Research On Copyright Restrictions System Under The Network Environment

The development of digital technology and World Wide Web has brought about opportunities as well as challenges in spread and utilization of information. With this development, copyright system has soon become a hot issue in both theory and practice. As a balancer between obliges and users, such copyright restrictions system as fair use and statuary license plays a decisive role in its development. Under the gigantic transformation of information spread and use brought by digital technology, the persistence of traditional copyright restrictions system under the network environment has been questioned a lot yet no agreement reached. The two fundamental reasons for the system existence are defending basic civil rights and promoting public interests, which provided some theoretical grounds for copyright restrictions system persisting to work under network background. However, it is a consensus in both theory and practice worldwide that the system cannot adapt to network environment automatically. U.S., EU, other developed countries and regions, and the WIPO have amended the national or regional system of copyright and its limitations in different degrees in response to the changes brought by digital information technology to the field of copyright. With the strengthening of internationalization of intellectual property, national copyright system will also present more integration trend. Due to the no borders and interaction of the Internet, there will be more possibilities of learning from each other on the system of copyright and its restrictions. In recent years, China's legislative, judicial and related theorists have realized the impacts to copyright by network technology, and they also have made some efforts on the adaptation of copyright restrictions system. However, copyright disputes occur frequently undoubtedly revealed that China's current system of copyright restrictions existing defects and deficiencies. Thus, it is necessary to perfect the copyright restrictions system under the network environment by analyzing the problems of the existing system of copyright restrictions in China and learning advanced experiences from the United States, European Union and relevant international organizations.