Authors and Readers: Conceptualizing Authorship in Copyright Law

Abstract:     
Copyright law recognizes authors as the first owners of copyright. However, there is paucity of literature in copyright analysis of the author and the rights which should be granted by virtue of the very act of creativity in the production of literary and artistic works. This indicates insufficient attention paid to a concept that is so central to a law that primarily aims to encourage authorship for society's benefit. The idea of the author and authorship as a creative process is central to copyright analysis. Deeper analysis of the author and creative authorship will provide insights into how the law can work towards encouraging better author-reader connection and create a more efficient market for literary and artistic works to provide rewards to authors to encourage greater production of works to benefit society. This article proposes that conceptualizing authors as the most important figure for the grant of property rights will facilitate greater production of works that society will be willing to pay for in the market. This paper concludes that copyright is a law to encourage authors to create literary and artistic works for society. The rights granted under the law should encourage creative authorship, rather than a recovery of investment, and that public interests are served best by a law recognizing the creative author over the economic investor.

Keywords: copyright, authorship, public interest, digital technology

JEL Classifications: 033, 034

Accepted Paper Series