美国行政性版权小额索赔制度革新及借鉴

由于版权作品数字化侵权使用的日益泛化,且现有版权司法救济途径多存在"周期长、举证难、成本高、收益低"的弊端,使得版权人,尤其是中小版权人,很难以较低的维权成本,真正实现其权利的司法保障。鉴于此,美国率先在行政性版权小额索赔制度的革新上作出突破性的示范,于司法体制外另辟蹊径,在版权局之行政性框架内,设置版权小额索赔委员会,专门处理小额版权纠纷。在知识产权保护方面,我国亦存在司法救济效率不高、数字版权侵权泛化的问题,因此,为迎合强化知识产权保护的时代政策,有必要总结美国行政性版权小额索赔制度革新经验,以为我国版权小额索赔问题的解决提供有益的制度借鉴。     

日本著作权间接侵害的典型案例、学说及其评析

在日本,主要通过卡拉OK法理和帮助侵权法理解决著作权间接侵害问题。卡拉OK法理存在过分扩张著作权侵权责任主体和司法权限、混淆作品的利用和著作权侵害之间界限等弊病,帮助侵权法理则存在脱离共同侵权形态、完全独立化的倾向,这种弊端和倾向不利于技术和产业的发达以及公众接触、利用信息的自由。对我国而言,日本解决著作权间接侵害法理的意义在于:方法论上应该区分立法论和解释论、职能上应该区分立法和司法的不能功能、在认定工具等提供者的注意义务或者支持原告停止侵害请求权时都应该慎重。     

Legal origin and intellectual property rights: an empirical study in the prerecorded music sector

This article aims at identifying differences in copyright protection in prerecorded music markets, and more specifically the impact of the legal system on the demand for original music CDs. To this end, we use a panel of 28 OECD countries in the period 1999–2005. After testing alternative specifications, our results show that differences in legal origin lead to differences in intellectual property rights enforcement. Our results also consistent with previous studies that find that common law countries have more secure property rights.

Contemporary piracy research in criminology: a review essay with directions for future research

The realm of the ocean is scarcely studied by criminologist despite it being a component of the space of society. With the growth of maritime piracy in the past decade, this void has become increasingly palpable. The aim of this article is to catalyze more research in the field by providing an introduction and overview of the topic. The article starts by clarifying what piracy is, reviewing and evaluating some of its definitions and typologies. Furthermore, using the new Contemporary Maritime Piracy Database, the article charts the location of contemporary piracy. The article outlines factors that have been suggested as precursors of piracy before suggesting some key areas for future research.     

Copyright in the blockchain era: Promises and challenges

The paper focuses on various legal-related aspects of the application of blockchain technologies in the copyright sphere. Specifically, it outlines the existing challenges for distribution of copyrighted works in the digital environment, how they can be solved with blockchain, and what associated issues need to be addressed in this regard. It is argued that blockchain can introduce long-awaited transparency in matters of copyright ownership chain; substantially mitigate risks of online piracy by enabling control over digital copy and creating a civilized market for “used” digital content. It also allows to combine the simplicity of application of creative commons/open source type of licenses with revenue streams, and thus facilitate fair compensation of authors by means of cryptocurrency payments and Smart contracts. However, these benefits do not come without a price: many new issues will need to be resolved to enable the potential of blockchain technologies. Among them are: where to store copyrighted content (on blockchain or “off-chain”) and the associated need to adjust the legal status of online intermediaries; how to find a right balance between immutable nature of blockchain records and the necessity to adjust them due to the very nature of copyright law, which assigns ownership based on a set of informal facts, not visible to the public. Blockchain as a kind of time stamping service cannot itself ensure the trustworthiness of facts, which originate “off-chain”. More work needs to be done on the legal side: special provisions aimed at facilitating user's trust in blockchain records and their good faith usage of copyrighted works based on them need to be introduced and transactions with cryptocurrencies have to be legalized as well as the status of Smart contracts and their legal consequences. Finally, the economics of blockchain copyright management systems need to be carefully considered in order to ensure that they will have necessary network effects. If those issues are resolved in a satisfactory way, blockchain has the potential to rewrite how the copyright industry functions and digital content is distributed.     

