultural
life, dissemination of information, creativity, freedom of art and science. Copyright
law is designed as a principle-based legal framework that should ensure and
provide the flexibility needed in these fields. The overall delicate
equilibrium between right holders’ prerogatives and users’ interests and
freedoms and the inherent limitations of copyright law are core elements of
this flexibility. Additionally, the enhanced role of copyright law as a
regulatory framework in the digital sphere increases the need for both
flexibility and clarity regarding access and use of copyright-protected
works. In parallel, the never-ending EU
harmonization pushes for detailed rules and compromises that affect this
flexibility.
In this context, and
in the occasion of the launch of the Copyright Flexibilities database developed
by the H2020 project reCreating Europe, the conference aims to provide some critical
thinking concerning the present and future of copyright flexibilities in
European copyright law and their evolutionary paths. The conference critically discusses
the state of the art and evolution of copyright flexibilities in Europe,
exploring their types, forms, limits, dynamics and perspectives, also in light
of the most recent interventions of the EU legislators and landmark decisions
of the Court of Justice of the EU, and debate opportunities and need for
legislative reform.
