User-generated Content And Copyright Law’s Adaptation

The irreconcilable contradiction between the protection of works and the dissemination of information has always been the fundamental conflict in the copyright regime.Today,this contradiction is especially manifested between works and user-generated contents.The reason lies in that the development of Internet and digital technology not only creates convenient ways of content generation and dissemination for Internet users,but also provides basis and technical support for the expansion of copyright.After analyzing the different reform schemes of user-generated content under copyright regimes of different countries,the author points out that the reason for these differences lies in the different theoretical basis of copyright.Therefore,after realizing the importance of user-generated contents to the achievement of innovation and cultural development and prosperity,this Paper proposes that in the Internet era,the reform of copyright regime should attach importance to the future-oriented and emerging innovation power,we should take the system view as guidance,take the concept of sustainable innovation as basis,and regard the Internet content ecosystem as a whole composed of interconnected content through the flow of information,and figure out that works are only its parts.From this perspective,the over-strengthening trend of copyright should be limited by the recognition of the public domain and user rights in China’s Copyright Law.Meanwhile,the intermediate role of Internet content platforms should be brought into play,the "safe harbor" rules should be adjusted prudently,a decentralized voluntary registration system of works should be established to delimit the scope of works that can be used,and a Copyright Transfer Center should be established to open up authorization channels for users.In addition to the introduction to the existing research,the Paper is divided into four chapters:The first chapter summarizes the current situation of user-generated contents and the obstacles to its development set by copyright.Based on the definition of user-generated content,this chapter first summarizes the main characteristics of the content and classifies it,it then points out the important position of user-generated contents in achieving the ultimate goal of copyright regime.Then,the author analyzes why the existing copyright regime has become an improper obstacle to the generation,dissemination and utilization of user-generated contents from three aspects: the invalidation of the limitation of copyright rights,the impact of the joint and several liability of the third party,and the dislocation of incentive measures.In chapter II,through the comparison of the reform trends overseas,the author analyzes the basic theories of copyright influencing the different approaches of copyright reforms regarding user-generated contents.Faced with the same problem,the European Union and Canada show different tendencies in the reform: one chose to consolidate the rights of authors,while the other provides specific exception to copyright.This difference leads to the necessity of comparing the basic theories of different copyright regimes and points out the problems of these theories in dealing with user-generated content.The third chapter puts forward the concept of Internet content ecosystem and applies the system theory to analyze the copyright regime,in order to adjust the focus of reform.This chapter first classifies the different contents in the Internet content ecosystem and investigates the relationship between the contents through information transmission.Then,from the integral and dynamic perspective of system theory,it is pointed out that works are only parts of the contents as a whole,they exist in the ecosystem connected by the flow of information interacted and interdependently together with other contents.Therefore,the application of system theory highlights the future-oriented creativity of users’ use behavior.This chapter proposes that the concept of sustainable innovation should be adopted,the fair access to innovative raw materials should be taken as the direct goal,and the role of Internet content platform in the all-round stimulation of content generation should be emphasized.The fourth chapter points out the direction of the adaptation of the copyright system when facing the contradiction between user-generated content and works according to the concept of sustainable innovation of the Internet content ecosystem.The system view focuses on the public domain as the source of future creation materials,and users as the subject of future creation,which requires the recognition of the existence of the public domain and the users’ right in the copyright regime.In addition,it is necessary to attach importance to the role of Internet content platforms as information dissemination intermediate,and the attachment of excessive tort intervention obligations to Internet content platforms should be taken prudently,so as to prevent them from transferring risks to users.At the same time,it is suggested that Internet content platform should give full play to the role of connecting users,so as to provide support for the establishment of a decentralized voluntary registration system for works and the creation of Copyright Transfer Center suitable for Internet users.