Published on 31 January 2020
Abstract: The release of the world’s first-ever black hole image generated an
immediate copyright dispute and revealed multiple copyright issues that
remain unsettled. This Article argues that the black hole image should be
left in the public domain without copyright protection for the following
reasons: First, the image’s copyrightability and copyright ownership are
too uncertain to warrant legal protection, making fair use and
compulsory licensing largely irrelevant; second, the image is a work of
worldwide significance that was created through broad international
collaboration with substantial public funding, which strongly implies a
public interest in access to the work; and third, a Creative Commons 4.0
Attribution license cannot guarantee public access because it can be
changed at any time to a more restrictive license. This Article concludes
that only by leaving the black hole image in the public domain can
copyright’s objective of increasing public access to creative works and
promoting scientific progress be achieved.
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