Commons, Users, Service Providers - International Conference - Hannover, March 17-18, 2010
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Commons, Users, Service Providers
Internet (Self-)Regulation and Copyright
hosted by
Prof Dr Axel Metzger
Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute for Legal Informatics
Prof Dr Thomas Dreier
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Prof Dr Gerald Spindler
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
at
Leibniz Universität Hannover
March 17-18, 2010
Introduction
Self-regulation of the internet has been controversial from the very beginning. Liberal voices have
emphasized the positive effects of a truly global medium of unrestricted communication where new
ways of collaboration amongst creators, users and providers may be implemented. For conservatives,
the internet provides a biotope for all types of illegal activity including copyright ‘piracy’. However,
state-driven regulation is hardly ever effective due to the decentralized architecture of the internet and
the territorially restricted sovereignty of states.
The conference highlights three different models of regulation for copyright issues;
the self-regulation of free software and content communities,
the de-regulation of ISP‘s liability and
the strict regulation of personal and other privileged use by copyright limitations and exceptions.
