How Far Can Copyright Be Stretched? Framing the Debate on Whether New and Different Forms of Creativity Can Be Protected

Abstract

This paper expands on whether copyright protection may be available for certain new and non-conventional works as diverse as graffiti, sports movements, dj-sets, culinary presentations, jokes, magic tricks, works created by artificial intelligence and engineered DNA. The potential expansion of copyright in a knowledge-based society is a relevant and topical subject at the moment also in light of the current scholarly and policy debates on the modernisation of copyright rules in many countries, including the EU and US. The issue of whether copyright can protect certain new and non-traditional products of human ingenuity is here addressed by carrying out a specific-work-related analysis of core tenets of copyright laws, including copyrightable subject matter, originality, fixation and authorship requirements, functionality exception, morality, and public policy provisions.

Keywords: Copyright, non-conventional creativity, authorship, originality, fixation, dichotomy idea/expression