The legal and technological battle in the music industry: Information-push versus information-pull technologies

Peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies are often seen as a threat by copyright owners because they encourage piracy by making digital copies easier to obtain. In response, major record companies have come up with new devices designed to protect original material, and lobbied to reinforce legal protection. We view traditional distribution as an information-push technology in which the firm pays to provide information to consumers and P2P as an information-pull technology where consumers spend resources to acquire information on products they have a potential interest in by searching, downloading and testing digital copies of original products before they make their purchase decision. We determine copyright owners’ protection strategies according to the level of legal protection, and we study their effects on profits and consumers’ surplus with the two different information transmission technologies.     

夹缝中的法律移植与传统创造——《大清著作权律》述评

作为中国第一部著作权法,《大清著作权律》更多是外力催化而非自然生长的结果,因而深深烙上了那个动荡时代的印迹,其作为政治工具的诸多缺陷也非常明显。尽管如此,它还是打开了一扇窗口,使中国人开始慢慢了解和接受著作权观念,并成为中国著作权法发展的规范源流。《大清著作权律》的制定和实施过程既是移植法律的过程,也是创造传统的过程。     

Copyright in the Information Society: Scenario's and Strategies

Copyright law trades off the costs of limiting access to information against the benefits of providing incentives to create information in the first place. The development of digital rights management (DRM) may disturb the balance between creation and distribution of information. What policy strategy should be followed by a national government given that effective systems of DRM may develop and given that legislation and policy-making increasingly take place at the level of the European Union? Because the quality of the protection that can be obtained by DRM is uncertain, two scenarios are developed. The scenarios require different policy reactions. Alternative policy strategies are discussed.     

Indian Copyright Act and new communication technologies: A special focus on webcasting

The main aim of this paper is to consider whether the Indian Copyright Act 1957 (ICA) gives protection to future technologies. It follows an earlier paper on Webcaster's protection under copyright published in [2011] 27 CLSR 479–496. By way of asking that question it is sensible to examine whether webcasting/streaming is protected by ICA or not. In order to enquire the same, we need to study the penetration of streaming/webcasting technology into the Indian market and its application. Since the technology is linked with the Internet, it is also essential to examine its penetration and the availability of bandwidth and the potential market for such communications. All these aspects are studied in the first part of this paper. In the second part a brief outline is offered of the relevant provisions of the Act. At issue is whether they give protection to the future technologies or not. This will be considered in part three. The same will be examined with the proposed amendment to the Act too. The paper concludes that the Act fails to give protection to future technologies and therefore that streaming/webcasting is not protected in India under the copyright regime.     

'My tongue is mine ain': Copyright, the Spoken Word and Privacy

This article shows how under the present legislation in the United Kingdom copyright may exist in speech, in particular in interviews and conversations, provided that the words are recorded and constitute an original work. The argument is illustrated and supported by reference to reported cases from throughout the common law world, as well as to news stories and interviews with individuals ranging from Lord Denning to Michael Jackson. Issues arising from the collection of oral history are also discussed. It is further argued that, in addition to the internal analysis of copyright itself, such protection for the spoken word can be justified by the privacy and personality interests of speakers in the use of what they say.     

中美实用艺术品著作权保护比较研究——兼论我国实用艺术品著作权保护的路径

实用艺术品的著作权保护问题实质上是如何确立著作权保护范围及标准的问题。我国现行《著作权法》并未将实用艺术品作为受保护客体,但也并未将其排除在著作权保护范围之外。而美国在实用艺术品的著作权保护上于立法层面是非常清晰的,在《1976年版权法》中已明确将其列为受保护客体,美国法院的诸多判例也影响了实用艺术品著作权保护研究的方向。本文梳理了中美两国实用艺术品的著作权保护问题的历史沿革及现状,总结归纳了两国具有代表性的判例,以求通过对比提炼出两国著作权法及司法实践中存在的问题。美国的相关立法及其司法裁判经验对于我国实用艺术品的著作权保护具备重要借鉴价值。     

论行政法学的阿基米德支点——以德国行政法律关系论为核心的考察

传统行政法学是以行政活动的法律形式为核心建构的体系。但是,现代社会利益冲突的复杂化与行政活动方式的多元化发展趋势,导致行为形式理论在法律事实的认知与解释的功能上均明显弱化。而法律关系理论则能够提供有关法律现象的全方位观察视角,并适合不同的社会利益关系结构与私人权利基础之分析和论证。因此,法律关系理论可作为行政法学体系建构的另一主要支柱,以分担行为形式理论在法体系中的过重负载。     

