The interface between copyright and contract: Suggestions for the future

In the UK, copyright law provides a property right to authors for works that meet certain criteria. Contracts can be used to help a right holder exploit that property right. Copyright has been alleged to provide a balance between the interests of right holders and other stake holders. Whilst there is much debate as to what that balance is, there is evidence that the use of contracts could nonetheless be affecting it. Contracts can be used in a way that extends or restricts protection that would otherwise exist under Copyright law. Legal rules regulate the extent to which this is permitted, but this varies between the UK, EU and the US. In the UK and EU the function of copyright remains vulnerable to an imbalance introduced by contracts. A test adapted from an overruled US case could resolve that imbalance.