Samizdat, Copyright, and the State
Samizdat, Copyright, and the State

Copyright as Censorship and the Differences between East and West

Author(s): Debora Halbert
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Central European University Press
Keywords: Samizdat;Copyright;East and West;censorship;
Summary/Abstract: This chapter will explore and develop two interwoven arguments. First, the creation and role of samizdat literature and art in the former Soviet Union and its satellites tells us something about the motivation for creativity and what counts as authentic in a world governed by authoritarian states. Second, samizdat retains an important role in today’s culture,where censors continue to use copyright as a tool to control expression,albeit under the guise of a “free market.” Instead of resisting the force of an authoritarian system, what must be resisted today is the totalizing control copyright has extended over all forms of creativity and the idea that the only legitimate culture is that produced for economic reasons.What samizdat makes clear is that those who identify themselves as “true”artists and take controversial political stances very often do so without recourse to copyright. Furthermore, there is a need for a samizdat that confronts the over extension of copyright and helps to reframe the debate about creativity in the future.

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