Copyright abolition

{{Short description|Movement advocating to abolish copyright}}

{{More citations needed|date=September 2023}}

Copyright abolition is a movement to abolish copyright and all subsequent laws made in its support. The notion of anti-copyright combines a group of ideas and ideologies that advocate changing the current copyright law. It often focuses on the negative philosophical, economic, or social consequences of copyright, and that it has never been a benefit to society, but instead serves to enrich a few at the expense of creativity. Some groups may question the logic of copyright on economic and cultural grounds. The members of this movement are in favor of either a significant overhaul or repeal of current copyright law.

Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine, economists at Washington University in St. Louis, have suggested that copyrights and patents are a net loss for the economy because of the way they reduce competition in the free market.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/economists-say-copyright-and-patent-laws-are-killing-innovation-hurting-economy|title=Economists Say Copyright and Patent Laws Are Killing Innovation; Hurting Economy|website=www.newswise.com}} They refer to copyrights and patents as intellectual monopolies, akin to industrial monopolies, and they advocate phasing out and eventually abolishing them.{{Cite web|url=http://www.dklevine.com/general/intellectual/againstfinal.htm|title=Against Intellectual Monopoly|website=www.dklevine.com}}

The classic argument in defense of copyright is the view that giving the developers a temporary monopoly over their works encourages further development and creativity, giving the developer a source of income, and thus encourages them to continue their creative work; usually copyright is secured under the Berne Convention, established by Victor Hugo and first adopted in 1886. Every country in the world has copyright laws and private information ownership has not been repealed anywhere officially. Numerous international agreements on copyright have been concluded since then, but copyright law still varies from country to country.

Copyright is also massively rejected by those partaking in online piracy and other participants of peer-to-peer networks, who put copyrighted materials into public access. In addition, in the context of the Internet, Web 2.0, and other newer technologies, it has been argued that copyright laws need to be adapted to modern information technology.It is a ongoing debate in many parts of the world.