Theoretical Foundation and Contemporary Application of the Concept of

Abstract

Justice is a universal aspiration, and the feeling of injustice is a powerful human emotion. However, injustice is essentially a conflict, and a society without justice as a governing principle is an unstable society bound together by some form of coercion. Moreover, law and justice are subjected to different interpretations over time, but the common standard has not been changed. That is, the diversity of justice does not always coincide with the consensus of law and society. Alternatively, one person's request for legal justice may contradict another person's request. Intellectual Property plays a vital role in modern economies as a valuable intangible asset. Particularly, copyrights and related rights can be considered as one of the most viable intellectual property rights which can easily be acquired as well as unduly exploited. Digitization makes it easy to make unauthorized copies of copyrighted works in seconds. Inevitably, the misuse of property rights will challenge the skills and interests of dedicated owners to create that work with financial intent. The main purpose of this article is to explore the possibility of access to intellectual property in the face of the visually impaired community, and to identify and validate the changing nature of copyright and related rights challenges in the age of digitization. It discusses the involvement of the domestic law-making mechanism in recent developments in the protection of copyright and related rights in a digital environment to achieve these objectives. Finally, this article seeks to identify gaps in the Sri Lankan law and to develop copyright and related rights law to strike a balance between the rights of owners, the general public, and the visually impaired community. This research is a legal inquiry into the inextricable link between law and society throughout the theoretical foundation and contemporary application of the concept of "Social Engineering" to intellectual property (Amendment) Act, No 08 of 2021.