A Critical Analysis Of The Nature And Scope Of Quotation Exception Under Ethiopian Copyright Law: Relative Regulation Of Authors' And Users’ Rights

Abstract

The law allows quotation to use copyrighted material for any purposes without the copyright holder's permission. Furthermore, any infringement of fair practice of quotation exception is punishable under the copyright law. In copyright law, a fundamental act of permissible use, quotation, has a relatively broad scope. Many cases explain that quotation exception, crystallize the balance between copyright and fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of speech, by developing a principle-based perspective on the theoretical justification underpinning fair practice as a dialogue between authors and users. As a result, the external application of fundamental freedoms as defensive rules is unnecessary. A natural unfolding of the implications of the concept of the balance between copyright and fundamental rights is the integral status of copyright exceptions and limitations as user rights. This is a game-changing insight into the legal nature of these defensive rules under copyright law, aligning with scholarly consensus towards the recognition of copyright user rights while departing from national precedents that deny the existence of user rights. An attempt has been made here to comprehend copyright exception in relation to quotation exception, as well as to highlight authors‘ right, users‘ right, infringement, and fair practice under the Ethiopian copyright law. Besides, pointing out on the scope of permissible quotation under Ethiopian copyright, it investigates the legal nature of this provision and legal implications of declaring the relevant legal provision as a right of users of copyright protected works. The aim of this paper is to examine the regulation of quotation exception under copyright laws using comparative approach. The paper focuses on comparative study of three states, whose copyright laws were reviewed at length as part of the study forming the quotation exception study. These are United Kingdom, United States and India. The study further looks at the adherence to international treaties related to copyright and quotation exception, as well as the benefits of international copyright treaties to this exception. The present contribution discusses the scope of permissible quotation under Ethiopian copyright, investigates the legal nature of this provision and, going beyond current scholarship, inquires the contextual framework and legal implications from declaring the relevant legal provision as a right of the users of copyright protected works.