ENFORCEMENT OF COPYRIGHTS IN THE AGE OF GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY: RE-EXAMINING THE RELEVANCE OF THE PRINCIPLE OF TERRITORIALITY

With every technological innovation, copyright jurisprudence faces conflicting shades of impact. On the one hand, the emergence of Internet technology, like its predecessors, enhances communications systems so that across huge distances and space, works of creativity travel regardless of physical territorial borders. On the other hand, copyright abuses, especially in the virtual world, have become much more possible with incredible ease. In response, the copyright protection scheme is always reformed to contain such threats. The core problem addressed in this study revolves around the growing inability of traditional copyright enforcement mechanisms to address infringements that occur online and across jurisdictional lines adequately. The principle of territoriality, deeply rooted in copyright law, is encountering challenges as it attempts to grapple with infringements facilitated by digital technologies. Copyright holders are confronted with the perplexing task of asserting their rights in an environment where creative works can be instantaneously accessed, distributed, and exploited worldwide. This research aims to assess whether the principle of territoriality, which underpins many aspects of copyright enforcement, remains effective and relevant in light of the global connectivity that digital platforms facilitate. Through a review of international copyright treaties, court cases, and contemporary scholarly discourse, this research explores the tensions arising from the conflict between territoriality and the Internet's borderless nature. Doctrinal research methodology (qualitative research) was employed to investigate this challenge. This involves legal analysis of international copyright treaties, judicial decisions, and scholarly literature to trace the historical evolution of the territoriality principle and its limitations in the digital age. It concludes by recommending an installation of a global technology-aided copyright enforcement framework that, although it recognizes the peculiar economic and creative needs of individual nation-states, requires the participation of all key stakeholders, including critical Internet actors, in ensuring global compliance with enforcement orders.