Copying Equipment Provider Of Copyright Liability Study

The widespread application of network and the fast development of digital technology have brought new issues for the protection of copyright. That the copy equipment, represented by the Peer-to-Peer Software Distributors, provides the second liability of copyright, becomes the most controversial topic at present. The substantial non-infringing use standard which identifies the contributory infringement in the traditional theory of copyright's second liability has not been suitable for the digital technology background, and therefore is very likely to be changed or replaced. The conflict of interests between the owners of copyright, copy equipment distributors and the numerous consumers desiderates to be resolved. And the researchers of the theory of copyright's second liability, the users in the practice of law as well as the three parties above are all trying to find a new balance of interests by all means. Changing the standard of substantial non-infringing use by lawmaking or carrying out the policy of personal copy compensatory payment in more fields would be an effective way to attain the balance of interests. So far, there haven't been systematic rules of second liability in our Civil Law and Copyright Law. The joint infringement rule, used to resolve the problem of copyright's second liability in the practice of law, isn' t totally proper in fact. In the currency of legalizing the second liability system of copyright, our country should set up unattached second liability rules in lawmaking on copyright.