The Ethics of Artistic Creativity and the Protection of the Author under Copyright Law

Speakers:

• Jannis Lennartz (Humboldt University of Berlin and visiting researcher at ILEO)
• Viktoria Kraetzig (Goethe University and visiting researcher at ILEO)
• Christophe Geiger (Luiss University and Director of ILEO)
• Silvia Scalzini (University of Parma and ILEO Member)
• Ludovico Bossi (Luiss University and ILEO Member)

Chair: Christophe Geiger (Luiss University and Director of ILEO)

Date and Time: September 17, 2025, 2:00–4:00 PM.

Room: Classroom 19 – Via Parenzo

Link: https://luiss.webex.com/luiss/j.php?MTID=m7fba7e273f7ce936eb2cd246ef711904

Please register and confirm your attendance at ileo@luiss.it (mandatory for external visitors to enter the Luiss premises)

For the first ILEO seminar after the summer break, two recent papers by ILEO visiting researchers and ILEO members will be presented and discussed with the audience.

I. Does Copyright Law Only Protect Great Art?

Jannis Lennartz & Viktoria Krätzig

Abstract:

Copyright has lost its form. A law that is supposed to protect “personal intellectual creations” in “literature, science, and the arts” now treats everyday content like great art. This leads to an unseemly increase in the number of protected works. The proliferation of unworthy works poses a problem for the legitimacy of copyright law and a risk to the fundamental rights of third parties, as we increasingly communicate and create through copyrighted works in the digital age. To reframe the copyright concept of a work in the context of digital reproduction, we propose a twofold approach: combining a historical argument—returning to the origins of the concept of a work—with constitutional law by linking the copyright work to the constitutional freedom of the arts. To be accepted as a “work” and to be protected by copyright law, an artifact does not need to be a masterpiece, but it should at least aspire to be a valuable work. It must demonstrate a will to take shape.

II. Time to (Finally) Reinstall the Author in EU Copyright Law: From Contractual Protection to Remuneration Rights

Christophe Geiger, Silvia Scalzini, & Ludovico Bossi

Abstract:

Fair remuneration for authors and performers for the exploitation of their work lies at the heart of the rationale behind copyright and related rights. Furthermore, the remuneration of creators is strongly justified by fundamental rights at both the international and European levels. However, since its inception, the copyright system has failed to achieve this goal, with revenues from the exploitation of creative works still often unfairly distributed to authors and performers. Most recently, their revenues have also been affected by crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing use of generative AI technologies to produce works that could potentially compete with those of human creators.

The article argues that expanding the use of remuneration rights seems to be the better path forward. Following the latest developments, it explores policy options for implementing different types of remuneration rights (i.e., residual, other per se, and “limitation-based”). It analyzes several national experiences and pending CJEU referrals to identify clear principles for the development, at the EU and international level, of better-functioning remuneration systems for creators, thus ensuring that the copyright system can (finally) fulfill one of the main functions for which it was established.

Link to the publication: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5330841

About the Speakers:

Jannis Lennartz is a Visiting Professor of Constitutional Law and Legal Philosophy at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Viktoria Kraetzig is a postdoctoral researcher at Goethe University, focusing on intellectual property and competition law. They are working on a joint project, “Copyright’s Work as Work of Art,” which redefines the concept of work in copyright under the conditions of digital reproduction. Their approach is twofold: it combines a historical argument—going back to the origins of the concept of work in the 19th century—with constitutional law, linking the work in copyright with the freedom of the arts in constitutional law. They are visiting ILEO / the Luiss Department of Law in September this year.

Christophe Geiger is a Professor of Law at Luiss University and the Director and founder of the Innovation Law and Ethics Observatory (ILEO). Silvia Scalzini is an Associate Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Parma, the scientific coordinator of the Master's in Competition and Innovation Law at Luiss University, and a member of ILEO. Ludovico Bossi is a PhD candidate in Law and Business at Luiss University and a member of ILEO.