I know that locking something on the blockchain doesn't mean it is copyrighted, but rather in the case of someone arguing that you stole their work when it was your own, the blockchain allows a person to defend their right to ownership, and thus Steemit serves that purpose.

To be fair there is no way to prevent something digital from being copied. every time it's accessed on the internet it is copied. encryption does help solve this for 99% of users, but that doesn't require blockchain to do, you are correct.

If anything, Kodakcoin only helps to immortalize the Kodak brand name for an otherwise dinosaur brand. Kodak really did try to keep up with their Kodak share and series of printers and digital cameras.