The Lessons of Living Gardens and Jewish Process Theology for Authorship and Moral Rights

Abstract:     
This Article examines the issues of authorship, fixation and moral rights through the lens of Jewish Process Theology. Jewish Process Theology is an application of Process Thought, which espouses a developmental and fluid perspective with respect to creation and creativity. This discipline offers important insights for how to shape and enforce copyright law. The issue of "change" and authorship is more important now than ever before given how the digital age is revolutionizing the way we think about authorship. The Seventh Circuit's recent decision wrongly maintaining that a living garden is not capable of copyright protection since it is unfixed, changeable and partially the product of non-human authorship illustrates the need for interdisciplinary guidance with respect to copyright law and policy.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 27

Keywords: authorship, fixation, moral rights, Jewish law, Process Thought, Process Theology, creativity

Accepted Paper Series