Soft law: a plural right, open to universality? The example of the fight against counterfeiting
Résumé
Pluralism or Universalism in International Copyright Law deals with the contemporary evolutions of copyright law under a comparative and international copyright law perspective. In a world where powerful intermediaries such as Google and Facebook are de facto regulators of the communication of copyright-protected works, the democratization of access to content has both substantially expanded the availability of new markets and dramatically increased copyright infringements. Does this mean that the long-sought ideal of a “universal” copyright regulation, which would harmoniously combine effective protection of intellectual creations with public interest goals, is a lost cause? Taken together, the contributions to this insightful and thoroughly researched book suggest that despite the prevailing labyrinthine mosaic of divergent national responses to fragmentation at international level, the foundations of a universal approach can be found in the interaction of regional, national and international copyright law instruments when responding to current and emerging technologies.