Conflicts And Coordination Between Protection Of Technical Measures And Fair Use Of Copyright

The rapid development of information network technology and the advent of the digital age provide opportunities for the widespread dissemination of digital works,but at the same time countless copyright infringements have occurred,so technical measures have become a powerful means for copyright owners to prevent it.At the request of the World Intellectual Property Organization,various countries have added anti-circumvention provisions in their domestic laws to improve the protection for the interests of copyright owners,which has brought a huge impact on fair use of copyright,and has broken the balance of interests maintained by the traditional copyright system.At present,the legislation of China provides high-level protection for technical measures.There are few exceptions to the anti-circumvention provisions and the content of fair use is not fully incorporated.Failure to coordinate will result in fair use being displayed in the digital age,which is inconsistent with the legislative spirit of copyright law.Therefore,this article intends to analyze the legal nature of fair use and anti-circumvention provisions,summarizing the domestic and foreign legislation and practice of protection of technical measures,thinking the existing viewpoints in academia,and put forward suggestions for coordinating the conflict between protection of technical measures and fair use of copyright.This article will state the opportunities and challenges faced by copyright owners in the digital age,affirm the important role of technical measures as a precautionary measure for copyright owners,but point out that it can hinder the fair use of works by the public,and elicited the problems between fair use and protection of technicalmeasures by explaining their current situations.Then this article will expound the adverse impact of protection of technical measures on fair use,and explain the reasons for the conflict from two aspects,including the legislative purpose of copyright law and the deficiencies of protection system of technical measures in China.Subsequently,this article will analyze the legal nature of fair use and the legal relationship between the copyright owner and the public based on Horfield's fundamental legal conceptions theory.The public have the privilege instead of the right to use works,therefore they cannot prevent copyright owners from using technical measures.And the anti-circumvention provisions,by giving the copyright owner the power,reconstructs the legal relationship between the copyright owner and the public,which becomes the source of conflict.However,as an effective self-relief measure of copyright owners,technical measures are justified in the protection of copyright law.In order to ensure that fair use can still play a role in the digital age,it is necessary to restrict and limit the protection of technical measures.After summarizing the restrictions on the protection of technical measures imposed by some countries,this article will propose a coordination mechanism for the conflict between protection of technical measures and fair use in accordance with the legislation in China.On the one hand,the "Copyright Law" in China should add the obligation for the copyright owner who use the technical measures to provide the public the way to use the works while maintaining the existing provisions prohibiting the public from circumventing the technical measures,so that the public can truly realize the purpose of fair use of digital work with the assistance of the copyright owners.On the other hand,in order to solve the problem that the fair use cannot be achieved due to the abuse of technical measures,"Copyright Law" in China should stipulate the identification obligation of copyright owner and the principle of prohibiting the use of technical measures to bundle sales.China has a high level of protection for technical measures in legislation,but has not a corresponding balance mechanism to protect fair use.Therefore,it is necessary to restrict the protection of technical measures in China and to ensure that fair use can be implemented,so that our copyright law system can continue to play a role in maintaining the balance of interest between copyright owners and public in the digital age.