Combs, in federal prison in New Jersey, will not be at Thursday's arguments before a panel of three federal appellate judges.
He is challenging his conviction and more than four-year prison sentence.
His lawyers say Combs' conviction should be reversed, or he should at least be freed and re-sentenced to less time.
Prosecutors oppose the arguments.
In written arguments, Combs' lawyers repeated claims they made before the trial judge, including an assertion that Combs' films of sexual encounters between his girlfriends and male sex workers amounted to "amateur pornography" and was protected by the First Amendment.
The lawyers said the term "prostitution" should be interpreted narrowly to exclude what they portray as voyeuristic and expressive activity.
The lawyers also argue that Combs' sentence was too harsh, saying the trial judge wrongly based it in part on a conclusion that the crimes involved fraud and coercion and that Combs was a leader or organiser of criminal activity.
Combs was acquitted of sex-trafficking and racketeering charges that carried the potential for a life sentence.
He was convicted under federal laws that ban transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime.
Federal prosecutors said in court papers that Combs' recordings did not make his case a free-speech issue.
They said if Combs was right in claiming that "creative", "elaborate" and "highly staged" sex acts meant that they were protected by the First Amendment, then "brothels offering elaborate and staged scenes for individuals to have sex with women for payment could claim First Amendment protection".
Prosecutors also said the sentence was proper.
Combs' trial in 2025 exposed the sordid private life of one of the most influential figures in music.
The case featured harrowing testimony about violence, drugs and sexual performances that witnesses said he called "freak-offs" or "hotel nights".
He did not testify.
His defence team acknowledged he could be violent but argued that prosecutors were straining to make a federal crime out of his personal life.
Combs, 56, has been behind bars since his September 2024 arrest and he is scheduled for release in April 2028.
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