Copyright infringement and potential technological prevention measures in UK universities

Sony Music v. Easyinternetcafe´ 1 Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd, Sony Music Entertainment Inc., Polydor Limited, UMG Recordings Inc. and Virgin Records Limited (claimants) v. Easyinternatcafe Ltd [2003] EWHC 62 (Ch) in the High Court of Justice Chancery Division 28 January 2002. Case No: HC 02 C01798. View all notes has introduced a new facet to the debate concerning the copyright legality of peer-to-peer file transfer. The judgment and subsequent settlement has highlighted that companies offering services that are used to infringe copyright may be held to account in the UK courts. Liability may extend from the private to the public sector and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI)2 The action was supported by the BPI's international sister organization: The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). View all notes has reinforced this theme recently. In March 2003 every university in Britain received a letter pointing out the legal risks of universities acting as copyright infringement facilitators. By allowing students to download copyright material such as software, Mp3s and DVDs, universities and their vice-chancellors may face injunctions, damages, costs and potential criminal sanctions. This paper first, briefly reviews the history and literature concerning peer-to-peer file sharing and secondly provides a preliminary discussion of the heads of peer-to-peer copyright infringement liability with regard to UK universities. Although the law at present gives no clear precedent in regard to the university sector, the area is unlikely to remain static. It is feasible that student copyright infringement liability could be transferred to universities in the future if universities do not show due diligence when dealing with copyright infringement. Thirdly this paper outlines the technological and administrative actions that may be taken to satisfy the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and other copyright holders that UK universities are showing due diligence in preventing student copyright infringement. It is proposed that the university sector will follow the Internet service providers (ISPs) and will begin to work with the collecting and enforcement societies to prevent copyright infringement, perhaps in a similar way to the operation of the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA). This article puts forward two main reasons for this: First, to avoid the potential legal costs of a copyright infringement action and secondly as the majority of downloading of copyrighted Mp3s, DVDs and computer software does not constitute an academic pastime or fulfil any worthwhile university endorsed learning aims it should be actively discouraged.3 Certain limited peer-to-peer use may fulfil legitimate educational goals: This area in the UK is governed by the Copyright, Design and Patents Act of 1998 in sections 28–44. View all notes     

Technological Protections in Copyright Law: Is More Legal Protection Needed?

Providing legal protection against the 'hacking' of technological locks used to protect copyrighted works recently has been the subject of an international treaty (the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty), a European Community Directive (the Information Society Directive) and major copyright legislation in the USA (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act). By making hacking illegal, these legal protections fortify the technological protections employed by copyright owners to reduce infringement of their works. While copyright owners may use technological protections to compensate for the increased infringement potential in a digital world, technological protections can also be used to obtain far greater protection than the law would otherwise grant the copyright owner. In this article, Professor Loren argues that attention needs to be shifted from providing legal protection for technological protections, to providing legal protections against the overzealous use of these technological protections by content providers. She argues that laws should be enacted, and perhaps even treaties should be signed, that would prohibit the use of technological protections to impermissibly invade certain use rights recognized by a country's copyright laws.     

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.     

Sowing seeds of change for the digital world – A response to ‘Digital opportunity: A review of intellectual property and growth’

Professor Ian Hargreaves released his independent report entitled Digital Opportunity – A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth on 18 May 2011. Hargreaves advocates strategic change and policy initiatives for the intellectual property framework in both national and international contexts. Ten recommendations are proposed, including reform of copyright licencing procedures, implementation of a digital copyright exchange, and legislative exceptions to copyright infringement, along with restructuring of systems for the grant and enforcement of patents. In this article, the authors discuss Hargreaves’ recommendations and consider how intellectual property law and policy may be used to facilitate innovation and economic growth in the modern digital world.     

数字音乐版权区块链技术保护的相关法律问题研究

在当今数字版权时代,区块链技术因具有去中心化、防篡改、数据可靠等特点,在很大程度上能够解决数字音乐版权的确权难、收益难、维权难的问题。但是,它面临诸如无法鉴别数字音乐作品独创性、版权证明效力有限、有关监管体制不健全等法律适用难题。本文通过深入分析探讨这些现存问题,对比借鉴国外的相关先进做法,从技术工具和法律政策两方面提出了数字音乐版权区块链保护的具体措施,以期望促进我国数字音乐版权保护的发展,加快建设法治中国的新征程。     

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.     

Copy Me Happy: The Metaphoric Expansion of Copyright in a Digital Society

The article uses conceptual metaphor theory to analyse how the concept of “copy” in copyright law is expanding in a digital society to cover more phenomena than originally intended. For this purpose, the legally accepted model for valuing media files in the case against The Pirate Bay (TPB) is used in the analysis. When four men behind TPB were convicted in the District Court of Stockholm, Sweden, on 17 April 2009, to many, it marked a victory over online piracy for the American and Swedish media corporations. The convicted men were jointly liable for the damages of roughly EUR 3.5 million. But how do you calculate damages of file sharing? For example, what is the value of a copy? The article uses a model for valuating files in monetary numbers, suggested by the American plaintiffs and sanctioned by the District Court in the case against the BitTorrent site TPB, in order to calculate the total value of an entire, and in this anonymous other, BitTorrent site. These calculated hypothetical figures are huge—EUR 53 billion—and grow click by click which, on its face, questions some of the key assumptions in the copy-by-copy valuation that are sprung from analogue conceptions of reality, and transferred into a digital context. This signals a (legal) conceptual expansion of the meaning of “copy” in copyright that does not seem to fit with how the phenomenon is conceptualised by the younger generation of media consumers.     

