Abstract

The present paper analyses private copying as an exception to the reproduction right of intellectual works established by the majority of Copyright Laws, which turns dispensable the consent of the right-holder for the making of copies for private use. This exception is frequently connected to a system of fair compensation for right-holders, which is presently under public debate in the European Union and makes it necessary to discuss the subsistence of an exception for private copying in itself considered. The paper, therefore, appraises each of the traditional reasons pointed out to justify the exception within the present digital environment, taking into particular consideration the reason considered to be its most solid support, that is the protection of privacy.