Moral rights are incompatible with the new digital environment in Essay

Moral rights are incompatible with the new digital environment in which copyright operates. Discuss in the light of(a) the technicaland (b)the practicalan - Essay Example One has to consider what moral rights are because morality is a very hard area to regulate, because one could argue that it is immoral for those with the digital technology to abuse the ownership rights of the copyright owner by making it available to all those who access the website for free1. Yet, on the other hand, one could argue that it is immoral for the copyright holder not to freely disclose information over the internet for free, especially if it benefits society on either educational or health and safety ground2. One could argue that the confidentiality and copyright afforded to Prince Charles over his diaries was immoral because is it right that the next King of England harbors such overtly biased political views Therefore this discussion will have to consider what is moral and not moral, which is a very difficult endeavor because morality one could argue is a subjective view. This exploration will also focus on the WIPO treaty because it is the latest in the international legal framework to balance the rights of society (Utilitarian Rights) and the rights of the individual (Personality Theory Rights) in the new digital age. ... Intellectual Property, Copyright & Rights: Intellectual property rights like property rights have been protected in UK, US and Canadian law as individual and not the realm of the government to encroach into them. This is different from the approach being suggested in global copyright harmonization which considers a different approach, a utilitarian approach which weighs up the interests of society against the individual where the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few. Copyright in Intellectual Property law usually refers to the protection of ideas in intellectual property prior to their public release; therefore in respect to copyright it can also refer to artistic designs of goods and jingles prior to completion, but the most important factor is that it portrays the traditional approach of UK law, which is similar to the US and Canada, i.e. individual property rights should not be invaded against by government, i.e. they can not be treated in a utilitarian manner, rather the personal and public concerns need to weighed and balanced. The most interesting area of intellectual property law and copyright law is personal rights v's the general welfare of society, i.e. the public nature of artistic and literary works v's protection a persons private property rights in respect to copyright items. The International Copyright Treaty is the latest in a long line of international copyright harmonization. Copyright protection is afforded to literary and artistic works that are in substantial form, i.e. sheet music, recording or written book. The work must be original and not copied.3 There also has to be labor and skill performed by the author/artist4 and