Legal Regulation On Copyright Technological Protection Measures Of Electronic Games

Since the beginning of the 21 st century,China’s electronic game industry has vigorously developed and gradually become a noticeable mainstay in culture industry.However,since the electronic game starts late in China and the relevant legal systems are incomplete,the private server and plug-in,etc.which aim to evade technological protection measures spread without restriction and are unable to be controlled effectively.Although the enterprises have adopted many technical means such as technical encrypted data,anti plug-in program and built-in authorized inspection program in host,etc.and resorted to lawsuit,etc.for self-protection,they appear weak and fruitless.The rampancy of the evasion of technological protection measures has seriously threatened the healthy development of the whole industry.Therefore,it’s imperative to establish and improve the legal systems on copyright protection.In light of the above,the thesis firstly introduces the relationship between electronic game and technological protection measures,analyzes the technological protection measures that are commonly seen in electronic game and summarizes the positive effect of technological measures on the development of game industry.Subsequently,the present situation of the technological protection measures for electronic game in China is elaborated and the three existing drawbacks are especially introduced: the judicial process may become confused since the definition in official documents is unclear,the punishment for assistance in evasion is not heavy enough and the compensation amount is difficult to be confirmed.In addition,the systems on the technological protection measures for the copyright of electronic game in United States,Japan and Korea are investigated;emphasis is laid on the introduction of the technological protection measures of United States,Japan and Korea which are developed in electronic game industry and a comparative analysis is carried out.Finally,the pertinent suggestions for perfecting China’s technological protection measures for electronic game copyright are proposed.It would be the first most important to establish the principles for technological protection measures,including: coordination between right owners’ interest and public interest;privacy of protection and prohibition of abusing rights.And for details,define the meaning of “effectiveness” of technological protection measures and employ the judgment standards for normal users.At the same time,game providers bear the proper disclosure duty for technological protection measures,which should not violate privacy.And the direct circumvention should not be banned but put heavier punishment on the helping circumvention.At last,it is suggested expanding exceptions to guarantee the fair use.