MAS214 Free Cultures: Evaluating Copyright as an Engine of Expression

This essay examines the assertion that copyright serves as an engine of free expression, delving into the ways copyright law incentivizes creative production and protects intellectual property rights. It discusses how copyright provides economic benefits to artists and creators, enabling them to express their ideas freely within a market-driven system. The essay also addresses potential conflicts between copyright and free speech, particularly in the digital age, where concerns about digital piracy and expressive autonomy arise. By analyzing the balance between protecting creators' rights and promoting public access to information, the essay argues that copyright, when properly implemented, can indeed foster a vibrant and democratic civil society by encouraging creativity, innovation, and the dissemination of diverse ideas.

Running head: COPYRIGHT AND THE FREE EXPRESSION
Copyright and the Free Expression
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
The Supreme Court of United States have labelled copyright as “the engine of free
expression” as it helps in spurring the creative production of the people. It helps in providing
economic incentive for the speech and it helps in safeguarding the process of the creative
expression within the framework of the society. It helps in the process of the creation and the
dissemination of the ideas in the society that can help in providing the benefits to the society.
It can help in offering protection to the intellectual property which have been provided by the
laws. It helps in providing the exclusive right to a person of reproducing and publishing the
original work of the authorship (Joung and Kim 2016). Copyright carries out the function of
the private property right which helps the artists in living and making the money as the
entrepreneurs within the free market. This essay argues that copyright can act as an engine of
the fee expression and it can help the people in conveying the ideas.
Discussion
Copyright refers to form of the intellectual property which is granted to creators of the
original works of the authorship like the literary works along with the artistic works. It is
indicative of bundle of the exclusive rights which is vested in owner of the copyright. The
rights can be exercised by owner of the copyright who have been duly licensed pertaining to
this regard by that of owner of copyright. The copyright protection is applicable to the
artistic, musical along with the dramatic works and it starts the moment when the work is
created by the producer (Netanel 2008). It is a kind of intellectual property which helps in
providing the exclusive publication along with usage rights for author (Gee, Talley and
Nicholas 2019). It means that the content which have been created by the author without
taking consent of author. There exist many countries where the copyright protection have
been found to be automatic and in the event of publishing the original content it gets

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automatically protected with the help of the copyright law. It serves a crucial purpose and it
helps in giving the credit to the people which is appreciated by the people. It is instrumental
in protecting original content and it helps in applauding the unique talent of an individual.
The copyright law helps in covering form of the material expression which helps in
offering protection to the rights of the people. A particular work should be fixed with the
tangible form so that it can receive the copyright protection. It helps in protecting time, effort
along with the creativity of work which have been carried out by the creator. Copyright
owner have the right of authorizing the other people so that they can reproduce work.
Copyright owner have got the ability of transferring the exclusive rights or the subdivision of
the rights to the other people (Lewin-Lane et al. 2018). The registering of the copyright can
help in providing a public record pertaining to the claim of copyright. Copyright registration
can be said to be necessary for the copyright owner so that he can file the infringement
lawsuit within the court. The copyrighted work can be said to be of great value and it can
help in protecting the hard work of the creator.
The registering of the copyright can help a person in the assertion of the rights and it
can be instrumental in protecting the dignity of an individual. The copyright being in place
helps in indicating that the work is legally denoted that helps in providing security to an
individual. It can help in keeping a work safe and in the event of another person trying to
replicate the design or the idea strict measures can be taken against a person. It can help in
tilting the scales in the favour of an individual and it can help a person in contesting an issue
(Reimers 2016). The registering of the copyright can help in solving the issues in between the
aggrieved parties. The copyrighting helps in documenting the name of the creator that can
play an important role in salvaging his reputation in the society. It can help in providing the
ownership to an individual and it can spread his name freely within the public domain. It can
help in providing a face and it gives the credibility to the design or the idea that can prove to

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be useful in the area of the free expression (Shi et al. 2017). It can prevent the other people
from taking the ownership that can help the people in expressing the ideas in the free manner
in the society. It can safeguard respect of an individual and it can be translated into the
monetary along with the honorary profits.
The plagiarism can act as threat to economic health of business and it can also
threaten the status along with the standing of an individual. It can help an individual in
seeking for the damage from that of perpetrator that can help in the normal functioning of the
society. It can help in building upon a case that can work to the advantage of the society. It
can help in the prevention of any kind of the future mishap that can instill the courage in an
individual in expressing things freely within the framework of the society. The registering of
the copyright at an early stage can help in the prevention of the future troubles and it can be
instrumental in safeguarding the prospects of a company (Joyce et al. 2016).
The copyright can help an individual in rising above the competition and the
copyrighting can make a piece of work inaccessible to the competitors. It can help an
individual in standing out among the crowd and it can help in providing the profits to an
individual. The people in the modern age have got the freedom of the expression and the
copyright can go a long way in providing the creative freedom to the individuals (Stokes
2019). It provides the creators with the sole right of making the profit from the work that can
prove to be beneficial for the artists, writers along with the musicians. The copyright law can
encourage the creativity of the original authors and it can provide them with the incentive that
can help them in producing and in selling the new content (Aufderheide and Jaszi 2018).
The capacity of the humanity is the generation of the new ideas along with the
knowledge and it can be stated to be greatest asset of the humanity. The copyright can spur
the creativity hidden within the people and it can create the way for the artists to give vent to

