Abstract
This paper, based on my forthcoming book with Cambridge University Press, examines how copyright law plays an underappreciated role in the debate over social justice and equality in the digital age. Drawing on a wide array of case studies—Harvard’s exploitation of slave daguerreotypes, the unlawful distribution of an intimate recording of sportscaster Erin Andrews, the infamous stand-off between the Charging Bull and Fearless Girl statues on Wall Street, the largely forgotten authorship controversy over the beloved musical Rent, and Adolf Hitler’s successful use of copyright law to enjoin publication of a book that would have helped Americans learn about the full scope of his plans in the lead up to World War II— my paper advances two central assertions. First, by employing the methodology of critical theory, I contend that the way courts have adjudicated the vesting, scope and enforcement of copyright interests, particularly in the wake of technological changes over recent decades, has propped up, and even exacerbated, social inequities by negotiating cultural and economic rights along racial, gender and socioeconomic lines. Second, I argue that such doctrinal turns have concomitantly flouted the purported goal of the copyright regime: progress in the arts and the flourishing of the creative economy. Since laws regulating the world of publishing and the use of creative content increasingly determine participation and privilege in the digital world, my paper provides a template for a more robust copyright system that both better addresses egalitarian concerns and serves the interests of creativity and innovation.
Presenters
John TehranianPaul W. Wildman Chair & Professor of Law, Law, Southwestern Law School, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Copyright, Free Speech, Cultural Production, Authorship, Race, Gender and Inequality
