L’equità dei compensi per lo sfruttamento delle risorse di proprietà intellettuale

The essay examines on several levels the legal concept of fair renumeration for authors and performers for the use of copyrighted content on digital platforms as prescribed by the EU Digital Copyright Directive (Dir. 2019/770/UE). The Directive, which confers on content creators a new set of rights related to fair remuneration for their work, is analysed in the context of the broader framework of so-called “platform studies”. By introducing this new piece of legislation, the European legislator demonstrated its intention to enforce digital copyright to correct unfair market practice, in particular by market-dominant platforms. However, as the essay argues, the text of the Directive is not always appropriately written to achieve this aim. The essay compares the EU Digital Copyright Directive’s provisions regarding fair remuneration for authors’ and performers’ work with existing Italian and EU legislation regarding remuneration and compensation mechanisms and their legal meaning. This comparison with current legislation highlights some innovations introduced by the Directive, and also offers the occasion to comment on the policy choices made by the Italian legislator when enacting the EU Directive into national law. In the second part of the essay the legal concept of fair remuneration for authors and performers is examined in the light of the general principle enshrined both in the Italian Constitution and in EU Treaties that governs the protection of intellectual work in order to protect freedom of expression and to promote the advancement of culture.