USE OF WORKS WITHOUT THE AUTHOR’S CONSENT AS A TOOL FOR PROTECTION OF USERS’ INTERESTS IN COPYRIGHT LAW: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE USA, EU AND CANADA

The article discusses the development of free use of works without the consent of the author within the framework of ensuring user interests in the digital environment. It analyzes various international approaches (specifically, the experience of the USA, Canada, and the EU) to the regulation of free use of works and its impact on the interests of authors and users. Introduction. The article focuses on the clash of interests in the field of copyright law, emphasizing the tool of free use of works as a possibility to realize user interests. The lack of unification in different countries and the challenges that arise in the digital environment are key points of the research. Purpose. The aim of the article is to systematize the approaches of the USA, EU, and Canada to the free use of works and to determine optimal methods for transforming these approaches in the digital environment, taking into account the development of the role of user interests Materials and methods. The research is based on the legal provision of copyright law in the USA, EU, and Canada, and on the works of foreign researchers who study the transformation of the free use of works without the consent of the author in the digital environment. Results. The study formulates several approaches to the development of the tool of free use of works without the author's consent. These approaches include maintaining a closed list of exceptions, introducing the right to create UGC works, transforming exceptions into «user rights,» borrowing the institution of fair use, and applying the three-step test. Prospects. The article lays the foundation for further analysis and implementation of the recommended approaches into legislation, which will better protect the interests of authors and adapt copyright law to the challenges of the digital environment.