"Mine, yours, ours" in an online environment

Abstract

When a work becomes public good − i.e. when it can be used, after the expiry of the period of copyright protection, without a permission from the copyright holder and without paying a royalty −, the work in question simultaneously leaves the narrow area of protected, private rights, to enter a sphere where con-sumers of culture may practice one of their basic human rights, i.e. gain free access to information. The protection period, however, raises several issues, in particular with today's dizzy-ing extension in the use of the internet and mobile devices. The illegal use of copyright-protected works seems to be almost insurmountable; despite this, it constitutes a serious dilemma whether the various acts performed without a permission and the relevant actors should be treated as criminals.