ASSERTING COPYRIGHTS DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES IN THE GLOBAL ARENA

In this Article, Professor Netanel explores the relationship between c opyright law and global democratization, Central to American copyright jurisprudence is the understanding that a copyright serves as ''the e ngine of free expression'': By according creators of original expressi on a set of exclusive rights to market their literary and artistic wor ks, copyright fosters the dissemination of knowledge, supports a plura list, nonstate communications media, and highlights the value of indiv idual contributions to public discourse. Building upon that understand ing, one might conclude that requiring authoritarian and newly democra tic countries to implement stringent copyright protection standards wo uld contribute to their democratic transition and development. It has been suggested, indeed, that the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property unwittingly constitutes ''freedom imperialism'' because it requires that countries adopt a quasi-proprietary copyrigh t system as a condition to joining the World Trade Organization. That notion, Professor Netanel argues, is seriously misguided. Copyright's constitutive value for democratic development depends heavily on local circumstances; indeed, copyright may sometimes impede democratization unless substantial limits are placed on copyright holder rights. Asse rting copyright's democratic principles in the global arena would thus entail a far more nuanced approach than blithely insisting on maximal ist global copyright protection. While recognizing that some degree of copyright expression may generally lend support to democratic institu tions, that approach would allow for a liberal use of exceptions and l imitations to copyright holder rights designed to bolster indigenous m edia and make authors' works more widely available in developing count ries and nascent democracies. After considering the role that copyrigh t might play in various stages of democratic development, Professor Ne tanel outlines the legal foundation for applying a democratic paradigm of a limited copyright. He grounds the paradigm in the ''democratic e ntitlement,'' a set of international law norms concerning democratic g overnance, political participation, and individual autonomy. He conten ds, in particular, that the international law of free expression, whic h is a part of the democratic entitlement, imposes limits on the propr ietary control of information and expression. Professor Netanel then a pplies the paradigm to four controversial areas in international copyr ight relations. These range from questions concerning the interpretati on of existing copyright treaties to the issue of parallel imports.