COPYRIGHT AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN EUROPE

Pankaj Singh, UNITED NATIONS

Abstract

This article will describe the state of European law concerning the conflict between copyright and freedom of expression. To set the stage, I will first set out the constitutional basis of copyright (or the absence thereof) in various countries in Europe. Next, I shall describe the law governing free speech, and in particular the workings of Article 10 ECHR. The analysis will thereafter focus on copyright v. free speech case law that has recently emerged from a number of continental European countries (especially Germany, France and The Netherlands), and from the former ‘gate-keeper’ to the European Court, the European Commission of Human Rights (the “European Commission” ). In closing, I will speculate, on the basis of the case law discussed in this article and ofgeneral ECHR jurisprudence, how the European Court might eventually decide a case in which copyright and free speech interests come into conflict.