我国著作权法立法应引入二分法原则与合并原则

思想与表达二分法原则在许多国家立法以及国际条约中都有明确规定,我国的立法中于2001年的《计算机软件保护条例》中有所规定,但2001年修订的著作权法并未纳入该原则。随着网络信息技术的发展,思想与表达二分法原则在实践运用中面临许多新的挑战,二分法原则的例外——合并原则有其引入的必要性。应在我国著作权法立法体系中纳入思想与表达二分法原则及合并原则的方式。     

我国著作权法律制度面临的困惑——写在著作权法修订之际

我国著作权法第三次修订工作已经启动.如何寻找修订的突破口,如何确定修订的基本思路,是这项工作的首要任务.拟从制度设计的视角,全面检讨我国著作权法律制度,分析在立法权限、法律体系一致性、传统环境与网络环境的适应等方面存在的主要问题,重点探讨数字技术、网络技术对著作权权利体系带来的挑战,技术措施的法律属性,信息网络传播权的实质内涵,以及国务院制定的配套法规的合法性等内容,为著作权法律制度的修订提出初步建议.     

数字时代著作权刑法保护的机制向度——兼论从回应到预防的范式演变

通过对著作权犯罪立法规范与司法适用的实证考察发现,我国以往灭火式被动回应的刑法规制存在着过度扩张解释违反罪刑法定的基本原则、滞后的立法无法实现著作权的全面保护等弊端。数字时代著作权的刑法保护理念应进行从被动回应到主动预防的范式转换,保护范围应从关注核心到覆盖边缘。完善路径是在司法层面上,区分不同类型的网络服务提供商进行规制;在立法层面上,应对商业性提供规避手段的“预备行为”进行犯罪化,增设“向他人提供非法规避技术保护措施的设备、服务罪”。     

Foreign exchange legislation transformation and enterprise demography in India

This article evaluates the extent to which the legislative changes relating to foreign exchange that have taken place in India within the last few decades, and in particular after 1991, have made an impact on the presence of foreign firms in the economy. The data cover the period 1957–1958 to 2001–2002, and include the entire population of India’s corporate sector. In the period after reforms commenced in 1991, the number of foreign firms in India has increased very substantially. The transformation of the foreign exchange regulation act (FERA) to the foreign exchange management act (FEMA) in 1999 has had a positive effect in inducing foreign firms to India. The FEMA legislation simplifies the maze of controls, procedures and bureaucratic minutiae that have to be observed by all those undertaking to set up and operate a business in India. The changes in the legislative regimes make India attractive as an investment destination for foreign firms.

精神权利的困境——两大法系版权立法比较分析

经济进步与科技发展,为作者精神权利带来了严峻挑战。精神权利何去何从,已成为理论界热点问题。两大法系有关精神权利的立法进程及模式,可以带给我们启迪。应当摒弃英美法系版权法之"弱保护"模式,重视精神权利在财产方面的激励作用;还应当纠正大陆法系将精神权利作为纯粹人格权之立法模式,挖掘精神权利的财产属性。在融合中发展,在发展中完善,唯有如此,精神权利才能最终摆脱困境。     

“The ladder of the law has no top and no bottom”: How therapeutic jurisprudence can give life to international human rights

In the past two decades, therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) has become one of the most important theoretical approaches to the law. But, there has, as of yet, been puzzlingly little written about the relationship between TJ and international human rights law. To be sure, there has been some preliminary and exploratory work on the relationship between TJ and international law in general, but virtually nothing on its relationship to international human rights law in a mental disability law context. This paper seeks to focus on this lack of consideration, to speculate as to why that might be, and to offer some suggestions as to how to infuse some new vitality and vigor into this important area of law and social policy.     

版权法上公共领域的衰落与兴起

版权法上公共领域是人类自由文化创造的源泉,但20世纪晚近以降,一种将"版权财产"与"公共领域"对立起来加以看待的做法开始变得日益兴盛,致使版权法上公共领域日趋衰亡。该种衰落背后的近因还在于当今的版权受到两种错误思潮的影响:其一,是"浪漫主义的作者观"在版权法上的错误配置;其二,是"有价值便有权利"以及"版权保护必须和复制技术成反比例变化"的观念在版权人世界的广为流传。而为了使版权法公共领域重获兴起,除了需要展开理念上的转型而推行"义务公共领域"的理论学说外,我们还需要展开一系列的制度创新:如展开"创作共享"公有领域运动、迈向"自由演绎"公共领域的未来以及建立网络时代的"默示许可"公有空间等等,由此我们才能看到版权法上公共领域重获兴起的曙光。