RESTRUCTURING THE ECONOMIC RIGHTS IN COPYRIGHT - SOME REFLECTIONS ON AN "ALTERNATIVE MODEL"

Current copyright law is struggling to adapt to the digital environment and the passage of time has apparently not remedied the problems we are facing. In this article, it is argued that the current structure of the economic rights in copyright law is a serious obstacle both to explaining the essence of copyright law to the public being affected by it 24/7 and to getting a proper grip on emerging problems. It is suggested that the current "six-stage structure" (exclusive rights/exceptions, protection of DRMs/exceptions, secondary liability/safe harbors) be replaced by a one-stage structure predicated on the notion that right holders have exclusive rights to reasonable exploitation of their works, drawing in this respect also on the criteria of the "three step test(s)" of the international conventions. The challenge is to establish a regulatory framework that balances the need for predictability with the desire for flexibility. The idea and the contours of an alternative model for restructuring the economic rights in copyright are sketched out in the article.