A Creature of Statute: Copyright Law and Legal Formalism

Matthew Rimmer, Australian National University College of Law

Abstract

This article argues that copyright law is not just a creature of statute, but it is also a social and imaginative construct. It evaluates a number of critiques of legal formalism. Part 1 examines whether the positive rules and principles of copyright law are the product of historical contingency and political expediency. Part 2 considers the social operation of copyright law in terms of its material effects and cultural significance. Part 3 investigates the future of copyright law, in light of the politics of globalisation and the impact of new information technologies.