Copyright Fiduciaries: Problems and Solutions

Authors

Jessica Silbey, Boston University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-18-2023

ISSN

2330-1295

Publisher

JOTWELL

Language

en-US

Abstract

Andrew Gilden & Eva E. Subotnik, Copyright’s Capacity Gap, 57 U.C. Davis L. Rev. __ (forthcoming, 2023), available at SSRN (Aug. 9, 2023).

In this forthcoming article, Andrew Gilden and Eva Subotnik begin an important conversation about an underexplored area of copyright law. Their focus is copyright law’s inconsistent treatment of mental capacity. Under copyright law, copyright authors can produce valuable copyrighted work but those same authors may lack the legal capacity to make decisions about if, when, or how to exploit that work. For example, children and people with mental illness or disability can be copyright authors, but they cannot license that work (or refuse to license it) without a legally competent surrogate. The authors explain that this inconsistency leads to injustices for which they offer reforms.

Recommended Citation

Jessica Silbey, Copyright Fiduciaries: Problems and Solutions , in JOTWELL (2023).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/3652