IL DIRITTO D’AUTORE NELLA PROSPETTIVA EUROPEA

The goal of this research is an understanding of the European harmonization movement’s effect when authors’ rights are concerned. Special attention is given to the main issues concerning the phenomenon of on-line piracy. Firstly, the general features of authors’ rights are outlined, together with an overview on the origins of the homogenization movement and of the characteristics of national models. Moreover, the differences between the continental perspective and the Anglo- Saxon perspective are explored, the former being linked to the droit d’auteur archetype, and the latter being rooted in the copyright model. The second level of analysis focuses on the European influence: the essential activity of judicial institutions being included, the methodology of research involves an evaluation of the tools the EU member states have at their disposal for the defense of authors’ rights and of their adjustment to a digital context. On the grounds of the basis here outlined, two main topics have been developed regarding the safety of intellectual property on peer2peer networks. Keeping in mind how the entire subject of intellectual property has been reevaluated thanks to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, this research examines the controversial relationship between the safety of authors’ rights and the rights to privacy. It leads on to analyzing the responsibility regime of Internet Service Providers in order to recognize their role in safeguarding digital copyright.