Regarding copyright, two positions are often opposed: on the one hand, the rights that the author holds in relation to their work, and on the other, the general interest of society in accessing cultural goods to gain knowledge of such works. For this reason, Chapter III of Law 23 of 1958 has been responsible for setting a clear and precise limit regarding how far copyright extends, through the determination of limitations and exceptions to the author's right.
The regime of limitations and exceptions to copyright is regulated in the Colombian legal system through Law 23 of 1982, which establishes a series of situations or circumstances in which works may be used without requiring any authorization from the author or authors thereof. Consequently, this regime constitutes a prerogative for all those who wish to use the works, while at the same time it implies a restriction on the exercise of economic rights of the author.
It is important to highlight that the regime of limitations and exceptions in Colombia is considered a closed system, given that the situations contemplated by Law 23 of 1982 in its Chapter III are exhaustive. This means that the exceptions and limitations permitted in Colombia are solely and exclusively those established in said law, so that the use of a work outside the limits of these 14 articles constitutes an infringement of copyright.
Among the limitations and exceptions to copyright are some such as the use of works for teaching purposes, the so-called "right of quotation," and private copies. Thus, within Colombian legislation, the use of literary or artistic works, or parts thereof, is permitted when such use has educational purposes. Likewise, our legislation allows quoting an author by transcribing parts of their work, but in both cases, the author and the title of the work used must be mentioned. On the other hand, regarding private copies, the issue has been somewhat more contentious, since Article 37 of the aforementioned law mentions the right to reproduce works in a single copy for private use and without profit-making purposes. This article causes great controversy, as part of the doctrine has labeled it as supporting smuggling and piracy on a minimal scale. Thus, photocopying a book, as long as it is for private use and only one copy is reproduced, is not considered by Colombian legislation as a violation of copyright.
In this order of ideas, the regime of limitations and exceptions is a set of provisions whose purpose is to serve as a bridge between the free access to information by users and the right that authors have over their works, rights that arise from the very moment the work is created. Nevertheless, it is worth asking whether, as a consequence of accelerated technological development, these limitations and exceptions are sufficient, or whether, on the contrary, the different legal systems should make modifications to provide greater security to society in general.