The Digital Dilemma: Technological Measures For Copyright Protection

The rapid development of digital technology has brought great challenges to the copyright law since 1990's. For a better control of works in the information age, copyright owners take efforts to protect their rights by using technological measures and pushing forward the copyright legislation to provide legal protection for them. After the two copyright treaties were concluded by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1996 which exert on contracting parties the obligation of legal protection for technological measures, a new tendency has been seen in the world that legal protection for technological measures is provided in copyright laws.This dissertation, based on the comparison of international treaties and the legislation of interested countries, introduces the concept, nature, characteristics, classification and contents of technological measures. Combining the methods of theoretical analysis and case study, the author makes a systematic discussion on the positive and negative effect of current technological measures legislation and points out its conflict with traditional copyright rules. The author emphasizes that technological measures legislation should be adjusted based upon the balancing of benefits, and gives some suggestions to the improvement of China's legislation of technological measures.This dissertation consists of four chapters:ChapterⅠgives an introduction of technological measures, providing definition, classification, constructive requirements and related concepts;ChapterⅡcompares copyright international treaties and the copyright legislation of U.S.,EU and China, reviewing the history of copyright legislation of technological measures protection.Chapter Ⅲ analyzes the conflict between current technological measures legislation and the basic copyright rules—such as the first-sale doctrine, fair use rule and public domain theory—as well as public good and privacy. 　Chapter Ⅳ explores the ways out of digital dilemma, and gives some suggestions to the improvement of China's legislation of technological measures.