Regulating copyright in the digital age in Spain: the Sinde law

Abstract

In recent times the legal framework governing copyright in Spain has been reformed continuously. Due to the access to and consumption of intellectual creations on the internet becoming easier and more widespread, the tensions between copyright and related rights holders and other social actors have heightened. In an attempt to resolve these conflicts legal formulas have been implemented to enhance copyright protection. One of the latest and controversial amendments to Spanish legislation in this area is the Sinde law. This article focuses on this reform because it modified key issues with respect to copyright protection on the internet. Our starting point is the gap in the pre-existing legal protection that the Sinde law aims to fill. Then, we analyse its content and its limitations. Finally, we point out the main consequences of the Sinde law in the current context. The gap between the margin of legality and what can be done with technologies is still large, in a scenario with multiple conflicting interests and parties. Thus, we argue that the reconfiguration of the copyright legal framework in the digital age in Spain is still a work in progress.