Upphovsrättens förhållande till återbruk av brukskonst : En del av en cirkulär ekonomi

Sammanfattning: Efforts are underway within the European Union to move towards a circular economy, with the aim of reducing society’s consumption and the use of resources. A keyword for the circular economy concept is reuse. The aim of this master thesis is to examine how copyright law relates to the reuse of applied art. Thus, the questions investigated in the thesis are as follows. How can applied art be reused under existing law? What limitations would be needed to achieve sustainable and long-lasting works of applied art, and can they be justified when the various interests at stake are considered? The forms of reuse covered in the thesis are upcycling, repair and repair through upcycling.  Regarding the subject of upcycling and repair through upcycling, the following is observed. When works are modified and upcycled, the right to exploit the work is subjected to the copyright of the original work. One way to address this problem would be to allow an existing provision in the national legislation an extensive interpretation, which would allow third parties to make changes to works of applied art.  As for repairs, another solution is needed. If a repair involves making copies of detachable parts of a copyright protected work, the rightsholders’ exclusive rights prevent the repair. It is permissible, for private use, to make copies of public-available works. However, it is not permissible to permit another person to produce utility goods. To be able to move towards a circular economy and meet the needs of an environmentally conscious society, it is necessary to impose a provision that limits the rightsholders’ rights, to extend the right to repair. Finally, a special approach and assessment regarding parts of works is also discussed.