The lawful user and a balancing of interests in European Copyright Law

Abstract

"Research on the position of the lawful user in copyright law could be considered heretical in the EU, where copyright doctrine is characterized by the absence of the user. This controversy stems mainly from the predominantly author-oriented approach of continental European copyright law (the so-called "author's right" approach). According to this approach, the natural person of the author of the intellectual creation is the cornerstone of the awarded protection. The public interest is satisfied by the insertion of strictly defined exceptions or limitations to copyright. These exceptions or limitations are not granted in favor of a legally recognized individual entity, but in a general and abstract way in favor of the public. In other words, the end-user of intellectual works is not recognized as an individual entity that can invoke exceptions or limitations to copyright. Moreover, exceptions or limitations are not traditionally considered as rights of the end-user."--Editor.