Abstract

This article deals with the relationship between freedom of expression and copyright in the light of the national and international practice, taking into account the evolution of technological means and the diffusion of Internet. The first part of the contribution is devoted to the systematic analysis of this relationship and to the examination of the pertinent legal framework aimed at protecting the legal situations at hand. In the second part attention is paid to the relevant national and international practice, considering its importance and its limits. On the one hand, such practice is aimed at gradually recognizing the existence of an emerging conflict between freedom of expression and copyright. On the other hand, it is not generally able to elaborate criteria and principles intended to adequately regulate the relationship between these legal situations. In the conclusions, it is underlined the necessity to identify definite parameters for resolving such conflict at jurisprudential level and to strengthen the guarantees underlying the freedom of expression at normative level.