Communication to the public under copyright law and the impact of information and communication technologies: An analysis

Abstract

The main aim of copyright is dissemination of knowledge or information to the public. (Even the first copyright legislation of the world, i.e. Statute of Anne had been titled as ‘An act for the Encouragement of Learning, by vesting the copies of printed books in the Authors or purchasers of such copies, during the time therein mentioned’. The Act was enacted in order to encourage the people to gain knowledge by way of regulating printing industry.) In earlier days, copyright was only available to the literary works. Therefore, the only way to communicate the work to the public was by issuing copies of work to public. When the dramatic works and musical works were included for the copyright protection, new mode of dissemination of works including public performance was envisaged. It is the nature of these new subject matters which caused the changes to happen. For enjoying these works, people had to come together where the works were intended to be performed. Communication by way of public performance was widely known as ‘Communication for the public’ or ‘Communication in the Public’. The concept of communication to public was replaced by technological advancements, such as, music sheets and radio broadcast. These technological developments enabled the public to enjoy the copyrighted works without joining or assembling at a place.