Giovanella, Federica (2014) Enforcement del diritto d'autore nell'ambito di Internet vs. protezione dei dati personali: bilanciamento tra diritti fondamentali e contesto culturale = Copyright enforcement in the Internet vs. personal data protection: balance between fundamental rights and cultural context. Trento Law and Technology Research Group. Research Paper; 20 . Trento : Università degli Studi di Trento. ISBN 978-88-8443-537-8

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Abstract

The starting point of this research are a number of selected lawsuits in which copyright holders have tried to enforce their rights against Internet users suspected of illegal file-sharing. In so doing, copyright enforcement collided with users’ information privacy. Employing a comparative and multidisciplinary approach, my aim is to understand the way judges solve the mentioned conflict between information privacy and copyright enforcement. The comparison involves the European system (with particular regard to Italy) and the North American ones (US and Canada). The idea behind my analysis is that technology affects society, which in turn affects lawmakers, and even judges. Indeed, judges do not live a secluded life, but operate within a society. Therefore, it is at least plausible, if not necessary, that their decisions reflect the values of that society. Many studies illustrate the way courts decide and if and how they can be influenced by the society and culture in which they operate. To assess if my statement is sound, I shall consider the perception of copyright in the three normative systems. The same analysis is undertaken with regard to information privacy. Importance is given also to the policies adopted for the two rights. Unsurprisingly, technology has affected in many ways the substance of both privacy and copyright norms, as well as people’s lives and people’s way of behaving. This has led to a different perception of the need to protect the aforementioned rights. The question I mean to answer is the following: could this be a reason why, despite similar legal frameworks, the outcomes of lawsuits are quite different among the considered legal systems? This is the goal of my research, conscious of the fact that anyway my answer can be just one of the many possible explanations.

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