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their inner expressions. It can be said to be integral for the innovation and it can act as a
stimulus in relation to the economic development (Mulligan 2017). It have paved the path for
the creation of the greater incentives that have helped in maximising the creativity and the
innovation of the people. It can help in securing the competitiveness of the countries and it
can help in the flourishing of the countries in the present world order. The exclusive rights
can help in the stimulation of the investment and it can help in the production of the
knowledge based goods in the society. It can help in the creation of the balanced system in
the world which supports the elements of the innovation, creation along with the public
interest (LaFrance 2017). Creativity can be said to be a basic requirement pertaining to the
copyright protection. A work which is above the standard of the average can be protected
with the help of the copyright that can help in providing privacy to the thoughts along with
the ideas of an individual.
Status of the freedom of the expression can be stated to be a fundamental right which
is enshrined within the framework of the international and the regional human right
instrument. Right of freedom of expression are found in Universal Declaration of Human
Rights along with the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights (Dreier and
Hugenholtz 2016). It have been enshrined within the national constitutions across a large
number of the jurisdictions. The copyright can be stated to be the right of every author and it
can be said to be instrumental in protecting the moral along with the material interest of the
creator. It can thus be a fundamental right for the people as it can have a strong link with the
idea of the freedom of the expression. The freedom of the expression have a positive
dimension and it provides the people with the freedom that helps them in creating with the
realm of the cultural, literary along with the artistic spheres (Zemer 2017). The link existing
in between the freedom of the expression and the protection of the copyright have been put
forward by Dimmich. It has been on the basis of various kinds of cases like Jersild v

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Denmark and Verlagsgruppe News v Austria that have helped in protecting the sanctity of the
creative expression of the individuals within the framework of the society (Jamali 2017). It
takes into account the contribution of the speaker to the public debate and right of the public
of being informed regarding matters of the public interest. Swedish Constitution have pointed
forth the fact that the authors along with the artists have the right to their work which is in
accordance with the provisions which have been laid down within the law. It helps in
promoting free formation of the opinion which is an interest that is encompassed by scope of
right to that of freedom of expression.
There exists an inter-relationship in between the copyright and the freedom of the
expression in the society. The copyright helps in fostering and incentivising independent
creation of the expressive works. It can be said that the copyright and the freedom of the
expression strive towards same goal that can be supplemented with the help of division of the
labour argument. Copyright can help in the establishment of a marketplace which helps in
providing the remuneration to the authors (Netanel 1996). It enables them in continuing the
production of the works and it allows the people in the assertion of the financial along with
the artistic autonomy (Anderson 2016). It have helped in the creation of diverse kinds of
works and it have laid foundation for the robust discourse which can be said to be a
prominent feature in relation to the democratic society. The copyright and the freedom of the
speech helps in the promotion of same goals within the wider society. It helps in furthering
interest of public with the help of the creation and the dissemination of the speech and the
expression in the society. The copyright law helps in securing the fair return of the creative
labour of the author. It can help in the stimulation of the artistic creativity that can help in
serving greater public good. It can help in providing the author with the exclusive rights and
it can be made use of as a censorship tool by the people. It can help in assuring the fair use of
the works that can have a positive influence in the society.

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The courts are of the opinion that the copyright have the built-in safeguards which can
help in balancing rights of the copyright holders with the allowing of the freedom of the
speech. The copyright can help in preserving the forms of expression of an author that con
contribute to the welfare of the society (Luo and Mortimer 2016). It can help in serving the
interests of the free speech and it can help in the facilitation of the democratic dialogue which
can be of benefit for the society. It encompasses the interests of the free speech by offering
protection to the expressions of the people. It can help in taking care of the element of the fair
use doctrine and it can act as a “safety valve” in relation to the free speech in the society
(Gee, Talley and Nicholas 2019). It can play the role of a defense when there have been the
substantial appropriation of the form of the expression.
The copyright helps in protecting the expression of ideas of a work and the
expressions are inclusive of the descriptions, explanations along with the discussions. The
patents can prove to be useful that can help in protecting the useful and the novel ideas of the
creator. It can help in the prevention of any kind of the literal copying that can be of benefit
for the reputation of the creator. It helps in the protection of the expressions along with the
creative ideas of the producer of the work. It can help in ensuring the freedom of the artistic
creativity that can help in the facilitation of the public exchange in the society. It helps in
securing free exchange of the opinion along with the ideas that can act as a crucial factor for a
country (Reimers 2016). The freedom pertaining to the artistic creativity can be said to be a
crucial element in relation to freedom of the self-expression that can be said to be core value
in relation to First Amendment. The copyright theory have been expanded and it includes the
ownership rights along with the personality interests which are propagated by personality
theorists of nineteenth century. It helps in protecting the economic interest along with the
moral rights of the author. The approaches are attributed to the Hegel, Locke and Kant which
imbues the creators with the exclusive authorship rights (Shi et al. 2017). It is based on

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natural legal right to that of the property and it can act as an extension of the labour or the
existential will of a person. The ownership can be established with the help of dynamic
relationship in between personality and object and personality have been found to act upon
the object. Individual establishes the existential claim to the object within market-based
society that manifests as the cognizable property right. The theory of the rapprochement helps
in describing the creative right as the “positive dimension” that encompasses moral along
with economic rights of creator.
Conclusion
Copyright can enable the people to go above competition and it can make the work
inaccessible to that of competitors. The people can stand out amidst the crowd with the help
of the copyright and it can bring benefits for an individual. People are imbibed with freedom
of expression and copyright can be instrumental in providing profits to people. Copyright can
help the people in exercising the creative freedom and it can help in the preservation of
knowledge within the society. It can be said to be a great asset of the human beings and it can
bring about creativity from within the people. It can help in the process of fostering the
independent creation of the people that can make the artists feel secured in the society.
Copyright and freedom of expression move towards the same goal and it can help in
maintaining the order in the society.

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