Based on comparative research concerning both international conventions and laws, regulations, policies and cases from different jurisdictions, this book puts forward proposals for recovering the balance of interests between copyright holders, technological intermediaries and public users with regard to the access to, distribution and exploitation of copyright works. Four specific issues are discussed in detail: · an anti-circumvention rule for protection of technological measures that control access to copyright material; · indirect infringing liability for internet service providers and safe harbor regulations, which influence the dissemination of copyright works; · copyright limitations and exceptions especially under the digital network environment, which are relevant to the extent that users are allowed to exploit copyright works; · digital commons projects that promote the distribution and adaptation of copyright works placed under voluntary license schemes, which are relevant to the tolerance and encouragement of remix culture.

This dissertation, "Toward a More Balanced Approach: Rethinking and Readjusting Copyright Systems in the Digital Network Era" by Jerry Jie, Hua, 华劼, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: The establishment of copyright protection systems aims to achieve two important purposes; to stimulate the incentive for creation by granting authors a series of exclusive rights on the one hand, and promote the progress of culture and public welfare by establishing a series of limitations on these exclusive rights so that the flow of information and dissemination of knowledge will not be hindered on the other hand. There is always a close relationship between technology development and copyright law. The emergence of personal computers and the internet has brought about a distinct wave of technological innovation that has reshaped copyright laws by empowering anyone with a connection to flawless, inexpensive and instantaneous reproduction and distribution of works of authorship. Such technological advancement changes the interests of copyright owners and public users. Users are exposed to more opportunities brought about by digital network technology to obtain access and exploit copyrightable works. If copyright laws do not expand their protected subject matters and categories of exclusive rights, authors cannot be adequately compensated under the digital network environment. Copyright laws can no longer function as an incentive for creation if there is a lack of revision and appropriate expansion. Hence, copyright laws need to extend protection to new subject matters, such as computer programs and databases; grant right holders new kinds of rights, such as right of rental and right to network dissemination of information; establish indirect infringing liability for internet service providers; and expand protection to technological measures. However, copyright expansion should not be unlimited and should cease when appropriate access to various works and future creations is at risk. Expansion of copyright protection is only justified when the access and use of works by the public threaten the incentive of authors to create and reap economic rewards. Overexpansion of copyright protection would again disrupt the balance if access to works is narrowly restricted. Overprotection of copyrights will not only obstruct access to original works, but will also inhibit future creations based on the original works. Based on comparative research on international and regional conventions as well as laws, regulations, policies and cases among different jurisdictions, this thesis intends to suggest proposals to recover the balance of interests among copyright holders, technological intermediaries and public users in terms of accessing, distributing and exploiting copyrighted works. Four specific issues are discussed in the thesis: the anti-circumvention rules for protection of technological measures; indirect infringing liability for internet service providers and safe harbor regulations; copyright limitations and exceptions especially under the digital network environment; and digital commons projects which promote distribution and adaptation of copyrighted works placed under voluntary licensing schemes. The analysis of these issues and corresponding proposals for reform are not only to reverse the worldwide copyright expansion trend so as to make copyright laws appropriately respond to digital network challenges and the emerging remix culture in general, but also to induce China to rethink and amend her copyright system so as to restore a robust public domain w

This book examines the challenges posed to Australian copyright law by streaming, from the end-user perspective. It compares the Australian position with the European Union and United States to draw lessons from them, regarding how they have dealt with streaming and copyright. By critically examining the technological functionality of streaming and the failure of copyright enforcement against the masses, it argues for strengthening end-user rights. The rising popularity of streaming has resulted in a revolutionary change to how digital content, such as sound recordings, cinematographic films, and radio and television broadcasts, is used on the internet. Superseding the conventional method of downloading, using streaming to access digital content has challenged copyright law, because it is not clear whether end-user acts of streaming constitute copyright infringement. These prevailing grey areas between copyright and streaming often make end-users feel doubtful about accessing digital content through streaming. It is uncertain whether exercising the right of reproduction is appropriately suited for streaming, given the ambiguities of “embodiment” and scope of “substantial part”. Conversely, the fair dealing defence in Australia cannot be used aptly to defend end-users’ acts of streaming digital content, because end-users who use streaming to access digital content can rarely rely on the defence of fair dealing for the purposes of criticism or review, news reporting, parody or satire, or research or study. When considering a temporary copy exception, end-users are at risk of being held liable for infringement when using streaming to access a website that contains infringing digital content, even if they lack any knowledge about the content’s infringing nature. Moreover, the grey areas in circumventing geo-blocking have made end-users hesitant to access websites through streaming because it is not clear whether technological protection measures apply to geo-blocking. End-users have a severe lack of knowledge about whether they can use circumvention methods, such as virtual private networks, to access streaming websites without being held liable for copyright infringement. Despite the intricacies between copyright and access to digital content, the recently implemented website-blocking laws have emboldened copyright owners while suppressing end-users’ access to digital content. This is because the principles of proportionality and public interest have been given less attention when determining website-blocking injunctions.

Tracing the emergence of what the media industries today call transmedia, story worlds, and narrative franchises, Legal Stories provides a dual history of copyright law and narrative-based media development between the Copyright Act of 1909 and the Copyright Act of 1976. Drawing on archival material, including legal case files, and employing the principles of actor-network theory, Gregory Steirer demonstrates how the meaning and form of narrative-based property in the twentieth century was integral to the letter and practice of intellectual property law during this time. Steirer’s expansive view of intellectual property law encompasses not only statutes and judicial opinions, but also the everyday practices and productions of authors, editors, fans, and other legal laypersons. The result is a history of the law as improvisatory and accident-prone, taking place as often outside the courtroom as inside, and shaped as much by laypersons as lawyers. Through the examination of influential legal disputes involving early properties such as Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, and Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, Steirer provides a ground’s eye view of how copyright law has operated and evolved in practice.

This research book is the first of its kind to conduct an interdisciplinary research on the recent and dramatic developments in China’s music industries with a particular focus on business models, copyright protection, and artist compensation. The monograph explores and discusses proper business models through which revenue can be generated and maintained in a changing copyright climate and transforming business environment. It also discusses how musicians can be fairly compensated in the online platform economy informed by social entrepreneurship. This book is distinctive in the sense that it explores the intersection of cultural and creative industries, legal studies, business studies, and new media. It uses a qualitative and mixed-method approach to study business innovations and institutions in the making in the second largest economy which is also gaining cultural and political significance around the world.

The Piracy Years: Internet File Sharing in a Global Context is the first collection to provide an overview of digital piracy’s recent past and its potential futures. Combining research essays, interviews, and overviews, the volume brings together leading scholars and infamous digital pirates from China, Germany, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In June 1999, the peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing website Napster transformed the availability of online content, but the site was quickly sued into oblivion. Despite the highly publicised shutdowns of a number of P2P websites, many continue to thrive, and digital piracy has become a global phenomenon. This book argues that any future media theory and research will have to contend with such web practices remaining an integral and politically formative part of the Internet. Offline and online piracies thrive on technological affordances in opposition to corporate efforts – in music, film, publishing, and academia – to label them as threatening to the economy and society. Therefore, this book explores piracy as a phenomenon navigating the conventions, norms, and boundaries of legality in digital cultures. Pirate networked sociabilities work within and outside the fringes of market economy through the lens of institutional and discursive power. By creating new ways that keep society moving and from stagnation, they ensure its continued existence - including the survival of the very areas they attack. The Piracy Years is an essential resource for researchers, post-graduate students, and anyone interested in the global spread and ever-increasing importance of digital piracy.