How Does Copyright Affect Publishers?

One of the reasons that copyright exists is to provide an incentive for the creation and production of creative works that meet society’s economic and social and cultural needs. If copying and sharing of the material that society values is not done legally and fairly, the economic viability of industries that produce the material may be eroded and the quality and availability of creative works may be threatened.

Publishers deal with a diverse range of copyright issues in their day-to-day business. They use or acquire copyright material belonging to others; they create or commission new copyright material; and they give others rights in relation to copyright material. It is important that publishers have systems in place to effectively manage their own copyright material as well as their use of others’ material, in both the traditional and digital publishing space.