Copyright, Human Rights, and the Social Function of Property in Brazil

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses copyright dynamics under the Brazilian Federal Constitution, which positions human rights at the core of the entire legal system, opening the law to the influence of new international human rights treaties. The protection of property rights, as well as the obligation to fulfil property's social function, are inscribed within such rights, establishing a dynamic between individual and collective interests in proprietary institutions. In this context, how is the constitutional copyright system to be understood and applied in the courts of Brazil? How do proprietary and non-proprietary, economic and social, individual and collective interests, arguments and rationales relate to one another in shaping copyright protection under the Brazilian Constitution? The chapter addresses these questions with a particular focus on two key issues that have recently been faced: the regulation of collective management and the interpretation of limitations. After an explanation of the legal structure supporting copyright in Brazil and a description of the process of constitutionalisation of private law in general, the chapter examines both key issues, with reference to relevant leading cases in the highest courts in Brazil.