Meaning and Role of Public Domain in Copyright

Abstract

Since the first bilateral copyright agreement in 1852, which later resulted in Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (shortly known as “the Berne Convention”), the exclusive rights of authors have been extensively reviewed and modified at international level. Ever since William Caxton established the first printing establishment in England in 1476 and ‘with each new stage of technological development, there has been a corresponding reformulation and extension of exclusive rights to ensure that authors (and their successors) are not deprived of the fruits of their works.’ Motives for the English Crown to take this revolutionary technology under control were mainly economical: through granting publishers and authors exclusive rights to publish particular books the Crown cut its lion’s share from growing market of literary works. Apart from giving incentive for creation, legislators accepted the need to ensure that those claims for exclusive rights are not pushed too far through introduction of an idea for ‘public domain’. In US intellectual property law, for instance, the emergence of the term ‘public domain’ have been prompted by a number of judicial decisions. Though there is no definite starting point, the basic fact pattern in all the early cases were the same: ‘following the expiration of copyright, the right holder invokes unfair competition laws to prevent the use of the work. Courts reject the claim reasoning that the result would frustrate public’s right to reproduce and distribute the work, thus creating perpetual monopolies.’