Justifying Creative Autonomy within Copyright Discourse

Abstract

Here, Gani focusses on the theoretical justification for copyright law. She explores deontological and consequentialist theories, identifying the concept of creative autonomy latent within such arguments. Within deontological theories, she identifies that Locke, Kant and Hegel all refer to the autonomous nature of appropriation, speech and self-determination respectively. Furthermore, the intersections between human rights and intellectual property, acknowledge creative autonomy as a fundamental element within creativity and creative economies. She then examines consequentialist theories on the measurement of utility and identifies creative autonomy as the ‘basic welfare function’ that economists canvass. Accordingly, she argues that the cardinal consequentialist computation of efficiency in copyright law, which balances access to cultural goods with incentives for authors, should necessarily include preserving creative autonomy for authors.