Technological Protection of Copyrighted Materials

Copyright law is a careful balance between providing incentives for individual creators and protecting the larger public interest, in terms of education, research and access to information. The new digital environment presents both opportunities and challenges for copyright holders. While digital works can be easily copied and distributed, technological protection measures (TPMs), such as encryption, can be used to prevent copying and distribution. Rights holders are increasingly adopting TPMs to protect their works (e.g., copy-protected CDs). The problem is that while TPMs prevent infringing uses of protected material, they can also impede legal uses of copyright material, such as reverse engineering of software for research purposes, or copying a CD onto one's laptop for private use.

Under pressure from the copyright industry, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has drafted treaties requiring states to prohibit the circumvention of TPMs. In keeping with these treaties, the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibits circumvention of TPMs employed by copyright owners even when there is no intention to infringe copyright. These anti-circumvention measures have prompted lawsuits that have more to do with blocking competition, research and fair dealing than with protecting copyright. For example, a "garage door opener" company used the DCMA to sue a competitor that sells a universal opener that works on the plaintiff's garage doors.

Canadahas signed, but not ratified the WIPO treaties. The Canadian Copyright Act does not prohibit circumvention of a TPM. In May, the Heritage Committee's Interim Report on Copyright recommended immediate ratification of the WIPO treaties. Absent was any discussion of the WIPO treaty provisions that require legal protection against the circumvention of TPMs. However, these provisions merit debate considering the implications for access, research and other public interest goals, as well as the unintended consequences that have resulted from their adoption in the USA.

Question

What is your position on prohibiting the circumvention of technological protection measures?

References

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This page last updated: June 2, 2007

Webpage URL: http://www.cippic.ca/en/projects-cases/election-2004/technological-protection.html