The Conceptual Game in Copyright

This article examines the nature of copyright as a concept and discusses the benefits that can be derived from understanding copyright as a vague conceptual framework, or, alternatively as an arsenal of competing interpretations and permutations, rendering its meaning essentially contested. The best way to make meaningful progress in the way we approach and think of copyright is by admitting into our discourse on copyright alternative approaches to ownership which emphasizes the public interest. We can protect the integrity of the copyright discourse by ensuring that no single voice can exclude other voices, and allow sufficient conceptual flexibility to permit open discourse about the way we should approach and redefine the entitlement structure in copyright.