Originality as a fortress resisting technological evolution, some comments inspired by the copyrightability of 3D digitization and printing

Copyright protects original works of art. It is supposed to serve as a tool boosting creativity, promoting the circulation of cultural products, and rewarding authors for their work. There is an ongoing debate on the room that should be devoted to this form of protection so that these aims can be efficiently achieved. Many authors argue that granting copyright in a too-generous way negatively affects creativity and the circulation of information. Originality, the main or only requirement to access copyright protection, is one of the flexibilities that may be used to intervene on the scope of copyright protection. Nowadays, this criterion is confronted with different kinds of technology-based solutions that may qualify as work. This chapter studies how originality resists technological evolution via the example of 3D digitization and printing. The approach is used to raise the broader and crucial question of the threshold of originality that should be chosen to incentivize creativity. Such a query leads first to note that in the current system, a very low threshold of originality is necessary for letting different sorts of works enjoy copyright protection in a standardized fashion. This mirrors the recognition of creativity in every field, including those connected to or driven by technology. In case this approach results in an excessive pervasiveness of copyright, potentially deterring the same creativity it is supposed to foster, it becomes crucial to identify redress mechanisms to countervail such a risk of overprotection. In this perspective, it may be worth considering the viability of raising the threshold of originality, through the introduction of a different evidence-based rule, or as an alternative option, it may be worth focusing on the viability of different forms of protection that could suit.