DRM, law and technology: an American perspective
| Pages | 73-84 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520710731047 |
| Date | 27 February 2007 |
| Published date | 27 February 2007 |
| Author | Bill Rosenblatt |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
DRM, law and technology:
an American perspective
Bill Rosenblatt
GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies, New York, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of developments in the USA related to
digital rights management (DRM) through legal, technological, and market developments in recent
years.
Design/methodology/approach – This article summarizes recent developments in DRM in two
areas. First is the legal landscape, including copyright law developments that apply to digital content
and attempts to impose DRM technology through legislation and litigation. Second are recent
advances in DRM-related technology and developments in digital content markets that are based on
DRM. In both cases, USA developments are compared with the situation in Europe.
Findings – Developments in American copyright law, DRM technology, and digital content markets
exert heavy influences on the spread of DRM in Europe, but the legal and technological frameworks
are not different, giving rise to incompatibilities.
Practical implications – DRM technologies need to evolve differently for European markets,
because they need to exist in the context of fundamentally different copyright law frameworks (e.g.,
Private Copying) and incumbent technologies (e.g., Conditional Access television).
Originality/value – European readers of this paper should gain an understanding of American
DRM technology and its legal context, and how they influence developments in Europe.
Keywords United States of America,Copyright law, Legislation, Litigation
Paper type Viewpoint
The legal background
The legal context for DRM is copyright law. Some relevant aspects of USA copyright
law have similarities with those of European Union (EU) countries by virtue of their
common derivation from the WIPO Copyright Treaty of 1996 (WCT) (WIPO, 1996).
However, there is an important difference between the two laws, which lead s to
divergent ways of contextualising DRM within the legal framework. Most EU
countries have private copying provisions in their copyright laws, which allow
consumers to create copies of legitimately obtained content for their own use or that of
family members.
Fair use and first sale
The USA has no private copying concept in its copyright law (with a narrow exception
for audio works – see below). Instead, it has two relevant concepts: Fair Use (17 USC
§107) and First Sale (17 USC §109) (US Congress, 2003).
Fair Use is similar to Fair Dealing in UK copyright law. It is a set of principles that
guide courts when deciding whether uses of copyrighted works are defensible against
infringement charges. The principles include such considerations as the purpose and
character of the use, including whether the use is of commercial nature, and the effect
of the use on the market for the work.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
DRM, law and
technology
73
Article received
25 September 2006
Reviewed by EuDiRights
Workshop Committee
Approved for publication
10 October 2006
Online Information Review
Vol. 31 No. 1, 2007
pp. 73-84
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/14684520710731047
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