Reasonable Circumvention Of Technological Measures In Protecting Works

In October2012, after three years comprehensive investigation, four exceptions oftechnological measures applying to protect works have been added to the DMCA(DigitalMillennium Copyright Act), which are studied out by the Library of Congress in July2010.The exception about the iPhone jailbreaking is especially noteworthy. Apple’s iPhone hasbeen widely concerned by the consumers since it was launched, and it has become alandmark product when the cellular phone enters an intelligent age. Before this, the publicargument on the legality of iPhone jailbreaking never stopped. The new exception ofDMCA provides a legal basis to the users of mobile phone on jailbreak, also causes wideattention of scholars both domestic and abroad. This paper is intended to make the iPhonejailbreaking as the breakthrough point, to discuss on the technical measures and how toavoid problems reasonable. Today, the related legislation about the technical measures ofprotecting works is not mature in the countries and regions around the world, and therelated theory also are unable to widely recognized. This paper is divided into four parts.In the first part to iPhone jailbreaking the event is beginning, a brief analysis of the AppleiPhone marketing mode and the technological measures setting up in the system softwareare included. Then, discuss the legality of evading the technological measures, and drawout the analysis of the technological measures in the second part. The second part willfocus on two aspects, the definition as well as classification to expound the basic theory oftechnological measures. The technological measures like any technology have bothadvantages and disadvantages. The third part is about the conflicts between thetechnological measures and fair dealing, public interests and exhaustion doctrine. Theforth part will discuss on the method to balance the conflicts such as allowing theexception of technological measures, namely allowing the existence of reasonable avoid.This part will summarize the technological measures and the reasonable circumvention ofthe technological measures, mainly from the aspects of current countries legislationsituation and the suggestion to perfect our country’s legislation. Finally, the paper trying tofind out a suitable road for the technological protection measures of the copyright law ofour country.