The Goals and Unintended Consequences of Digital Rights Management

17 Pages Posted: 14 Dec 2014

Date Written: October 1, 2014

Abstract

The article describes the working methods of the digital rights management (DRM) tools: how the system works, what protection it gives. It also shows that the DRM protection can be overcame by circumvention technologies which are currently forbidden by international and national legal instruments (WIPO treaties, EU directive, USA law). The article questions if such technologies really need to be protected by the legal means and if such protection does not go beyond the rights ensured by the copyrights.

The next part of the paper tries to point out the negative consequences of DRM protection (impediment of innovation, security risk problems, restriction of free speech). And the last part concludes the possible future trends in DRM field, what can be the future of these protection technologies?

Keywords: copyright, protection, digital rights management, DRM, USA Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), WIPO performance and phonograms treaty (WPPT), Directive 2001/29/EC, Copyright directive, circumvention, innovation, security, Sony BMG case, restriction of free speech, iTunes

JEL Classification: O34, O32, O31, O30

Suggested Citation

Breimelyte, Jurate, The Goals and Unintended Consequences of Digital Rights Management (October 1, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2538146 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2538146

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