USER RIGHTS WORKSHOP SERIES
Protecting Creator Remuneration Through Copyright: Lessons from Germany and the Netherlands for South Africa
Martin Senftleben, Professor of Information Law, Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam
November 13, 2020
10:00am EST
The copyright system is intended to provide an incentive for authors to invest more time and effort in the creation of literary and artistic works (utilitarian argument), recognize the acquisition of a property right as a result of creative labor (natural law argument), and enhance authors’ freedom of expression by offering a source of income that is independent of patronage and sponsorship (free expression argument). The basis of all these lines of reasoning is the individual creator. There is thus substantial reason to explore legislative measures seeking to ensure that copyright law generates not only a sufficient return on investment for the creative industries but also a decent income for individual creators. This issue is being actively debated in South Africa, where the Copyright Amendment Bill was recently sent back to Parliament in part over a concern that its requirement of “fair” royalties to creators in existing contracts constitutes an “arbitrary” retroactive taking of constitutionally protected property. In this context, Professor Martin Senftleben will share insights on his research into copyright contract rules in Germany and the Netherlands, both of which guarantee a right to fair remuneration.
About the Author
Martin Senftleben is a Professor of Information Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam. He is a member of the State Commission advising the Dutch Ministry of Justice on copyright issues, the Executive Committee of the Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale (ALAI), and the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property Law (ATRIP). This lecture will be based on an update of his recent publication More Money for Creators and More Support for Copyright in Society—Fair Remuneration Rights in Germany and the Netherlands, https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/lawandarts/article/view/2020
User Rights Network Series
This event is part of a series presenting research from the Global Expert Network on Copyright User Rights.