This paper aims to fill some void in the intellectual property literature, particularly relating to the history and generations of copyright law.
Authors
Khalid Shamim, Professor, Shibli National P.G. College, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Aqa Raza, Assistant Lecturer, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
The remit of the history of copyright law, among all the reasons, has been the technological developments, inventions, innovations, and advancements. The review of literature on copyright reveals that the need for the protection of authors’ rights was firmly realized only after Guttenberg’s invention of the printing press in 1451.
This paper aims to fill some void in the intellectual property literature, particularly relating to the history and generations of copyright law. Paper classifies the generations of copyright into three and seeks to examine the historical development of copyright law through these three classified generations of evolution. Every generation of copyright had its own peculiarity and it not only protected the authors alone but also different stakeholders involved in the publication industry.
It has been argued that the technological developments and advancements, and the journey from wheel to pulley; diode, triode to transistors; and transistors to chips have been the substantial reasons in the determination of subject-matter of protection and the rights of authors under the copyright law.
Paper also makes an attempt to discuss the: (i) journey of copyright law from a positive right to a negative right; (ii) factors that led to the recognition of the author’s economic and moral rights under the copyright law; and (iii) historical development of copyright law in preindependent and post-independent India.
Published in: NTUT Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Management
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