Abstract

This thesis is an analysis of the conflict between copyright law and postmodern appropriational artforms such as audio-visual collage. By looking at the philosophic foundations of copyright, authorship and property, and then surveying the current law of copyright and the reasoning of the judiciaries in both Canada and the United states, this thesis considers whether or not copyright is usurping the right of postmodern artists, in particular, and the citizens of Canada, in general, to freely express themselves in a critical dialogue with the mass media which has come to dominate their landscape.