Prosumers and Their Understanding of the Copyright on the Web 2.0

Abstract

On the web 2.0, Internet users are consumers as well as producers of media contents which are protected by the German Urheberrecht. The online activities of these so called «prosumers» play a central role in controversial debates about the German Urheberrecht: On the one hand, legal scholars, among others, prefer a reform of the legal norms to open them for online contents generated by users («User Generated Content»). On the other hand, especially the creators of protectable work and the industry that commercially exploits the work demand an increased protection of intellectual property and exploitation rights on the Internet. Prosumers hardly participate in discourses in which their deviant online use is the key topic and focus. Moreover, scientific research studied the prosumers insufficiently. Within the scope of a qualitative empirical study (Rakebrand 2014) young adult prosumers were interviewed about their understanding of the German Urheberrecht on the web 2.0 − What do they know about it? Which personal experiences do they make? How do they evaluate it? And what are the reasons for their online use regarding the German Urheberrecht? The analysis reveals that young adults do not feel competent neither to understand the German Urheberrecht in all of its various aspects, nor to evaluate it and to participate in public debates. They lack a «guideline» for orientation to be able to understand and actively shape the German Urheberrecht. This article summarises key results of the study and provides impetus for media educational practice.