Study Of The U.S. DMCA Audiovisual Works Exception

The audiovisual industry is not only an important economic growth point for the U.S.,but also the main site for the export of American culture and values.The impact of audiovisual works on social,political and cultural spheres cannot be ignored,as demonstrated by American society and the lives of individual citizens.In the digital age,copyright owners have taken technical measures to control the use and distribution of audiovisual works for financial gain,thus preventing the public from making reasonable use of audiovisual works and increasing the conflict of interest between copyright owners and the public.The U.S.DMCA has created a temporary exception to the prohibition of circumvention of technological measures,in which the audiovisual works exception legitimizes the non-infringing use of audiovisual works by the public and achieves a better balance of interests.As a category of temporary exceptions,the audiovisual works exception is the highlight of each round of temporary exception legislation.The educational use exception for audiovisual works was formally born in 2006 due to the seriousness of piracy of audiovisual works,the increasingly common use of technological measures by copyright owners to protect audiovisual works,the limitations on the scope of fair use resulting from technological measures while protecting copyrighted works,and the increasingly urgent need for teachers of film and media studies to use audiovisual works in high definition for teaching purposes.In the five subsequent legislative revisions,the audiovisual exceptions have been the focus of constant and increasingly refined adaptation to legal,technological,and market realities.According to the "new three-factor theory",the four categories of exceptions for audiovisual works are "educational and derivative use","accessibility","library preservation",and "text and data mining".However,it is clear that the technical measures exception,as a legal privilege,only provides a model for circumvention,and gives a positive evaluation to the behavior that meets the assumptions.In the process of formulating the audiovisual works exception,proponents and opponents have engaged in a heated debate over "the definition of a particular category of works," "the proposed use is a non-infringing use," and "the proposed use is adversely affected " The final shape of the rule depends on technology,the market and the law,but it is also dependent on the efforts and negotiations of all interested parties.The U.S.audiovisual works exception has produced better social benefits,promoted the sound development of the audiovisual industry,balanced the interests of all parties,and effectively safeguarded the public’s non-infringing use of audiovisual works.However,the defects of the system due to the unreasonable allocation of the burden of proof resulting in a narrow scope of exceptions for audiovisual works also need attention.China’s technical measures protection system also has problems such as too high level of protection,too few exceptions,and lack of open legislation for exceptions,and the existing problems point to the damage of the basic needs of the public.Copyright holders use technology,laws and policies to build a strong fence for culture,undermining the cultural freedom granted to the public by the Constitution.China should guarantee the public’s reasonable demand for cultural freedom,add exceptions for critical or critical use of audiovisual works to ensure the public’s right to social discourse,and establish a regular dynamic adjustment mechanism for exceptions to effectively respond to changes in demand.