Access Restrictions in a Dematerialised World : a European Copyright Law Perspective
Digitisation has radically transformed the way we understand and enjoy copyright protected works. Access controls to works or other copyright-protected subject matter are not mainly exercised through the physical control of the tangible medium incorporating the work (the book, the video tape, the...
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Français |
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2025
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| Accés en línia: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Sumari: | Digitisation has radically transformed the way we understand and enjoy copyright protected works. Access controls to works or other copyright-protected subject matter are not mainly exercised through the physical control of the tangible medium incorporating the work (the book, the video tape, the cassette tape), but the dematerialisation of the medium has created the need to exercise control over the works in immaterial ways, through technological means. The concept of “access restrictions” in copyright law has evolved into a complex techno-legal reality which comprises these dimensions : personal (who is authorised to have access by the right holder), geographical (for which territory the access is or is not permitted), and temporal/chronological (when and for how long the access is or is not permitted). The article is divided into three parts. Inspired by the three classic dimensions regarding the application of law : the person (“who” – ratione personae), the place (“where” – ratione loci) and time. Accordingly, in the first part of this article, the implicit legal recognition of the access right through the broad interpretation of the right of communication to the public by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is analysed. The second part focuses on the geographical dimension of access restrictions in the European Union (EU) (mainly geoblocking and its impact on EU copyright law). The third part explores the temporal dimension of access restrictions and specifically their impact on the EU cultural sector. Overall, the shift from the control of the exploitation of works to the control of access to works has marked a conceptual transformation of the copyright exclusivity, which was deepened and expanded. At the same time, access restrictions (personal, territorial, chronological) and need to be carefully balanced with the right to information, EU law and the right to culture. The EU approach on counterbalancing access restrictions as far as now has been piecemeal, incoherent, and lacking a further reflection and a solid conceptual framework synthetising the synergies between the legal objectives justifying the limitations of access restrictions.
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