Historical Development of Exceptions to Copyright and its Application to Copyright Law in the 21st Century

Abstract

George Bernard Shaw wrote: 'When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.'(2) Years earlier La Rochefoucauld noted: 'Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue.' But whether stupid or wise, men are not just hypocritical; they are honestly unsure where their duty lies. This is one of the main reasons for the creation of rules and exceptions to these rules.
The aim of this paper is to take the reader through the historical development of exceptions to rules, in particular exceptions to copyright law in the light of technological advancement. The present discussion will commence by going back in time to consider how exceptions to rules came about and the reasons why exceptions were created in the first place. Having established this brief history, the paper will then set out an overview of the background to copyright exceptions before turning to the main discussion about the development of copyright law and exceptions to copyright in the UK. The discussion will be concluded by looking at the present position of copyright exceptions and the future impact following the implementation of the Information Society Directive in the UK