Study On The Institution Of Limitation On The Copyright Technological Protection Measure

In the era of digital and network, many countries have taken legislative steps to protect the technological protection measures. Technological protection measures become the powerful weapons which authors and people related to copyright use to protect the proprietary rights. Meanwhile, though the technological protection measures could protect copyrights, its natures---technological neutrality and “all or nothing”--would become the barricades of fair use,which leads to the invasion of public rights regarding to copyrights and the infringement of public interests, so that the balance of interest of copyright law would be broke due to it tilts to the protection of copyright holders. Therefore, the legislative protection of technological protection measures should not be limited in the restriction system of copyright, while it protects the technological protection measures,it also should consider the balance of interests by restricting the applicable conditions, exceptions and mandatory situations of technological protection measures.This article defines the meaning of copyright technological protection measures, and analyzes the conflict between systems caused by technological protection measures.It also seeks foreign advanced legislation experience and analyzs laws relating to technological protection measures in china.By summarizing the drawbacks of existing legislation in china, it proposes some suggestions to limit technological protection measures. This article includes four main parts:The first part defines the meaning and characteristics of technological protection measure,it also ravels out the classification of technological protection measures and introduces the functions of technological protection measures.The second part analyzes the legitimacy to limit technological protection measures. Firstly, it Points out that the protection of technological measures legislation would conflict with the system of copyright restrictions.Then, it elaborates the potential conflict among the legislative protection of technological protection measures and the principle of fair use, the principle of exhaustion doctrine, the principle of public interests.Then it accordingly concludes the legitimacy to limit the technological protection measures by legislation.The third part introduces the foreign legislation related to technological protection measures, and sums up the valuable experience which could be used in our country. This part mainly introduces the legislation of US, EU, Australia and Japan, and then picks out the legislative experience which would be worth learning.The fourth part analyzes legislation about technological protection measures in china, and locates the defects in the existing legislation, then it proposes suggestions to improve the institution of limitation on the technological protection measures basing on the actual situation in china and advanced legislative experience overseas.