A comparative study of literary authorship, copyright laws and intellectual property

This thesis explores the existence of an identified author in relation to a text and how this identity and recognition thereof affects the way the work is perceived in the realm of literary criticism and by the law. The study covers how modern literary critics, such as Foucault and Barthes, viewed the author in relation to his work, and what role this bestowed on the reader/audience of the work. It also sheds light on theories about the identity of the original author of such monumental works as the Iliad and Odyssey, Shakespeare\u27s plays, and T.S. Eliot\u27s Wasteland. Lastly, the study delves into what steps laws of different nations have taken to define creation which can be identified as original and what works merit to be protected by copyright, and how such laws have affected the author and his/her work