It is a legal framework for intellectual property, so inevitably it is a mechanism to regulate who owns what and who pays whom. Some would argue that this makes copyright law itself undesirable because it stops people sharing freely. However the implication of sharing freely is that nobody will bear the costs of creating the work except the creator. And that is exactly why copyright was oriiginally introduced, because without some means of ensuring reward, only the rich could afford to create anything and it was believed to be unhealthy to rely on the rich alone for creative works.

The situation has changed considerably since. Because of digital communications copies can be stored and circulated at near-zero cost and in vast numbers. And the explosion of interest in photography means that a huge population of photographers is busy creating and sharing. But still there are limits to what amateurs can achieve in their spare time and out of their own pockets. If we want photographers to take personal and financial risks, to cover subjects that require more depth than just weekends and holidays, then there has to be money involved, and copyright as a framework for the market seems inescapable.