Free Speech and Copyright - When Copyrights and Personal Rights are at Odds

Although intellectual property law protects expression in its multitude of applications sometimes it comes at odds with the rights that are conveyed through the aforementioned expression, whether it was intended or not. Previous examples are the potential curtailing of criticism by using trademarks, where the line between the intended protection offered by trademarks and its potential misuse against freedom of speech came to light. Copyright in itself can potentially be used in a similar fashion, although most common law jurisdictions do expressly allow for copyrighted content to be used for criticism. A recent instance in the United States faced this very conundrum; can copyright trump your right to criticize another?

The case in question was Garcia v Google, which concerned Ms. Cindy Lee Garcia, who acted in a small role in a movie titled "Desert Warrior" (a working title at the time of casting). Even though Ms. Garcia had participated in the filming of the movie, the finished film never saw the light of day. Some time after Ms. Garcia's scene was used in the infamous YouTube video "Innocence of Muslims", in which her scene was partially dubbed having her say "is Mohammed a child molester?". As a result Ms. Garcia soon began receiving death threats from various parties, and she subsequently took precautions and asked Google to remove the aforementioned video relying on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and its take-down provisions. Google refused her initial reasoning for the video's removal, finally having Ms. Garcia resort to a copyright claim over the video's content, asserting it infringed her copyright in her performance.

Although the case discussed Ms. Garcia's copyright in the film quite extensively, it remains but worth a mention. In Chief Justice Kozinski's judgment Ms. Garcia did have a copyright interest in the film, even though her part was only 5 seconds long in a 13 minute video. As a copyright interest was seen by the court Google were ordered to remove the video from YouTube due to it infringing the aforementioned rights. In Chief Justice Kozinski's view this was a matter of balancing equities, in other words, an assessment of the balance of fairness, and saw that Ms. Garcia's rights in the video overshadowed those afforded in the First Amendment of the American Constitution through free speech. Her security was also a consideration in this assessment; a truly sad result of her unwilling part in the video.

Compliance, or passive aggressiveness?

What should be discussed in this instance, and has rightfully so become the vocal point of this case, is whether copyright should be able to be used to curtail free speech. As Google argued in the case: "[a] court order requiring removal from YouTube of the Film or any portion thereof would impose a substantial burden on free expression, without preventing any future harm to [Ms. Garcia]". In the majority's opinion Ms. Garcia only had the likelihood of success in her claim, or in other words, potentially had a copyright interest in the work, and the majority subsequently saw that this potential interest would weigh heavier than the public interest under free speech. Commenting on this, in his dissenting judgment, Justice Smith saw that "...the law and facts do not clearly demonstrate how granting a preliminary injunction in Garcia's favor would serve the public interest". Clearly one can agree with Justice Smith in this instance, at least under these facts. Although this writer fully accepts that Ms. Garcia's safety is paramount and should be a consideration in this instance, her argument fails in the uncertainty of her copyright interest and lack of concrete harm caused. Her protection should not be handled through copyright, and as stated by Justice Smith: "It's disappointing, though perhaps not surprising, that Garcia needed to sue in order to protect herself and her rights".

The Garcia case is an unfortunate result of unforeseen circumstances and the infamy to which the video rose. The decision has since come to a vote over whether the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals should rehear the case. The video's infamy served a two-fold purpose when gauged under US law; it started a conversation over religion and attitude's towards it, however it also caused severe distress to Ms. Garcia and even fear for her life. Her argument through copyright was flimsy at best, but seemingly was her only avenue for respite. The majority's view on the matter can be argued to be incorrect, and does not fairly assess the balance between her alleged copyright interest and the public interest. As Google stated: "...[o]ur laws permit even the vilest criticisms of governments, political leaders, and religious figures as legitimate exercises in free speech", and this right should be protected, although not used as a veil to protect those who wish to blatantly infringe copyright under the guise of free speech. Even though copyright and free speech do overlap quite extensively, their relationship does come with a price, and each case will present a different situation where the court will have to find the right spot where protection is afforded, but not at the expense of free speech. Copyright serves as a shield to those expressing themselves, and it should not be used to stifle others; something which clearly was not Ms. Garcia's intention in her action.

Source: Reuters