The Doctrine of Fair Use in Sri Lankan Copyright Law: An Overview

Abstract

Copyright law is often perceived as an instrument for balancing the competing interests between the copyright owners and the users of copyright works. This is because of the prime importance of fostering creativity and the wide dissemination of its fruits for human development. One of the main doctrines used by copyright law for the purpose of striking a balance between the interests of the copyright owners and those of the users is ‘fair use’. The doctrine of fair use provides the users of copyright works a valid defence for unauthorised use of those works. This paper attempts to briefly examine (from a legal practitioner’s perspective) the scope of the doctrine of fair use enshrined in Sections 11(1) and (2) of the Sri Lankan Intellectual Property Act No.36 of 2003 in comparison with the same doctrine found in the copyright laws of the United States and Great Britain.