The right of reproduction

The right of reproduction - commonly considered the core of copyright - has always been the first entitlement to face the challenges raised by technological developments. The digitization of protected works and the advent of the internet have drastically broadened the range of conducts involving acts of copying, triggering heated policy discussions on the optimal extension of exclusivity. Against the silence of international sources, the EU legislator has harmonized this right in the Software, Database and InfoSoc Directives. However, the broad definitions and unclear exceptions provided therein have created greater uncertainties. National courts have struggled with the classification of a wide range of new technological processes and with the treatment of partial and temporary reproductions, while scholars have raised concerns on the effect that an overstretching of the right would have had on the functioning of the internet, the development of digital markets, and users’ enjoyment of their digital freedoms. The chapter illustrates the path leading to the definition of the right of reproduction by international and EU sources, delineates the uncertainties regarding its scope, and comments on the evolution of the notion in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), highlighting positive contributions, pitfalls, and gaps yet to be filled.