Die urheberrechtliche Drittnutzung zwischen Vervielfältigung, Bearbeitung und freier Benutzung

An author’s rights can be infringed in a variety of ways. While the use of a work in an identical or almost identical form is qualified as reproduction, its further modification is considered to be an adaptation or other form of transformation. If, on the other hand, the new work is so far removed from the original as to render it almost unrecognisable, this constitutes free use, which the author can no longer prohibit. In this study, the author focuses on these forms of copyright law usage and their distinction from each other. On the one hand, she presents the current legal situation as well as the available jurisprudence and literature. On the other hand, she addresses the questions of whether the current legal provisions are appropriate and necessary to resolve the conflict of interest between authors and users and whether they are in line with the requirements of Union law.