Copyright incentive or the end of the road? An ideology-analysis of the Association of American Publishers and Authors Guilds view on copyright.

The aim of the following thesis is to examine if the ideology behind the copyright laws of today poses a threat to creativity and the cultural heritage. The organizations Association of American Publishers and Authors Guild are subject to an ideology- analysis which seeks to examine their ideological views on copyright and the possible threat to creativity such a view brings. The conflict between the two organizations and Google Book Search is used as a context where the ideology is being brought to light. Stanford Law School professor, Lawrence Lessigs work is used as theory and an alternative to the examined view on copyright. The result suggests that the organizations see copyright as the only effective incentive to creation and therefore they think stronger intellectual property laws are needed. They are also engaging in the process of equalising intellectual property with material property, to build a system that defends the old against the new rather than a system that promotes progress. This constitutes an ideology which fully developed might harm the environment for creativity and restraint the publics access to the cultural heritage.Uppsatsnivå: