Little guys in a big industry: Independent artists and the copyright/contract issue online
by Livia Fong Yan*
Livia Fong Yan examines the prevention of copyright infringement online with an unusual focus on the differing online copyright protection issues "big" or well known artists experience viz "small" or lesser known artists. Livia points out that discussion of online copyright protection and the balancing of copyright owners' rights with the public interest has long focussed on the big artists rather than the small artists, whose need is often to promote rather than to monopolise their work. Livia also looks at the differences between a legislative approach and a private ordering approach through contract law and concludes that copyright lawmakers should take into account notions of contract in copyright legislation and, in order to preserve the interests of smaller artists and the public, also include provisions that limit the scope of freedom of contract so as to prevent monopolistic practices.
Livia Fong Yan is a fifth year law student at the University of Sydney
September 2002 contents
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