To be or not to be “public performance”: the existential dilemma of streaming services in Brazil

Abstract

The expansion of new technologies has brought diverse transformations to the field of copyright. Consumption patterns have moved from the ownership of digital files to access through new technologies of data transmission, among which streaming stands out. This article aims to discuss the legal framework governing usages of intellectual goods through streaming services in Brazil. To this end, it discusses a recent leading case within the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) and articles presented during the XI Congress on Copyright and Public Interest (CODAIP). The main research techniques were bibliographical and documental research. In the Brazilian context, the most important question refers to the presumption of public performance rights in uses made through digital platforms. The conclusions of the article point out that there is no clarity either in legislation or in doctrine about the types of usage and the rights involved in uses of intellectual works in the digital environment. This results from the absence of a broader conceptual discussion on what a "type of usage" means.