Study On Private Copying Levy System In Digital Environment

Private copying is the reproductions on any medium made by a natural person for private use and for ends that are neither directly nor indirectly commercial. While copying is widespread, especially in the digital environment, private copying has new characteristics which make it not suit the standard of fair use system. It is necessary to judge whether private copying constitutes infringement which is the precondition of determining whether any solution adopted for the private copying problem should be remunerated. The copyright law does not only protect the interests but also balance the interests between copyright holders and the users of works. While it is in a dilemma, private copying levy system is a indispensable choice. Copyright levy systems have been premised on the assumption that private copying of protected works cannot be controlled and exploited individually. With the advent of digital rights management (DRM), this assumption must be re-examined. In the digital environment, technical protection measures and DRM systems make it increasingly possible to control how individuals use copyrighted works which challenges the applicability of copyright levy systems. Where levies coexist with such technical measures, consumers may end up paying twice for the right to make a private copy of a work. However, the limitation of DRM makes it necessary and feasible to remain need and justification for mandatory levy systems. Therefore, it is supposed to tailor the form and level of'fair compensation'to'the particular circumstances and consider the interact of copyright levy systems and DRM systems. The amendment of copyright levy systems should be taken step-by-step.This study introduces existing levy systems in foreign countries. The study's principal aim is to suggest possible ways of implementing copyright levy systems in China to amend the copyright law systems.The article begins with an overview of existing private copying which illustrates that because of the development of copying technic private copying becomes a problem of copyright law.Chapter 1then provides the standards of fair use systems and private copying has challenged the fair use systems.Chapter 2 focuses on the history of copyright levy systems, as it has emerged first in Germany, and then spread to other countries. In addition, as history reveals, even though the scope of such systems may vary from one country to the next, levies have gradually proliferated. Limited initially to distinct analogue equipment levies have spread to analogue media and, more recently to digital media and even digital equipment. Furthermore, this chapter analyses the nature in theory.Chapter 3 introduces the challenge that copyright levy systems faces in the digital environment. Though the systems has disadvantage itself and the applying of DRM systems which is seemed to replace levy systems, the deficiency of DRM and the fair compensation nature of levy systems makes it necessary and feasible to remain need and justification for mandatory levy systems.Finally, Chapter 4 of the article analyses the lack of Chinese law on private copying, then suggest possible ways of implementing copyright levy systems in China to amend the copyright law systems.