Forensic investigation of peer-to-peer file sharing networks

The investigation of peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing networks is now of critical interest to law enforcement. P2P networks are extensively used for sharing and distribution of contraband. We detail the functionality of two p2p protocols, Gnutella and BitTorrent, and describe the legal issues pertaining to investigating such networks. We present an analysis of the protocols focused on the items of particular interest to investigators, such as the value of evidence given its provenance on the network. We also report our development of RoundUp, a tool for Gnutella investigations that follows the principles and techniques we detail for networking investigations. RoundUp has experienced rapid acceptance and deployment: it is currently used by 52 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces, who each share data from investigations in a central database. Using RoundUp, since October 2009, over 300,000 unique installations of Gnutella have been observed by law enforcement sharing known contraband in the the U.S. Using leads and evidence from RoundUp, a total of 558 search warrants have been issued and executed during that time.     

著作权保护范围的确定及实质性相似的判断——以历史剧本类文字作品为视角

虽然数字时代的来临使得与网络相关的著作权纠纷日渐增多,但传统著作权纠纷在目前司法实践中仍占较大比例,部分案件的审理难度并未因多年实践经验的积累而有所降低,个案中对相关著作权法律问题的理解也呈现出一定差异.以历史剧本类文字作品为研究视角,对此类作品的著作权保护范围及侵权判断中实质性相似的认定方法进行了探讨,并结合国内外案例,对传统著作权法领域中的基本原则和理论在司法实践中的运用作了较为清晰的梳理,以求为相关案件的审理提供可资借鉴的标准和方法.     

An analysis of the fundamental tensions between copyright and social media: the legal implications of sharing images on Instagram

ABSTRACT

Copyright is inherently intertwined with the development of technology and none more so than the advent of the Internet and sharing technologies. More recently, social media platforms have become the latest challenge for copyright law and policy. This article builds on the literature that recognises the underlying conflict between copyright and social networking sites (SNSs); namely that the basic implication of copyright is the restriction of copying, whereas the ethos of social networking is the promotion of sharing. In particular, this article focuses on the disparity between the restricted acts of copying and communication to the public under copyright law and the encouragement of sharing on SNS Instagram. In doing so, it contextualises the debate surrounding copyright and social media and provides an understanding of the legal implications of using Instagram. As such this paper analyses (1) the infringement of copyright protected work on Instagram, and (2) the user-agreement and licensing of copyright material on Instagram. This study concludes that the disparity between the principles of copyright and social media lead to confusion and vulnerability of users. Therefore, it is suggested that Instagram should better inform its users of the implications of sharing third-party content as well as the terms of its user agreement. This could be done by implementing a copyright strategy, which includes a notice and takedown system as well as investing in producing educational content for users. Perhaps SNSs, such as Instagram might be more motivated to take steps to recognise intellectual property rights if they were considered Internet Services Provides such as YouTube.     

浅谈网络著作权侵权案件的地域管辖

网络在带给人们方便的同时也带来了一系列的法律问题,网络著作权侵权案件地域管辖的确定便是其中之一。网络所建构的虚拟空间突破了实体地域与国界的限制,当网络著作权侵权行为发生时,以地域为基础的传统管辖权理论与规定似乎无法圆满解决网络侵权案件管辖权争议,因此当侵权行为人利用网络实施侵权行为引发诉讼时,判断侵权案件地域管辖即成为一个现实的问题。本文分析了网络著作权侵权的一般性问题、我国现行法律关于网络著作权侵权案件地域管辖相关的规定及网络著作权侵权案件地域管辖确定的标准。     

网络服务商共同侵权制度之重塑

网络服务商共同侵权(间接侵权)制度是影响网络版权秩序最重要的法律规则。在这一领域,美国式的安全港规则居于统治地位。十几年来的网络版权实践表明,安全港规则不合理地降低了网络服务商的注意义务,损害了网络服务商预防第三方侵权的积极性,使得网络盗版泛滥。为了克服安全港规则的制度缺陷,美国和中国的法院被迫限制适用红旗标准或策略性地适用引诱侵权和替代责任规则,结果过度扭曲了网络间接侵权规则。为了改变这一现状,中国在修改著作权法时应当果断地放弃美国式的安全港规则,恢复侵权法一般规则的适用,强化网络服务商的注意义务。     

Good Climate Governance: Only a Fragmented System of International Law Away?

