BALANCING COPYRIGHT PROTECTION & CREATIVE FREEDOM IN THEDIGITAL AGE: PATHWAY FOR ADAPTATION OF CREATIVE WORKS ONDIGITAL PLATFORMS IN NIGERIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63456/jpslg-2-1-52Keywords:
Adaptation, Copyright, Creative Freedom, Intellectual PropertyAbstract
This work begins by giving a briefing of the concept of “intellectual property”; from which the concept of “copyright” itself is drawn, then the dynamics of protecting these copyrights are brought to light, the modes of breaching copyright are then portrayed; from which the infringement by adaptation is brought to light, the work goes further to (through an in-depth exploration of copyright principles, case laws and policy debates globally), examine what constitutes adaptation of works,the tension between protecting creator’s exclusive right and promoting creative freedom in the digital space and instances where it could constitute copyright infringement, the work also shoots briefly at examining what creative freedom ordinarily ought to look like before finally seeking to find a truce by peddling both sides with a proper balance.
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