Il fantasma dell'opera

The digital work. A horror for our legal system?

[:it]More and more often we speak of 'digital work"whose meaning seems to be increasingly understood by users, without that there is, indeed, a real and effective feedback from the legislator.

In fact, as is well known, a digital work is understood to be an intellectual work that is characterised by the fact that it contains a so-called "corpus mysthicum" (such as originality, creativity, the
characteristics of innovativeness; therefore intangible connotations) and not having a "corpus mechanicum"(think for instance of the musical score or the traditional sheet of paper on which a work is written).

It is important, on this point, to remember that the digital work, precisely because of its entirely immaterial connotation, must not be confused with the CD/DVD containing multimedia files. Rather, the work is identified precisely in the files it contains, i.e. in a set of electrical impulses expressed in binary code.

It is important, on this point, to differentiate digital works in the strict sense, from the digitised works"(i.e. the simple DVD or CD, inside which digital files are imprinted and stored). In these cases, in fact, the physical format has a strong influence on distribution and musical, editorial and audiovisual works, already fully protected, are transported in digital format for distribution reasons.

Classic exampleTherefore, a digital work is the digital photograph and/or video, not necessarily being associated with a paper reproduction.

It goes without saying that the problems associated with the relationship between copyright and digital works are obviously enormous. Given the ease with which a person can 'take possession' and use a digital work of a third party through the use of the web.

Our legal system, however, has not yet defined the term 'digital work' in copyright law, and has not yet had the opportunity to regulate such disciplinedespite the fact that they have been needed for years.

 

 

 

 [:]

by admin