THE COPYRIGHT SYSTEM
AND THE COPYRIGHT LAW IN GREECE.
INTRODUCTION
Copyright consists a significant section of the international legal system. However, the system and the law under which copyright is applied vary depending on the individual legal systems of each country. The copyright system constitutes the focal issue of this study aiming to analyse its importance for the intellectual and artistic world. Following an introductory section presenting the history of the copyright system, this essay makes reference to the main points of the copyright law as applied in Greece. Moreover, current problems of the digital copyright will be considered together with putative solutions.
DEFINITION
The intellectual and artistic creativity constitute a fundamental element of human existence. From the beginning of human history, the idea of the ownership has been treated as an ideal of cardinal importance, thus the assurance of one’s possessions being a primitive and impulsive need. Copyright ''springs from the idea that anything we create is an extension of 'self' and should be protected from general use by anyone else'' (Cornish, 2004). The copyright law has the objective to encourage artists to create, ensure and protect the constant growth of artistic and spiritual creativity.
Copyright is defined as:
• A form of intellectual property which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights for a certain time period during which the creator is able to exploit his work in any way he wish, in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation.
• A right, which relates to the expression of an idea, not the idea itself.
• An automatic right, which means that there is no necessity to apply formally for it.
• It is referred to any kind of intellectual creations and arises to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete.
• It does not cover ideas and information themselves,...