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Copyright abolition is a movement to abolishcopyright and all subsequent laws made in its support. The notion of anti-copyright combines a group of ideas and ideologies that advocate changing copyright laws. It often focuses on the philosophical, economic, or social implications of copyright, arguing that its benefits to society are questionable and that it may, in some cases, hinder creativity while concentrating advantages among certain stakeholders. Some groups may question the justification of copyright on economic and cultural grounds. Members of this movement are in favor of either a significant overhaul or repeal copyright laws.
Michele Boldrin andDavid K. Levine, economists atWashington University in St. Louis, have suggested that copyrights andpatents are a net loss for the economy because of the way they reducecompetition in thefree market.[1] They refer to copyrights and patents as intellectual monopolies, akin to industrial monopolies, and they advocate phasing out and eventually abolishing them.[2]
One common argument in defense of copyright is the view that giving the developers a temporary monopoly over their works encourages further development and creativity, giving the developer a source of income, and thus encourages them to continue their creative work; usually copyright is secured under theBerne Convention, established byVictor Hugo and first adopted in 1886. Every country in the world has copyright laws and private information ownership has not been repealed anywhere officially. Numerous international agreements on copyright have been concluded since then, but copyright law still varies from country to country.
Copyright is also massively rejected by those partaking inonline piracy and other participants ofpeer-to-peer networks, who put copyrighted materials into public access. In addition, in the context of the Internet, Web 2.0, and other newer technologies, it has been argued that copyright laws need to be adapted to modern information technology. It is an ongoing debate in many parts of the world.
