Copyright as a Rule of Law Challenge

Copyright regulates speech because every copyright protected work does contain a communication content. Right holders take advantage of it to silence others: they use their copyright as censorship right. Copyright doctrine must therefore allow a case by case balancing to strike a fair balance between freedom of expression and copyright, both enshrined in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In the digital age with an overly expanded copyright, it is more important than ever to prevent a censorious copyright – not only for the standing of copyright in society but for the sake of the fundamental rights of third parties. Free speech is only free if one can speak with works of others that are valuable in constitutional terms.