The Protection And Restriction On The Technological Protection Measures Of Software Copyright

The Technological Protection Measures(TPMs) of copyright and the anti-circumvention legislation to protect the TPMs are accompanied with the development of digital technology, network industry. Likewise, the method that utilizes TPMs to protect the software is also widely used by software manufacturer. The main function of TPMs is to control the contact, copy and propagation on the works, protect the integrity of software works, etc. At the same time, software manufacturer also applies the TPMs into secondary trading, identifying infringement, identification, etc. All of these functions make the degree, scope, method, trade modes of software be significantly different from the traditional literary and artistic works. International treaties and legislation in each country adopt the form of anti-circumvention legislation in succession conduct institutional adjustment on the TPMs and the behavior to circumvent technological measures.The biggest argument on TPMs and anti-circumvention legislation lies in, the appearance of TPMs has a major impact on the limit system of existing copyright. People worry generally, even have the actually feel the narrow role of TPMs on intellectual property rights in the public domain, therefore, people take the very watchful attitude on this thing, and then continue to discuss and seek the boundary of protection on TPMs.This Paper starts from the externalities, transaction costs and other issues triggered from public product attributes of work to analyze the copyright restrictions, centralized license and other systems, and then discusses the particularities of these systems on software works, so as to prove that all this particularities make the economic foundation of traditional copyright restriction system shake. Then, this paper will analyze and discuss the roles that TPMs and anti-circumvention legislation play during the emergence and resolution of these issues. Combined with the above discussion, this paper will analyze the function that influence the decisions of software manufacturer to adopt TPMs, and then proves that it can use the market force to regulate the adoption amount of TPMs, so as to reduce the expansion of TPMs on copyright.On this basis, the paper puts forward a boundary assumption to protect the TPMs, which is to distinguish the limit on the exclusive right of copyright and the public domain of intellectual property. As for the former one, since its economic theory foundation is the too high transaction cost, so under the background that TPMs can effectively reduce transaction cost, it should make the relevant adjustment on the limit system of copyright. Since the adoption of TPMs is equal to the reducing of product quality, consumers will react to this incentive. Therefore, market force could be tried to adjust the adoption amount of TPMs. As for the latter one, based on the contrary reason, TPMs limit should still be preferred to use, and then allow to adopt the circumvent means.The theme of this paper is intended to be divided into three main chapter, the first chapter is used to arrange the relative concepts of TPMs and copyright limitation; the second chapter analyzes the influence of TPMs on copyright limitation from the view of economic; the third chapter synthesizes the conclusions above, puts forward the boundary assumption to protect the TPMs. The specific chapter and outline are as follows:Chapter 1:Introduction of TPMs of copyright protection and limit system of copyright.This chapter mainly discusses two contents, one is software protection and TPMs, and the other one is TPMs and limit of copyright.The first part uses less space to make a brief review on the protection method of software copyright, then focuses on the contents that are related to this article in TPMs and anti-circumvention provisions. When analyzes the influences of TPMs on the existing business models, etc. in the second part, this paper will set the unique functions of TPMs as the foundation, so when introduce the TPMs, this paper will use the functions of TPMs as the thread of thought. As a legal paper, this paper will not involve too many technical details, it will mainly introduce the role that TPMs play during software protection, but inevitably explain some implementation methods of TPMs.The main object of the second part is the relevant content of copyright limit system, which focuses on the application effect of copyright limit system on software, the special works. Then it analyzes the changes of these effect under digital network environment after adopting the TPMs.Chapter 2:Shaken of new technology on economics foundation of copyright limit system.This chapter mainly analyzes copyright limit system and TPMs from the view of perspective, sets the market failure caused by public product attributes of works as the entry point to conduct discuss, combined with the functions of TPMs, then it analyzes the role may play during solving some issues of public products. After this, it analyzes how and in what degree can TPMs cure market failure from the view of transaction cost and price discrimination.Chapter 3:Assumption of legislative and judicial boundaries.This chapter will combine the analysis of the two chapters above, then assume that whether the TPMs are protected by a boundary. Firstly, this paper will analyze the factors may be considered by the manufacturers when adopt TPMs and the effects of adopting TPMs on each parts, so as to put forward the role that market may plays in the process of interest balancing after seeking for introducing TPMs. After this, this paper assumes a boundary, which conducts division on the market mechanisms and institutional provisions during the process of adjusting the adoption amount of TPMs.