Presumed Intentions and the Copyright Bargain: Digital Copyright Reform, the Making Available Right, and Implied Licence for Public Body Uses of Copyrighted Works

Digital copyright reform discussions are considering the intersection between author’s rights, including the making available right, and the public interest in accessing materials online.

Mechanisms such as opt out, implied licence, waiver, and the copyright bargain have been suggested as ways to facilitate online public access to copyrighted materials. One area that tests the appropriate balance is public body uses of copyrighted works.

As governments move toward increasing public online access to materials, the privacy implications for personal information in the posted material and the Crown copyright issues are beginning to be considered.

This lecture will address the separate issue of the copyright implications for government-facilitated online access to materials in which copyright is owned by third parties. The lecture will analyse the extent to which the Crown is permitted to use private copyrighted materials and, in turn, the extent to which the Crown can make those works available to the public, considering in particular the theories of implied licence and waiver.

This lecture is part of a series organised in collaboration with the Society for
Computers and Law (SCL) to provide a platform for leading international scholars to address
emerging legal issues concerning the Internet: its use, governance and
regulation.