Fragmentation is the hallmark of international environmental law—it is both the key to its success and the pathway to its unraveling. Recognizing that law is an essential component of systems of supranational climate governance, addressing gaps between international legal systems is fundamentally important to the legitimacy of international law and to on‐going attempts to use international law as a central component in efforts to address climate change. This article analyzes developments in international environmental law with a view towards suggesting how efforts to develop an international climate change legal regime—and a broader system of global climate governance—highlight the pressing need to look more closely at the linkages between climate change and other areas of international law and to begin thinking about ways to minimize gaps and maximize cooperation among international environmental institutions and between international environmental law and other spheres of international law.     

索马里海盗引发的若干国际法问题

肆虐的索马里海盗和武装劫船行为已经对当代国际法多个分支产生了挑战和冲击，带来了若干亟需解决的法律问题。国际社会必须在预防、制止和惩治方面完善对付海盗和武装劫船行为的国际法体系，包括推动武装劫船行为概念的普遍化、更多依赖1988年《制止危及海上航行安全非法行为公约》及其2005年议定书、澄清适用于武力打击海盗和武装劫船行为的国际人权和人道法的类型和内容、以及探索对海盗行为进行公正有效制裁的刑事审判模式。     

著作权侵权损害赔偿要论

损害赔偿作为著作权侵权的救济方式之一在追究侵权人民事责任中发挥着重要作用,在各国著作权法中均有规定,而建立合理的著作权侵权损害赔偿制度的重要前提是损害赔偿计算方法的科学确立.我国<著作权法>第49条规定的三种著作权侵权损害赔偿计算方法有进一步完善之必要.侵犯著作权或者邻接权的,应当按照权利人的实际损失给予赔偿,侵权人因侵权行为所获额外利润应予返还;实际损失和侵权利润难以计算的,可以许可使用费为参照计算损害赔偿数额;法定赔偿制度的适用应受到一定限制.     

跨境电商知识产权风险的应对——以中国电商在美被诉为例

自2012年以来,从事跨境电商业务的中国电子商户持续遭遇来自美国的侵权诉讼,极大地影响了中国电子商务海外业务的拓展。为有效应对跨境电商侵权诉讼、推动我国跨境电商业务的良性发展,一方面,电子商户需要加深对域外知识产权法律及司法程序的了解,强化权利意识,尊重他人知识产权和自己的诉权;另一方面,政府及行业协会也应在协调组织应诉、建立行业规范方面发挥积极作用。同时,我国应积极推动建立和完善规制跨境电商行为的国际协调机制,尝试建立司法协助和联合执法机制,探索利用数字技术加强知识产权侵权防范和监管的新途径,融入以数字化技术推动贸易全球化的浪潮中。     

Popular Music and Copyright Law in the Sixties

Copyright and its relationship with popular music is one of the most disputed issues amongst music and copyright scholars. While some have accused copyright of being blind (or deaf) to the particularities of popular music, others have defended its significance within the industry. This article contributes to this debate by tracing the networks of connections between lawyers, musicians, and clerks that emerged in a formative period in British pop music (the Sixties). It considers how their collaborative efforts and strategies to present evidence in copyright infringement trials were articulated in an attempt to influence music copyright infringement tests in Britain. By highlighting the concrete geographical and temporal contexts from which these networks emerged and their particular contingencies, the article also casts a new light on the impact of the legal profession on copyright, showing a practice‐oriented and historically situated way of observing differences between French and British copyright systems.     

Black Hats and White Hats: Authorisation of Copyright Infringement in Australia and the United States

This article explores the concept of authorisation in relationto the possible liability of manufacturers and suppliers oftechnology if, and when, their technology is used by purchasersor other users to infringe copyright. Cases over the last 30years brought by copyright owners or holders against the manufacturersand suppliers of technology which has the potential to infringecopyright are examined, as well as the differing copyright lawsin Australia and the United States relating to the authorisationof copyright infringement. The article concludes with a discussionon the current legal approaches to authorisation and on possiblefuture approaches.     

The United States‐China copyright dispute: A two‐level games analysis

United States media and computer software industries long have alleged they lose billions of dollars to copyright piracy in China. Negotiations between the countries have had little effect. This article uses two‐level games theory to explore why the United States is reluctant to impose sanctions, and why China is unwilling to take action against the pirates even at the risk of trade sanctions. Negotiations are examined at the usaional level and at the domestic level in both countries. At the usaional level, a two‐player sequential model of the game is presented. At the domestic level, the heterogeneity of interest groups in the United States, and the different agendas of central and provincial authorities in China are discussed. Based on this analysis, the article proposes, (1) a more flexible time‐frame for negotiations with foreign trading partners, (2) greater reliance on multilateral frameworks than on bilateral trade sanctions and (3) American efforts to distribute the gains from better copyright protection to local enterprises in foreign countries to create domestic pressure groups favoring stronger copyright regimes.     

Holding Back the Tide— a Review of Recent Developments in Copyright Law in the United Kingdom

This article surveys recent developments in UK copyright law. It sets these developments in the context of broader trends in copyright law and policy. Significant decisions concerning subsistence of copyright, authorship, infringement, defences, remedies and collective licensing are analysed. The author notes that copyright, and other intellectual property rights, have been given extra force as a result of recent legislative developments. He argues that, against this background, it is possible to discern increasing judicial concern to ensure that such an expansion in monopoly power does not operate against the public interest.