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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Evolution Of The Us Drm Debate, 1987-2006, Bill D. Herman
The Evolution Of The Us Drm Debate, 1987-2006, Bill D. Herman
Bill D. Herman
Scholars who discuss copyright often observe that the voices for stronger copyright have more financial and political capital than their opponents and thus tend to win in Congress. While the playing field is still quite slanted toward stronger copyright, the politics around the issue are much messier and less predictable. This study, a detailed political and legislative history of the major proposals regarding copyright and digital rights management from 1987 to 2006, illustrates how this policy dynamic has changed so drastically. In 1987, there was no organized opposition to copyright’s expansion. By 2006, however, there was a substantial coalition of …
Decentralizing Culture: The Effect Of Digital Networks On Copyright And Music Distribution, Benjamin Gibert
Decentralizing Culture: The Effect Of Digital Networks On Copyright And Music Distribution, Benjamin Gibert
Benjamin Gibert
The advance of technology profoundly impacts how people interact with culture as the proliferation of digital networks transforms the effects of copyright in modern societies. This paper argues that the oligopolistic conditions of content markets and the legal discourse of intellectual property law have historically enabled copyright holders to promote a limited conception of art and obscure the complexities of copyright theory. While conceptual ambiguity is inevitable in the construction of aesthetic legal categories, current practices impose too many restrictions. The practical choices made concerning copyright in cyberspace will determine the evolution of culture in increasingly networked societies. The music …
Barricading The Digital Frontier: Copyright, Technology And The War On Music Piracy, Benjamin Gibert
Barricading The Digital Frontier: Copyright, Technology And The War On Music Piracy, Benjamin Gibert
Benjamin Gibert
The Internet is changing the way vast numbers of people experience culture today. Providing tools to interact with, manipulate and freely redistribute content, technology is dissolving conventional divisions between creators and consumers of cultural artefacts. As new technological and legislative mechanisms are deployed to stop digital piracy, there is a need to reflect on the meaning of copyright, piracy and culture in the context of digital technologies. This paper discusses the relationship between copyright and cultural participation. It refers to the music industry in order to depict the changing patterns of consumption behavior precipitated by the rise of digital networks …
Looking For Fair Use In The Dmca's Safety Dance, Ira Nathenson
Looking For Fair Use In The Dmca's Safety Dance, Ira Nathenson
Ira Steven Nathenson
Like a ballet, the notice-and-take-down provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") provide complex procedures to obtain take-downs of online infringement. Copyright owners send notices of infringement to service providers, who in turn remove claimed infringement in exchange for a statutory safe harbor from copyright liability. But like a dance meant for two, the DMCA is less effective in protecting the "third wheel," the users of internet services. Even Senator John McCain - who in 1998 voted for the DMCA - wrote in exasperation to YouTube after some of his presidential campaign videos were removed due to take-downs. McCain …