Copyright Co-Ownership in Cyberspace: The Digital Merger of Content and Technology in Digital Rights Management and E-Commerce

Abstract

From the introduction: Entertainment content creators and software technology companies need each other to reach consumers of digital entertainment. But when digital distribution and digital rights management agreements create new hybrid digital files that combine their respective copyrights, new and unexplored copyright co-ownership questions arise. When choosing proprietary digital rights management (DRM) technology, entertainment content copyright holders must be aware that their software technology partners rightfully claim copyright ownership of the technological portion of the resulting files, the software mechanisms that encode, display, play back, encrypt, account and generally enable digital distribution via e-commerce.

Should disputes between content providers and technology providers occur, either party may seek to enjoin use of the digital file based on a copyright infringement claim, resulting in interruption of revenue for all concerned. This article examines the copyright co-ownership implications where entertainment content copyright holders and technology copyright holders enter into digital distribution e-commerce agreements that create new hybrid files that merge content and technology.

Keywords: copyright, technology, co-ownership, digital rights management

JEL Classification: K19