CRIMINAL PROTECTION OF COPYRIGHT AND THE LIMITS OF CRIMINALIZATION: (IN)APPLICABILITY OF SOCIAL ADEQUACY AND ALTERNATIVES IN LIGHT OF MINIMAL INTERVENTION

Abstract

In the context of a society with increasingly more technological devices and advances and changing concepts and perceptions of what constitutes reprehensible or not, the criminal protection of copyright in the Brazilian legal system deserves greater attention and discussion, with a focus on the (in)applicability of the Social Adequacy theory to Article 184 of the Penal Code. This article highlights the stance of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) in rejecting this defense theory in copyright matters, based on state and social rejection of piracy. Therefore, more effective alternatives to criminalization are proposed, since copyright protection must be based on a balanced model, focusing on education, regulation, and social justice, avoiding the symbolic and disproportionate use of criminal law.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2026.013-001