A Time-Travel to “Nova-Species”: Influence of Naturalism in Roman Law on the Ownership in Modern Copyright Law

Abstract

This research aims at analysing the impact of Naturalism-based Roman Law principles on certain concepts in modern Intellectual Property Law (IPL). Roman civilization was historically at its peak in literature and artistic creations. Therefore, an effective legal framework was much needed, for the well-being of the society. Based on the roots of Naturalism, it is to explore how modern concepts of IPL are influenced by Naturalistic ideologies such as in acquiring the ownership of artistic creations. The main objective of this research is to seek how morality-based Naturalism shaped modern IPL principles such as originality in determining the ownership of copyright. The secondary objective is to examine whether the academic and judicial interpretations of determining the claims on copyright ownership could go back to their roots based on Naturalistic Roman Law principles. The research methodology is based on the legal research methodology; a library-based secondary data analysis. The expected outcome is of the nature of policy research, in order to guide more progressive approaches on academic and judicial interpretations through exploring the Naturalistic roots of the modern laws on copyright.