| Abstract: | The article describes the challenges of copyright protection in the digital world. Starting from the observation that copyright is one of the most disputed regulative systems in the 21st century, it analyses the reasons for the intensity of the public and political debate. The analysis comes to the conclusion that the main reason for this is the radical change of impact copyright law has undergone since computers and Internet access found their way into almost every household. What was designed as a regulative system for professional market players became a statutory code of conduct for the general public. However, the necessary steps to acknowledge this elementary change were never taken by the legislators. The article concludes that a copyright that affects professional authors, rights holders, prosumers and consumers alike needs significant conceptual modifications. Several proposals for short-, middle- and long-term changes of the copyright systems are offered. |
