Favale (2011)
Contents
Source Details
Favale (2011) | |
Title: | Approximation and DRM: can digital locks respect copyright exceptions? |
Author(s): | Favale, M. |
Year: | 2011 |
Citation: | Favale, M. (2011). Approximation and DRM: can digital locks respect copyright exceptions?. International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 19(4), 306-323 |
Link(s): | Definitive |
Key Related Studies: | |
Discipline: | |
Linked by: |
About the Data | |
Data Description: | Alongside a literature review of works suggesting implementation of copyright exceptions in DRM, the author proposes a rule-set to be embodied and suggests a model of implementation based on a) a list of Primary Actors; b) a list of ‘Actions’ that each actor might be willing to perform; c) a list of machine-readable ‘Actions’ that have to be embedded in compliant TPMs. |
Data Type: | Primary and Secondary data |
Secondary Data Sources: | |
Data Collection Methods: | |
Data Analysis Methods: | |
Industry(ies): | |
Country(ies): | |
Cross Country Study?: | Yes |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | Yes |
Government or policy study?: | No |
Time Period(s) of Collection: |
|
Funder(s): |
Abstract
Technological protection measures (TPMs) are the hard core of digital rights management (DRM) systems, which enforce the rights of the copyright owner in the digital environment. Copyright scholars expressed concerns that TPMs do not comply with copyright exceptions and limits (Hugenholtz 2000; Koelman 2000; Dusollier 2003; Westkamp 2004). A few solutions to this problem have been proposed in the field of internet services (Mulligan and Burstein 2002; Erickson 2003; Cohen and Burk 2001; Sobel 2003). However, none of these proposals is tailored to optical disks (CDs and DVDs). Yet, the report ‘Digital Broadband Content: Music’ of the OECD (2005) states that TPMs implemented on optical disks hinder copyright exceptions more often than those applied to internet services. Moreover, in Europe the Copyright Directive exempts TPMs implemented on internet services from compliance with copyright exceptions. This paper therefore outlines possible ways to implement TPMs on optical disks in Europe, in order to achieve their compliance with a list of fundamental copyright exceptions, as identified by previous research (Favale 2008).
Main Results of the Study
- Achieving a compliant DRM system harmonized at international level seems impossible in the light of the current state of the art.* Law is complex, articulated and unstable (subject to interpretations). When instructions are dictated by law, therefore, the gap between human-readable and machine-readable languages enlarges significantly. Approximation is therefore crucial to ‘streamline’ legal norms* To date no technical locks on optical disks (or on digital products on different carriers) have been implemented with the declared intent to comply with copyright exceptions.* With little modification, legal and technological instruments are already available to develop TPMs complying with copyright exceptions.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
- The most indisputable copyright exceptions need to be identified, and optical disks have to embed fixed usage rules that allow copyright permitted uses. This paper suggests that achieving interoperability among carriers and fine-tuning copy-controlling TPMs would already get us very far down this road.* Other legal systems like the American, for example, could also develop similar models. To this end, they preliminarily need to identify a number of instances of fair use, possibly with the help of a third party* Approximation should consistently follow a rule in favour of the user. This seems more coherent with the ultimate goal of copyright protection: the circulation of culture and knowledge. *Approximation should be inversely proportional to the technological state of the art: more sophisticated DRM system would require less and less approximation.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
Sample size: | 1 |
Level of aggregation: | Rule-set |
Period of material under study: | Non stated |
Sample size: | 1 |
Level of aggregation: | Implementation model |
Period of material under study: | Non stated |