Communicational Approach to Copyright

• Author: Olli Vilanka
• Position: Hanken School of Economics and University of Helsink
• Pages: 56-64

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Olli Vilanka

Hanken School of Economics and University of Helsink

Vilanka@hanken.fi

Abstract: It may be questioned whether traditional concepts of individualistic droit

d' auteur copyright theory apply to d igital communication networks such as Internet. Due to

mass of i nformation it may be especially questioned whether it is rational to ap ply the

concept of reproduction in an environment where no-one, not to mention individual

authors, may rigorously evaluate where and when a copy of a certain piece of content is

being produced. Consequently this article suggests an alternative approach to evaluate

economic rights of authors in digital network environments. In doing so it theoretically

compares economic rights of authors to basic research results from the field of

communication studies. This approach is chosen as copyright i s often connected to

communication. The article of fers an alternative, whic h should not narro w rights of authors

but would provide more meaningful way to perceive copyright in digital networks.

1. Introduction

It has been argued that a change from i ndustrial society to information society elevates communicatio n to

the core of society.

1

An especial feature created b y the change to the information society is a possibility

for everyone to easily be a content producer and a user i.e. a prosumer.

2

Consequently everyone in theo ry

are able to communicate with each other regardless of time and place. This inevitably leads to situation

when masses of information are constantly being copied and made available to public especially o n the

Internet.

3

However, provided the information exceeds the required threshold for protection and no limitation to

copyright applies, individualistic droit d’ auteu r copyright theory postulates that permission s hould

always be asked when information created by others is being cop ied or made available to the public.

Considering constantly evolving and expansible content mass on the Internet it is obvious that that

applying individualistic copyright theory to information soc iety becomes challenging a s it simply

becomes problematic for anyone to rigorously evaluate or super vise when and where certain pieces of

content are being used.

1

Ideologically one has often referred to Marshall McLuhan’s co ncept of the “Global village” where physical distance

does not constitute real h indrance to the real-time communicative activities of people. See e.g. Marshall McLuhan,

Ihmisen uudet ulottuvuudet, Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö, Porvoo, 1968. A translation from Marshall McLuhan’s

Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (First Ed. McGraw Hill, New York, 1964. See also Antti Hautamäki

(eds.), Suomi teollisen ja tietoyhteiskunnan murroksessa, Tieto yhteiskunnan sosiaaliset ja yhteiskunnalliset

vaikutukset, A publication of SITRA (154), Helsinki 1996, available at:

http://www.sitra.fi/julkaisut/tietoyhteiskunta/sitra154.pdf. SITRA is a trust under th e Finnish parliament and its

purpose is defined in a law called Suomen itsenäisyyden juhlarahastosta (717/1990).

2

Regarding more specific definitions for prosumers see e.g. Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave, Pan Books Ltd 1981, p.

275 – 295, David Ticoll, Alex L owy and Ravi Kalakota, Joined at the Bit: The Emergence of the e-Business

Community, published in Don Tapscott, Alex Lowly and David Ticoll, Blueprint to the Digital Economy, McGraw-

Hill 1998, p. 24 and Kari Lietsala-Esa Sirkkunen, Social M edia, Introduction to the Tools and Processes of

Participatory Economy. Tampere 2008, p . 18 (available at, http://tampub.uta.fi/tup/978-951-44-7320-3.pdf), Frank

Webster, Theories of the Information Society, third edition, Routledge 2006, p. 17 – 19 and Seppo Sisättö, Internet

taskussa, Mobiiliin sähköiseen yhteiskuntaan, In forviestintä Oy, Tampere 2004, p. 15 ja ff. Regarding legal literature

see e.g. Tuomas Mylly, Tekijänoikeuden ideologiat ja myytit, Lakimies 2/2004, p. 241 -242.

3

In general about the use of Internet in workplaces s ee e.g. Manuel Castells, The Rise of Network Society, The

Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume I, Second Edition, Blackwell Publishers 2000 (hereafter

Castells), p. 375 and 390.