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'You wouldn't steal a car' vs 'information wants to be free' : regulatory failure of copyright law through the prism of systems theory
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Florence : European University Institute, 2016
EUI; LAW; PhD Thesis
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GRACZ, Katarzyna, ‘You wouldn’t steal a car’ vs ’information wants to be free’ : regulatory failure of copyright law through the prism of systems theory, Florence : European University Institute, 2016, EUI, LAW, PhD Thesis - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/41244
Abstract
The thesis aims at explaining current regulatory crisis of copyright law (understood as its inability to regulate social dynamics as regards production, reproduction, dissemination of and access to information goods) through the application of systems theory. It refers to the concept of autopoietic legal system in order to draft a model representing the ecosystem in which copyright law functions. This model not only allows for observing copyright regime as it stands currently but also for analysing how it evolved over time. It scrutinises the interdependencies between the legal system and other constituent elements of its ecosystem: politics, economy, art, science, technology, religion, mass media, education as well as non-functionally differentiated segments of society: circles of relatives and friends. The main goal of this analysis is to highlight the fact that the current regulatory crisis of copyright is the result of the legal system's failure to equally acknowledge all the diverse rationalities constituting its ecosystem. The primary hypothesis of the study is that the core of the problem may be attributed to the divergence between legal norms, and competing non-legal copynorms constructed in the process of co-evolution within various elements of the model in question. In the analysis all the relevant copynorms understood as segmented social norms regulating social dynamics with respect to production, reproduction, dissemination of and access to information goods have been reconstructed to indicate their potential to oppose legal regulations. The thesis pivots around the concept of reflexive justice which refers to the equal acknowledgement of colliding rationalities. It concludes with the firm statement that copyright law in the digital environment needs profound reform. The concept of reflexive justice as developed within the systems theoretical approach is perceived by the author of this thesis as the most promising starting point for the new philosophy of copyright law.
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Defence date: 10 May 2016
Examining Board: Professor Dr. Giovanni Sartor, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Dr. Jiri Priban, Cardiff University (Co-Supervisor); Professor Dr. Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz, European University Institute; Professor emeritus Dr. Gunther Teubner, Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main.
Examining Board: Professor Dr. Giovanni Sartor, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Dr. Jiri Priban, Cardiff University (Co-Supervisor); Professor Dr. Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz, European University Institute; Professor emeritus Dr. Gunther Teubner, Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main.