International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

ON THE TECHNICAL PROTECTION OF COPYRIGHT: THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT, THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY COPYRIGHT DIRECTIVE AND THEIR ANTICIRCUMVENTION PROVISIONS
By Markus Fallenboeck

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 4-7-2003

Abstract

The paper examines the shift in Copyright law from protecting the copyrighted material from infringing uses to protecting the technology that prevents access to the work. In addition to the classical copyright protection of the copyrighted materials, the legal protection now extends to the access stage. This protection against circumvention of technological protection tools was enacted both in the DMCA and the European Directive following the WIPO agreement. This legal protection effects the progress of technology development, the balance between the rights of copyright owners and the users and the allocation of burdens and powers in the enforcement stage. The article examines in depth the legal provisions of the DMCA and the European directive and offers an important comparative analysis, which focuses on the similarities and the differences between the methods employed in the U.S. and in the EU. The article nicely articulates the normative and practical implications of these legislative tools and their effect on the balance that lies beneath copyright law.

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