Between access to culture and the rights of a creator. Considerations on restrictions on e-book trading

Abstract

Currently, we observe a tendency to digitize all information and creativity, which on the one hand affects their global availability, but on the other hand raises problems related to the protection of intellectual property and the rights of creators. Sharing copyright works over the internet is extremely simple, cost-effective and anonymous. The development of the internet and the importance of the web influenced the widespread, illegal sharing of works through it. These activities took place in the passivity and ineffectiveness of the legislator, which resulted in a “copyright crisis” - copyright no longer meets the challenges of the information society.
One of the most contentious issues in the copyright doctrine is the issue of the admissibility of the institution of the exhaustion of copyright to all intangible copies of works, including e-books. The research objective of the presentation is to answer the following research question: does the resale of an e-book constitute a copyright infringement? To answer this question, it is necessary to analyze the differences between the digital and the traditional version of the publication and its market for the publishing market. The answer to this question is crucial in determining the future of access to cultural works. The considerations are based on the judgment of the CJEU C-263/18. The research method used in the work is the case study method and the monographic method.