Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
First Amendment Limits On Copyright, C. Edwin Baker
First Amendment Limits On Copyright, C. Edwin Baker
Vanderbilt Law Review
Although the tension between copyright and the First Amendment has long been noted and increasing numbers of First Amendment challenges to copyright have recently been filed, few scholarly commentaries have gone beyond relatively narrow attempts at doctrinal accommodation. Under the assumption either that existing copyright law fully accommodates First Amendment interests or that some balance is appropriate, commentators have avoided any principled exploration of the full force of First Amendment principles. This Essay aims to fill that gap. Rather than use mechanical doctrine to evaluate existing copyright law, this Essay begins with a theoretical approach to the First Amendment and …
Private Copyright And Public Communication: Free Speech Endangered, Lyman R. Patterson
Private Copyright And Public Communication: Free Speech Endangered, Lyman R. Patterson
Vanderbilt Law Review
Copyright as it has developed is essentially a private copyright for private communications made public for profit. Theoretically,the right to copyright is derived from the act of creation, and the choice of making his creations public is that of the author. As the copyright clause makes clear, the purpose of the private monopoly of copyright is to encourage the author to make his creations available for public learning. Television, on the other hand, is primarily a medium of public communication that has as a major function the transmission of public information to the public. To apply the present law of …